Team Durham (formerly Durham University Athletic Union, DUAU) is a student-run organisation responsible for sport at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

. Durham University's sports programme, run by Team Durham, has produced more professional sports people than any other UK university (141 as of 2022) and has twice seen Durham named ''Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year'' (2015 and 2023). It has ranked in the top three institutions in

British Universities and Colleges Sport British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS; ) is the sports governing body, governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2008, BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United King ...

(BUCS) every season since 2011–12. Eight Team Durham alumni or current athletes have won nine Olympic and Paralympic medals since 1996. Team Durham played

first class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

as Durham University Centre of Cricketing Excellence and Durham MCC University from 2001 to 2020. The rugby club plays in BUCS Super Rugby, BUCS's flagship competition and the highest level student rugby in the UK, and were league winners in 2019–20 and 2021–22. Team Durham compete as the Durham Palatinates in the top-level Women's British Basketball League. With two members in each of the men's and women's GB Hockey teams at the 2024 Summer Olympics, '' BBC Look North'' branded Durham "the talent factory of the north". Team Durham awards the Palatinate as its

sporting colours Sporting colours or just colours (sometimes with a modifier, e.g. club colours or school colours) are awarded to members of a university or school who have excelled in a sport. Many schools do not limit their use to sport but may also give colour ...

. Famous recipients of a Full Palatinate include cricketer

Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain (born 28 March 1968) is an English cricket commentator and former player who captained the England cricket team between 1999 and 2003, with his overall international career extending from 1990 to 2004. A pugnacious right-hande ...

, triple jumper Jonathan Edwards and rugby player Phil de Glanville. Team Durham instituted a policy in 2016 allowing students to train and (if permitted by the national governing body) compete in the team that best fitted their gender identity. This was proposed to the National Union of Students as a model for a national policy.

History

Administrative history

The Durham Colleges Athletic Union was formed by the captains of the men's sports teams in the Durham division of Durham University in 1927, prior to which sports were run directly by the university. A federal Durham University Athletic Union was formed in 1929 with representatives from the Durham Colleges Athletic Union, from the Armstrong College and College of Medicine athletic unions in the Newcastle division of the university, and from the men's and women's university teams. From 1931 it was affiliated as a full member to the Universities Athletic Union (now

; BUCS). In 1946, the Durham Colleges Athletic Union merged with the Durham Colleges Women's Athletic Union, which had been formed in 1938. It became the Durham University Athletic Union in 1963, when the Newcastle division of the university became the independent

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

. In 2002,

Gabby Logan Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh television and radio presenter, and a former rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. She hosted '' Final Score'' for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She h ...

launched Durham University's "Team Durham" initiative to provide coaching and facilities for talented athletes. The athletics union was re-branded as Team Durham in 2006. As a consequence of the

Charities Act 2006 The Charities Act 2006 (c. 50) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to alter the regulatory framework in which charities operate, partly by amending the Charities Act 1993. The act was mostly superseded by the Charities A ...

, which removed exempt charitable status from students' unions, Team Durham was, along with a number of other student associations and some junior common rooms, legally incorporated into the university as a Durham Student Organisation in 2011.

Sporting history

Sport at Durham University dates back to the university's foundation, with boats having raced in the first

Durham Regatta Durham Regatta is a regatta, rowing regatta held annually on the second weekend in June on the River Wear in Durham, England, Durham, North East of England; It is known as the Henley of the North, but began several years before the more prestigi ...

in 1834, at the end the first academic year. The first recorded university cricket match was in 1842. After the formation of the athletics unions and joining the Universities Athletics Union, Durham's first national titles came in men's cricket, with victories in 1938 and 39. These were the only victories until after the Second World War, when victories came in women's netball in 1949, 50 and 51, men's tennis in 1949, men's rugby union in 1951 and 55, mixed rifles in 1951, men's fencing in 1952, 53, 59 and 60, men's golf in 1953, men's association football in 1956, men's badminton in 1957 and 59, men's table tennis in 1957, 58 and 59, women's fencing in 1959 and 62, and women's tennis in 1960, before the separation of the Newcastle division in 1963. In recent years, Team Durham was ranked second (behind Loughborough) in the BUCS overall championship in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. They came third (behind Loughborough and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

) in 2019 and 2022 (the 2019–20 season was incomplete, and the 2020–21 season did not happen, due to COVID). Durham were ranked top in BUCS for team sports in 2014-15, when they also became only the second team (after Loughborough) to gain over 4000 BUCS points. Both of these achievements were repeated in 2015-16. In 2016-17, Durham had 30 top tier BUCS teams, three more than closest rivals Loughborough, and had a total of 119 teams entered in BUCS competitions, the most of any UK university. Durham University Boat Club held the BUCS rowing Victor Ludorum for ten years consecutively from 2004 until 2013 and won it again in 2015 and 2023. In 2022, Team Durham won BUCS national championships in women's cricket, men's rugby, men's fencing, women's futsal, men's lacrosse, women's rowing and women's volleyball.

BUCS/BUSA record

The Universities Athletics Union was formed from the Inter-Varsity Athletics Board in 1930. British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) was formed in 1994 by the merger of the Universities Athletics Union (UAU; formed 1919), the British Universities Sports Federation, the British Students Sports Federation, the British Polytechnics Sports Association and the British Colleges Sports Association. In 2008, BUSA merged with University College Sport to form BUCS. Durham participated in UAU competitions from 1931 to 1994, in BUSA from 1994 to 2008, and in BUCS from 2008 onwards.

Olympics

The first Durham alumnus to compete in the Olympics was sprinter Reginald Reed at the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games (), held from 22 April 1906 to 2 May 1906, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Kingdom of Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were re ...

. Since 1996, Durham alumni and students have won medals at: *

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

: Jonathan Edwards – Silver in the men's triple jump *

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

: Jonathan Edwards – Gold in the men's triple jump *

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

: Stephen Rowbotham – Bronze in the men's double scull *

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

: Sophie Hosking – Gold in the women's lightweight double scull *

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

: Lily van den Broecke – Gold as cox in the mixed coxed four *

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

: Hazel Macleod – Silver as

sighted guide {{Short pages monitor">TeamDurham.com - Sport in Action
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References

External links

TeamDurham.com
{{University of Durham
Clubs and societies of Durham University Sport in Durham, England