Scottish Students at BUCS Orienteering Championships 2026

On the 14/15th March, university orienteers from across the UK travelled to Wales for the annual British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Orienteering Championships. With competition spread across two days – individual races at Merthyr Mawr and relays at Clevedon Court Quarry – Scottish universities delivered an impressive set of results, alongside plenty of memorable moments. Teams from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Heriot Watt and Stirling made the journey down.

Thanks to both AUOC and EUOC for contributing the words for the article below.

Individual Championships – Merthyr Mawr

Merthyr Mawr is well known for it’s technical sand dunes, providing both a navigational challenge and physical test.

Edinburgh University Orienteering Club (EUOC) enjoyed a standout day, claiming an incredible six medals. They dominated the elite categories, taking 1st and 2nd in both the Women’s A and Men’s A races, with Heriot-Watt securing 3rd in the Men’s A. Edinburgh also added a podium finish in the Women’s B, and across all courses recorded an impressive 15 top-10 finishes.

Aberdeen University Orienteering Club (AUOC) also celebrated strong performances. Eilidh Campbell secured 3rd place on the Women’s A course, while Ben Brown and Josh Britain took 2nd and 3rd respectively on the Men’s B course – a well desrved improvement on their results from last year! Competing in their final BUCS, both were especially pleased to finish on the podium.

Elsewhere, Daniel Smith placed 5th on the Men’s C course, and Anna Driga-Ferguson – competing in her first ever orienteering event! – also achieved an impressive 5th place on the Women’s B course.

One of the highlights of the day was the spectator control atop the “Big Dipper,” the second-largest sand dune in Europe. Runners on the A and Men’s B courses charged down the steep slope in a thrilling display. Ben Brown completed the leg in a rapid 31 seconds, just two seconds shy of the fastest split.

Relays – Clevedon Court Quarry

Sunday’s relays at Clevedon Court Quarry saw our Scottish students continue their strong showing.

Edinburgh once again led the way, successfully defending their BUCS title. Their men’s teams delivered outstanding performances, securing 1st and 3rd place, alongside additional top-10 finishes in 7th and 9th. The women’s teams matched – and arguably surpassed – this success, taking 1st and 3rd, as well as an impressive 5th place. Their depth across multiple teams underlined Edinburgh’s strength, as they brought the BUCS trophy, “Fergus the Stag,” back to Scotland once more.

Aberdeen fielded a men’s relay team of Ben Brown, Daniel Smith, and Josh Britain, while Eilidh and Anna competed in a non-competitive women’s team. Although Aberdeen didn’t feature among the top placings in the relays, the team enjoyed the experience and capped off a successful weekend of racing, with Josh just making it back in time to collect his medal from the individual race!

The social side!

EUOC’s reliving of the Saturday evening: Off we went to Bristol for a shower in the sports centre that turned into more of a cold swim… sorry Bristol uni gym!! Then we all got dressed up as various characters from Peter Pan and enjoyed a group dinner with friends from all over the country! After we finally ate, we trekked through Bristol to the furthest pub they could find for the boat race where we thought we should win something… Most of us were off to bed after this, but a brave few ventured to Spoons and even the club before bed!

From high-level performances to first-time competitors, Scottish students made their mark across the championships. Whether it was podium finishes, personal bests, or simply enjoying the experience, BUCS 2026 proved another memorable weekend for university orienteering.