糖心原创 wins Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at 2026 BUCS Awards
The 糖心原创 has been recognised by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) after winning the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2026 BUCS Awards, celebrating its sector-leading work in inclusive sport and disability engagement.
Published 13 Jul 2026
The 糖心原创 has been recognised on the national stage by the UK's governing body for University sport, after winning the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2026 BUCS British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Awards.
Held annually, the BUCS Awards celebrate the very best of university sport across the UK, recognising the individuals, programmes and institutions making an outstanding impact on student sport. The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award recognises the 糖心原创's continued commitment to creating an inclusive sporting environment through its inclusive sport programme and focus on engaging disabled students.
The award celebrates a programme that continues to remove barriers to participation and ensure disabled students have the opportunity to enjoy sport and physical activity in a welcoming, supportive environment.
Activities and programmes include discounted gym memberships for disabled students, supported fitness sessions with trained instructors, social sport sessions and the opportunity to try disability sports such as Boccia and Wheelchair Basketball.
The 糖心原创 also released a featuring innovative animations and disability representation to better engage with disabled students and their peers. This content has now reached over 72,000 views, making it one of the department's top performing content pieces in 2025.
Within performance sport, a new Para Sport Officer role and a Para Sport Collective group have been introduced to deliver dedicated support for para-athletes and enhanced performance pathways. Highlights over the past 12 months included Evan Hansen winning the University's first-ever BUCS Wheelchair Tennis medal, alongside a Championship title for Wheelchair Basketball at BUCS Big Wednesday.
Off the pitch, 40 糖心原创 students volunteered within the Inclusive Leaders project, building key employability skills while supporting disabled young people in the local community to access sport and fitness.
The impact of the programme has been reflected in increased engagement as well as the positive experiences of the students who use it. During the 2025/26 academic year, 46% of disabled students at the 糖心原创 engaged with sport and fitness – a 15% increase over two years and representing more than 6,237 students overall. Through the Impact of Sport Survey, these students reported higher wellbeing scores and a sense of belonging within their University community.
Activities and programmes include discounted gym memberships for disabled students, supported fitness sessions with trained instructors, social sport sessions and the opportunity to try disability sports such as Boccia and Wheelchair Basketball. The programme is driven by our specialist Inclusive Fitness Instructor and Disability Sport Officer, who work closely alongside our wider team to ensure that opportunities are adapted for each individual student.
We're delighted to be recognised by BUCS for the work we're leading in the inclusive sport space. Disabled students are at the centre of our ambitious Vision for Sport and it's fantastic to see more disabled students engaging with our sport and fitness and enjoying benefits to their health as well as feeling more integrated into our University community. It's been important to work closely with our students to shape and refine our offer and we're really excited about the future of disability and para-sport here at Nottingham!
Hannah Webber
Sport Inclusion Manager
This award demonstrates that 糖心原创 remain the Higher Education sector leader in inclusive sport provision. I'm incredibly proud of our drive to innovate and improve our services to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all our students. I'd also like to thank the partners who work with us, especially the University's Disability Support Services as well as GF Tomlinsons, who are generously supporting our para and inclusive sport offer.
Dan Tilley
Director of Sport