Daily Telegraph Names St Mary’s Top Universities for Sport

The Daily Telegraph has named St Mary’s University College, Twickenham as one of the UK’s top universities for sport. Using data from the recent Which? survey of 16,000 university students from across the country, the University College has been recognised for its extensive student sport offering along with state-of-the-art facilities on campus. St Mary’s is committed to student sport and offers more than 20 s clubs and societies including rugby union, hockey and football, what’s more, if a sport isn’t already offered, students are encouraged to set up their own club with the Students’ Union. This year futsal, an indoor five-a-side football game, was successfully launched and is already going from strength to strength. In 2011, the University College opened a new £8.5 million sports centre which offers a strength and conditioning gym, fitness suite and sports hall. It was home to athletes from 10 teams during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic pre-Games training camps and is a regular training ground for many international athletes, including alumni such as Mo Farah, David Weir and Alex Wright. A number of sports scholarships are also available to undergraduate students, including the recently launched Mo Farah Academy, which provides financial and technical support for the elite sports training programmes at St Mary’s. It is the first initiative of its kind in the UK and is designed to encourage home-grown sporting talent and build on the London 2012 Olympic Legacy. Andrew Reid-Smith, Director for Sport at the University College said, “St Mary’s students enjoy using world-class sports facilities and a distinctive sports programme that combines promotion of lifelong participation with supporting performance at the very highest level. As a performer, coach or volunteer there are numerous opportunities to get involved all of which help to enhance the student experience.”