Sport at Durham inspires the extraordinary, it always has done and that's why our alumni include Gabby Logan, Jonathan Edwards, Will Carling, Sophie Hosking and Caroline Atkins. We have recently been named Sports University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
We were delighted to be named Sports University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023
Sport is at the core of Durham student life, and a huge range of sporting opportunities is available. From joining college teams to competing at University level and beyond, we offer exceptional opportunities to get involved.
Before joining my college rowing team I had never even seen an oar – I can’t recommend it enough!
The University awards approximately 12 sporting scholarships per year which entitle the chosen athletes to £2,000 on an annual basis throughout their undergraduate career.
Sport at Durham is built on teamwork: we grow leaders, and we are stronger because of our partnerships. Sport is for everyone. We help our students try new things, to uncover their talents, to make a difference to those around them, to be fit and healthy and be the best that they can be. That is why we hope that you will be interested to know more about Durham University Sport. We find it easy to be proud of the extraordinary people we have at Durham. Through sport we offer the inspiration, they achieve the outstanding.
Our approach has three pillars Performance, Participation and Community.
We are Britain's top Team Sport University (ranked Number 1 in the UK by the National Governing Body of University Sport - BUCS, since 2013) and support over 50 capped internationals per year.
Our sporting philosophy is to provide opportunities for exceptional people to do exceptional things, and few universities so successfully and consistently combine sporting and academic excellence. Durham enjoys British Rowing Performance Centre status, First Class County Cricket status, British Fencing Centre status, Tennis Foundation University Performance Centre status, and English Lacrosse High-Performance University status. Our teams also compete in the England Hockey National Leagues, the British Basketball League and the FS Women's Superleague.
We co-ordinate one of Britain's largest participation programmes with over 75% of our students engaged in sport and physical activity. This is because sport at Durham embraces all levels of skill. Our unique college structure offers many opportunities for you to participate in 18 sports across 700 different teams, on a weekly basis, making it the largest internal sports programme in Britain. This not only helps to keep you active and healthy, but it also provides social opportunities and a sense of belonging that can be particularly important in the early days when you are settling in at University.
Over 2,700 community users access our facilities each week, working directly with student clubs and volunteers.
We focus on making sport accessible, we provide access to a wide range of opportunities, all of which create a valuable and real-life experience in a setting where you can make a difference. Our extensive Community Sports Development Programme offers coaching and outreach activities to schools and community groups. We also take part in National Governing Body officiating courses, developing your skills so you can go on to coach outside of the University and even on to a professional coaching career.
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