Bournemouth University (BU) continued their winning form at this year’s Varsity sports tournament against Solent University (Solent). Over 1000 athletes from 20 sports battled it out on courts and fields in the final outdoor event at BU’s Chapel Gate sports facilities on Wednesday 1 May 2024.
Launched in 2016, Varsity is an annual sporting event between BU and Solent. The event is held each spring and showcases student sport, with a healthy competition between the two local universities. The event gives clubs the opportunity to celebrate both the universities sporting ability and showcase their talent.
This year, 26 fixtures and tournaments took place between April 24 and May 1 with indoor sports played at Solent in the Sports Complex and outdoor sports taking place at Chapel Gate.
The event at Solent started with a display from both universities, including both sides cheerleading teams who showed off their skills to their friends and families. BU took a commanding lead after the first day but knew it could all change within the week.
At the Chapel Gate event student athletes and spectators enjoyed live music, food vendors, crazy golf, dance displays, giveaways and other fun activities throughout the day. Over 1600 guests were onsite during the day despite intervals of cold and damp weather.
Michael Barry, Assistant Head of Sport and Event Manager at BU, said “It was great to see so many of our students enjoying all the events. This year had a brilliant vibe, and we could not be happier with how it all went, bring on 2025.”
BU continued their winning form and although the final scoreline is very positive for BU, 10 of the games were a close match and the result could have gone to either team, which would have had a marked impact on the result.
Final score: Bournemouth University 23 – Solent University 3
Varsity in numbers:
- 584 spectators
- 615 BU players
- 400 Solent players
For further information about Sports and Events Management courses please visit the BU website
