British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in 2008 by a merger of the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport (UCS) organisations. BUCS is responsible for organising more than 52 inter-university sports in the UK and representative teams for the World University Championships and the World University Games. BUCS is a membership organisation for over 165 universities and colleges in the UK, with 6,000 teams competing across 850 leagues. Anne, Princess Royal is Patron of BUCS. Sports BUCS has 52 sports represented within the leagues and events. They are: American football Archery Athletics Badminton Baseball and softball Basketball Boxing Canoeing Clay pigeon shooting Climbing Cricket Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Futsal Gaelic football Golf Gymnastics Handball Hockey Jiu jitsu Judo Karate Korfball Lacrosse Modern biathlon and pentathlon Netball Orienteering Para powerlifting Pool and snooker Rifle Rowing Rugby league Rugby union (including rugby sevens) Sailing Snowsports Squash Surfing Swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Trampolining Triathlon Ultimate Frisbee Volleyball Water polo Weightlifting Wheelchair basketball Windsurfing Leagues, Competitions and Events Team sports compete in BUCS leagues, with the majority of league fixtures taking place on Wednesday afternoons, which is commonly referred to as BUCS Wednesday. Wednesday afternoons are generally free from lectures to allow students to compete in sport. There are 850 leagues, with institutions across the country competing against each other to avoid relegation or win the league and gain promotion to higher leagues. The finals of the Championship and Trophy are played at BUCS Big Wednesday. This annual single-day event showcases the Championship and Trophy finals across 16 league sports. The event currently takes place at the University of Nottingham. BUCS Nationals is an annual multisport event that takes place across three days. Indoor athletics, swimming, badminton, fencing, judo, karate, rifle and climbing are the sports represented at BUCS Nationals. The event currently takes place in Sheffield. Over the year, BUCS runs over 120 events for both individual and team sports. BUCS Points BUCS Points are given to institutions depending on where they finish in leagues and events. The accumulation of these points determine which institution becomes overall BUCS Champion. Loughborough University have won the BUCS competition 40 years in a row up until the 2019–2020 season. Both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons were not completed due to COVID. BUCS Super Rugby BUCS Super