UHI students celebrate success at the Scottish Student Sport National College Finals

University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) students delivered an outstanding performance at the Scottish Student Sport National College Finals on Wednesday 23 April 2025. The event saw over 400 students from colleges across Scotland compete across multiple sports, with UHI students taking home a range of top awards.

Forty-five 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 gold, and Evan Beaton securing silver 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 Perth team delivered a strong performance, with closely contested matches throughout. 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.

Students from UHI Perth had independently fundraised to support their travel to the competition. Their participation was coordinated by Active Campus Coordinator Lindsey Brown, who also played a key role in building the collaborative campus teams.

Reflecting on the finals, Lindsey said:

"This is UHI Perth’s second year attending the finals, and we’ve seen amazing growth. In 2024, we had 20 competitors from 9 different courses; in 2025, we had 27 competitors from 15 courses and year groups. From zero female competitors last year to full women's teams and a first-ever badminton competitor, the development is something to celebrate."

Stuart Fraser, Active Campus Coordinator at UHI Inverness, 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!"

UHI Perth HNC and HND sports therapy students also gained valuable real-world experience by providing treatments during the event, with more than 75 students from across all the colleges receiving more than 100 treatments in total.

Scottish Student Sport is the coordinating body for all student sport and active health across Scotland, and the finals were hosted at Oriam at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland’s national performance centre for sport.

To get involved or find out more about UHI sports teams and events, please visit the HISA Sports Clubs webpage.