Sport, performing arts and extracurricular

Sport, performing arts and extracurricular

  • 2017 winning women's Cancer Research UK Boat Race crew

Image copyright Ben Tufnell/Row360

Clubs and societies are an integral part of the student experience. With societies ranging from academic, sporting, religious, musical, political, and artistic there are opportunities for students to develop their skills, meet others and enjoy extracurricular activities no matter their interests.

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Vision for sport

Our mission is to support students, staff and the wider community in pursuit of their health and wellbeing, and talented student-athletes in their competitive and high-performance sporting ambitions.

Opportunities in 'Sport, performing arts and extracurricular'

The ADC Theatre
The ADC is at the centre of university drama in Cambridge, run almost entirely by students with no faculty involvement.

ADC Theatre

CUAFC Men's Blues
Football has always been popular in Cambridge. The varsity football match between the association football clubs of the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford is one of the oldest regular fixtures in world football, having been played every year since 1873 (with breaks for the two World Wars).

Association Football Club

Weighlifter in the Cambridge Union
The University of Cambridge Athlete Performance Programme (UCAPP) has been established to offer high performance athletes at undergraduate or postgraduate level the opportunity of a professional and coordinated support services network in order to improve their performance as a sports athlete. This programme has been set up thanks to the kind generosity of Mark Hanson (Girton 1985) who was a Modern Pentathlete during his time at Cambridge.

Athlete Performance Programme

CUAC Jubilee Athletics 1913 in The Illustrated London News
Cambridge University Athletic Club prides itself on its long and distinguished history as one of the oldest athletics clubs in the world. Three times a year, we compete against Oxford's OUAC. In three out of every four years, CUAC and OUAC call a temporary truce and come together to compete against American universities in the oldest international athletic series in the world.

Athletic Club (CUAC)

CUBC Blues
Cambridge challenged Oxford to the first race in 1829. The Boat Races are one of the biggest free sports events and over the years have captured worldwide interest.

Boat Club (CUBC)

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Cambridge University Hockey Club, founded in 1890 and based at Wilberforce Road Sports Ground, is the largest and most successful university sports club in Cambridge.

Cambridge University Hockey Club (CUHC)

Most of the time it's nothing, but sometimes it's cancer
CATS Cambridge, the Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and Young People Society, raises awareness among students of the University of the signs and symptoms of the most common cancer types in 18 to 25 year olds.

Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and Young People Society (CATS)

CUCC trip
With more than 100 members, the Cambridge University Canoe Club caters for all levels of ability, from absolute beginner to hardcore expert.

Canoe Club

Varsity Cricket at Lord's
CUCC and CUWCC are the cricket clubs for students of the University of Cambridge. As long ago as 1710, cricket was being played on the University's grounds. The first Varsity Match in 1827 established the tradition of a spirited rivalry with Oxford that has evolved into one of the most endearing series of amateur sporting competitions in the world.

Cricket Club

Rock and Roll - just one of the dance styles that the Club offers
Cambridge Dancers' Club is a registered Cambridge University society, and around three quarters of our members are students or staff at the University of Cambridge.

Dancers' Club

'Evolution' travelled 2,047km on solar power across the Australian Outback
Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) is a 60-strong student organisation that designs and builds solar powered vehicles to compete in the biennial World Solar Challenge.

Eco Racing (CUER)

Students hold the Cambridge University Expeditions Society flag
Founded in 1904, the Cambridge University Expeditions Society (CUEX) is the oldest expeditions society in the world. In the footsteps of such alumni as Sir Peter Scott, Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir David Attenborough, we exist to encourage and support students, staff and alumni to join, lead and organise expeditions around the world.

Expeditions Society

Glider
The inaugural meeting of the Cambridge Gliding Club was held on February 12th 1935. The Club runs regular expeditions as well as taking part in the Varsity match with Oxford and the Inter-University Competition.

Gliding Club

Men's Blues
Cambridge University Ice Hockey Club (CUIHC) is home to the Cambridge Men's Blues team and the Cambridge Eskimos team (staff and students).

Ice Hockey Club

Three women at an iSoc Garden Party
The University of Cambridge Islamic Society (iSoc) serves the spiritual and academic needs of our Muslim students and fosters feelings of brotherhood and sisterhood amongst them.

