2022/23 University Touch Championship dates announced

The inaugural University Touch Championships will visit Sheffield, Guildford and Nottingham during 2022/23.

Following in the same format as last year, the University Touch Championships will have regional qualification events in the north and south during the Autumn term, followed by three national events in the Spring to decide who will be crowned the overall champion.

Bath Hawks regained their title in 2021/22, but as in previous years Exeter, Loughborough and Durham were all contenders, with Nottingham Trent, Leeds, Cardiff, Surrey and Bristol all improving in leaps and bounds throughout the course of the campaign.

With BUCS points to play for in the National Events and qualifying places up for grabs in the Regional Events there is plenty to aim at throughout the coming season!

All of the tournaments are for Mixed teams.

Clubs are also encouraged to bring full-time referees to each event they enter, with a recommendation of one full-time referee per team they enter. This is to help reduce the need for referee slots to be filled by players. England Touch regularly runs Level 1 referee courses on Zoom, and referee coaches may be on site during events to complete assessment qualification. To find out more about referee training courses CLICK HERE.

England Touch is also able to connect both existing and new University teams to their local affiliated club, who may be able to help with social matches and coaching, and their Regional Lead for other local events. Contact University Liaison Manager, Jack Harris, for more information via university@englandtouch.org.uk

Regional Qualifying Events (£150 per team)

Round	Date	City	Deadline for entry
1 North	29/10/2022	Sheffield	13/10/2022
1 South	05/11/2022	Guildford	20/10/2022
2 North	19/11/2022	Sheffield	03/11/2022
2 South	26/11/2022	Guildford	10/11/2022
Reserve date: 03/12/2022

Sheffield Venue: Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park, Bawtry Rd, Tinsley, Sheffield, S9 1UA

Guildford Venue: Surrey Sports Park, Richard Meyjes Rd, Guildford, GU2 7AD

National Championships (£200 per team)

Round	Date	City	Deadline for entry
1	11/02/2023	Nottingham	26/01/2023
2	04/03/2023	Nottingham	16/02/2023
Reserve date for R1 and R2: 18/03/2023
3	25/03/2023	Nottingham	09/03/2023
Reserve date for R3: 01/04/2023

Nottingham Venue: Riverside Sports Complex, Nottingham, NG7 2TG

University Touch Championships event information

Contact Jack Harris, University Liaison Manager, via university@englandtouch.org.uk for the full information pack. Key information is as follows:

All Regional Events have a maximum of 16 entry spaces. Teams must be entered via BUCS Play before the given deadline. In the case that spaces are still available for entry into an event after the initial deadline has passed, a second wave entry will be opened. In the case that more teams have requested entry than there are spaces for Round 1, preference will be given to teams who entered the 2021-22 Competition.

All National Events have a maximum of 32 entry spaces. Teams must be entered via BUCS Play before the given deadline. Teams are ranked into the draw according to their finishing position in the regional qualifying final standings. Any team who did not enter the regional qualifiers will be ranked after that of the lowest finishing competitor in the regional qualifiers.

All institutions/Playing Entities must be a member of the England Touch Association, regardless of which country within the UK that said institution resides in. The ETA requires all clubs to hold a ‘University’ Membership. Instructions on how to create a club are HERE.

Membership can be purchased through the ETA membership portal HERE.

Club membership must be valid at the time of entering and attending a UTC event. If a club is found to not have a valid ETA membership while competing at a UTC event, they and all teams entered from said club will be disqualified from the event.

All players must be a member of the England Touch Association. The ETA requires all players to hold a Membership. Membership can be purchased through the ETA membership portal HERE.

Player membership must be valid at the time of entering and attending a UTC event. If a player is found to not have a valid ETA membership while competing at a UTC event, the team they have represented will be disqualified from the event.

All participants must comply with the BUCS and ETA codes of conduct while taking part and supporting at the UTC.

Institutions residing in the following counties are eligible to compete in the Southern Region events: Berkshire, Bristol, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex, Essex, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Greater London, Gwent, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Monmouthshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey, West Sussex, Wiltshire

Institutions residing in all other counties, including those remaining in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, are eligible to compete in the Northern Region events.