Welcome to CUAC

Hello and welcome to the website of Cambridge University Athletic Club!

CUAC is one of the oldest athletic clubs in the world, established in 1857, and run entirely by students. We compete against Oxford three times a year, with the Freshers Match in November, the Indoor Field Events and Relays Match in February, and the main Varsity Match in May. The first Varsity Match was held in 1864, pre-dating the modern Olympics by 32 years. CUAC athletes also compete in a variety of other competitions such as BUCS Indoor and Outdoor Championships, Cambridgeshire County Championships, and England Athletics U20 and U23 Championships. A number of inter-college competitions are also organised throughout the year. CUAC caters for athletes at all levels, and our membership in recent years has ranged from Senior GB Internationals to relative beginners. Our collective aim is simple - to smash Oxford 4-0 in the Varsity Match, and to have fun doing it.

I hope you enjoy exploring the website.

Tom Wagner
CUAC President 2011-12

CUAC are supported by Oliver Wyman, an a international management consulting firm that combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, organizational transformation, and leadership development. The firm works with clients to deliver sustained shareholder value growth. They help managers to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. They have more than 35 years experience serving Global 1000 clients. Their staff of 2,900 operates from offices in more than 40 cities in 16 countries.

Recent News

Florence and the CUAC machines

April 15th, 2012

After a solid week of rain in Florence, the weather finally broke and we had sunshine and a dry track for the match against 3 other Italian clubs, one of which was a fully professional team with many internationals.

We were welcomed last night at the official dinner by Nicola Vizzoni, an 80m hammer thrower who won silver medals at the 2000 Olympics and the 2011 European Champs.

Both the men’s and women’s teams performed really well. Medallists were:

Matt Houlden: silver, 300mH - 40.08s
Keno Mario-Ghae: silver, HJ - 1.94m
Ryan Harper: bronze, DT - 40.26m SB
Didi Akinluyi: bronze, SP - 12.51m SB
Helena Wace, Lucy Spray, Lizzie Thompson, Emily Craven: silver, 4×100m - 51.02
Lucy Spray: bronze, 300m - 42.09
Lizzie Thompson: bronze HJ - 1.45m

Many thanks to the host team, Atletica Firenze Marathon for putting on such a great fixture and making this such a memorable trip for all involved.

Click here to see photos from the event.
team

Fresh Faces, same story

November 23rd, 2011

This year’s intake of freshers landed the first meaningful blow against The Other Place in the annual Freshers’ Athletics Varsity match. They may have just arrived at Cambridge but they already know the drill. This was the 10th straight victory for Cambridge against Oxford.
Laying down a marker so early on will provide a encourging base for the rest of year, as CUAC showed they will have a team full of promise, as well as their established stars. The fresher athletes showed their strength, pulling out some fantastic performances out of season and in the middle of week 5.

The women’s competition was won comfortably – 105 to Oxfords 84 – whilst the men’s match kept everyone on their toes. Cambridge fought hard to take the trophy with 96 points to Oxford’s 94. Athlete of the match was awarded to Onakeno Mario-Ghae of Girton for his exceptional performances in the Long Jump and High Jump. The latter was won with a jump of 1m 93cm, just 2cm short of Blues standard.

*Onakeno Mario-Ghae was a star performer on the day*

Each event features two competitors from each university. Cambridge excelled in the jumping events, with a Cambridge one-two for both the men’s and women’s long jump, triple jump and high jump events.

The Cambridge men were also particularly strong in the middle distance track events: Lloyd Hilton of Jesus won both the 400m and the 800m, Roger Poolman took victory over 1,500m, and fellow Queens’ athlete Will Ryle-Hodges came first in the 3,000m. Rebecca McLean and Joy Lisney took a Cambridge one-two in the 400m whilst Emily Dudgeon and Rebecca Moore secured another one-two in the 3,000m. The women’s team won both their relay events to round up a superb day of events.

*Freshers revel in their early success against The Other Place*

The match was full of strong performances that the Cambridge athletes can be proud of. This was an encouraging result for CUAC and the team look set to retain their winning streak in the main Varsity Match on May 19th with the help of this year’s crop of fresh talent.