Islamic Society

Cambridge University Jewish Society
Cambridge University Jewish Society (CUJS) provides for the needs of Jewish students across the religious spectrum over their time at University. Many of our alumni continue to hold dear the friendships made at CUJS for many years after graduation.

Jewish Society

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Founded in 1976, Cambridge University Karate Club is one of the most successful sports clubs in the University, having won the annual Varsity match against Oxford for the 14th consecutive year in 2020.

Karate Club

Lacrosse team
The men’s lacrosse team was founded in 1882, making it the oldest university lacrosse club in the United Kingdom and one of the oldest clubs in the world.

Lacrosse (XVI) Club

Image of building with scaffolding
The Land Society provides networking opportunities and social events for its more than 1,000 members, including Chartered Surveyors and those who work in commercial property, legal and rural land professions, public companies and for local and national government bodies.

Land Society

Fenner's lawn tennis courts and the Tennis Pavilion
Our current fundraising priority is the Fenner's Clubhouse Appeal.

Lawn Tennis Club (CULTC)

CULRC
Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) was founded in 1974. Members of the club have won medals at both national and international competitions, and athletes who have represented CULRC have competed at each of the last three Olympic games.

Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC)

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Cambridge University Musical Society is one of the oldest and most distinguished university music societies in the world. It offers a world-class musical education for members of the University and local residents, nurturing the great musicians of the future and providing performing opportunities for over 500 Cambridge musicians every year.

Musical Society

CUOS is one of the largest and most prestigious student opera groups in the UK
Cambridge University Opera Society is one of the largest and most prestigious student opera groups in the UK, with a busy calendar of events taking place throughout the year.

Opera Society (CUOS)

Members of the Orienteering Club (CUOC) range from complete beginners to British champions.
The Orienteering Club (CUOC) is a registered Cambridge University society. Members range from complete beginners to British Champions.

Orienteering Club (CUOC)

Cambridge University Pythons team photograph
Cambridge University Pythons American Football Club (CUPAFC) is the University's gridiron team, competing in the British American Football University Championship and the season finale Varsity match against Oxford.

Pythons American Football Club

Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club banner - support the Light Blues
Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club (CURUFC) is a wholly amateur student rugby club aiming to offer a rugby environment that aims to provide the best student rugby experience for academically talented students, both men and women.

Rugby Union Football Club

Firefly dinghies, windsurfing and Swallow class yachts
Founded in 1893, Cambridge University Cruising Club is the home of all dinghy, windsurfing and small boat sailing at the University. ‘Big boat’ sailing is the province of the separate CU Yacht Club.

Sailing and windsurfing (CUCrC)

Sports Centre
Cambridge has an illustrious sporting history and continues to be home to athletes who compete at the highest levels and a thriving community of clubs for all abilities.

Sports Centre and Sports Syndicate

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Cambridge University Squash Rackets Club is one of the oldest university sports clubs in Cambridge, with the first official Varsity match held in 1925.

Squash Rackets Club (CUSRC)

Cambridge University Swimming and Water Polo Club
Founded in 1855 Cambridge University Swimming and Water Polo Club (CUSWPC) is one of the oldest swimming clubs in the country.

Swimming and Water Polo Club

The Wilberforce Society logo
The Wilberforce Society is the first student-run political think tank to have been established in the UK, based at the University of Cambridge.

The Wilberforce Society

CUWBC - image copyright Iain Weir
Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club (CUWBC) combines academic excellence with the experience of a lifetime.

Women's Boat Club (CUWBC)

Cambridge University Women's Lacrosse Club
The Cambridge University Women’s Lacrosse Club, founded in 1912 and celebrating our 105th Varsity match this season, is arguably the most successful, respected and long-standing female sports club at the University.

Women's Lacrosse Club (CUWLC)

Yachts on the water
Cambridge University Yacht Club prides itself both on its history of racing success and its accessibility to all members of this diverse sailing Club. Since the founding of the Club in 2004, students have seen regular success in the varsity match against Oxford and placed top three at the BUSA Yachting nationals. The Club has represented Cambridge at an international level in recent years, participating in the Student Yachting Nationals in 2015 and 2016, and winning the 2017 International Universities Regatta in Qingdao, China.

Yacht Club (CUYC)