How postgraduate students can get involved in sports.
There are a variety of opportunities for post graduate students to get involved with sport at Oxford. Whether you are looking for something more competitive or just to turn up and play, take your time to explore the different sports clubs and find out what is on offer. You can find the details of all our sports clubs on the A-Z of sport on our website.
Visit clubs A-Z
Below are some top tips for each of the different areas of sport for post graduate students.
Competitive Sport
When you think of sport at Oxford, most people would automatically think of the famous varsity matches against Cambridge. Almost every sports club hosts a varsity match against Cambridge with some also taking part in an Oxford vs Brookes varsity match too. Varsity matches aren’t just reserved for blues teams (first teams) with second teams and beyond also having an annual match.
oining a blues team will be a time commitment with several training sessions per week (this will vary depending on the sport) and for those who are part of the blues performance scheme then there may be strength & conditioning, psychology and nutrition sessions as well.
Many sports also take part in BUCS which involves weekly fixtures against other Universities. BUCS league fixtures are played on Wednesday afternoons so if you are caught up in the lab on weekdays, this might not be the best option for you. BUCS events e.g. swimming and athletics take place on a single day and will be easier to work around your schedule.
Keep in mind that a lot of competitive teams are still beginner friendly for example American Football and Korfball.
Development and Casual Sport
If you want to develop your skills in sport then many clubs offer coaching or the chance to be a part of a development squad. Sports such as tennis and squash have social programmes where they have coached sessions for different ability levels that you can attend and get access to the respective courts included in the membership.
Development squads and lower ability teams exist widely throughout Oxford with regular practice sessions and some occasional friendly fixtures. These can be a good option for post graduate students as there isn’t such a big time commitment and you can turn up when it suits you.
If you are looking for a sport to fill your weekend then you might want to explore some of the trip based clubs such as caving, walking and mountaineering. These offer you the chance to see different areas of the UK and sometimes abroad whilst meeting new people and taking part in sport.
Finally, if you just want to turn up and play a sport then this is an option in some sports such as badminton, table tennis and cross country runs. Some of these opportunities are free and some are charged on a pay as you go basis or termly/annual membership basis.
College Sport
Check in with your college or MCR sports rep to find out about the sports that your college is involved with. Almost every college has a boat club or merges with another college to offer rowing and the option to compete in the inter-college regattas. It is a similar situation with rugby, football and netball with inter-college leagues with weekly fixtures taking place. For football there is a specific MCR men’s league and the women’s league is mixed with JCR and MCR.
These are just some of the sports that are available at the college level with more one off competitions taking place over the academic year. It is very common for colleges to merge to form teams or for player to join another team if their college doesn’t offer the chance to take part.
To learn more about any sport at Oxford then please visit our A-Z of sport (https://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/sports-a-to-z#/) and for any general questions you can contact sportsfed@sport.ox.ac.uk. "