Inverness students from University of Highlands and Islands celebrate success at Scottish Student Sport National College Finals
STUDENTS from Inverness and across the Highlands celebrated success at the Scottish Student Sport National College Finals.
The event saw over 400 students from colleges across Scotland compete across multiple sports, with UHI of the Highlands and Islands students taking home a range of top awards.
A total of 45 students from UHI Inverness and UHI Perth competed across four sports – badminton, basketball, football, and volleyball. This year also saw the first-ever combined UHI campus teams in men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
In badminton, UHI Inverness achieved a clean sweep, with Calum Craig winning silver and Evan Beaton securing gold and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
In volleyball, UHI Perth men’s team won gold, with Sam Jones receiving the MVP award. The UHI Perth women’s team, joined by a UHI Inverness player, also secured gold, with another MVP award for Zoey Simangan.
The basketball team, also formed as a joint squad, showed resilience by bouncing back from a narrow one-point loss to win their next two games. UHI Inverness student Zeke Balanquit was also named MVP.
In football, the UHI Inverness football team narrowly missed out on the main cup after a 1–0 defeat to the eventual winners. However, they went on to dominate the Shield competition, with a series of impressive performances and securing a 6–0 victory in the final.
Active Campus Coordinator at UHI Inverness, Stuart Brown added: “UHI Inverness went from one team last year to four this year — that’s a massive leap.
“Our students have worked hard to build clubs, train consistently, and create new opportunities for themselves and others. To finish with four points and three MVPs is proof of both their athletic skill and character.
“A huge thank you to Scottish Student Sport for hosting, and to everyone who helped get our teams there. Massive shoutout to UHI Perth and Lindsey Brown for helping us create collaborative teams, and to all the staff who volunteered their time to support, drive, photograph, and cheer the students on.
“These are the moments that define student sport — we can’t wait to do it all again!”
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