BUCS Announce Change in Final 8s Format, Introduce ‘BUCS Big Wednesday’

By Sam Neter on October 25, 2012

Following on from one part of their member consultation last month, British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) have announced a change to the Final 8s format, with the Championship Final to take place on a separate day as part of ‘BUCS Big Wednesday’.

Previously, the Final 8s would take place over one weekend in March, from Friday to Sunday. The new format will see the quarters and semis taking place over one weekend, with the final moving to ‘BUCS Big Wednesday’, a week later.

In a statement released on their website yesterday, BUCS said:

Although the response level was low there was overwhelming support for a weekend of competition that brings together the 8 best teams in the country. A number of responses recommended hosting a Final 8s weekend to identify the two best teams who would progress to play at the BUCS Big Wednesday as identified in the BUCS National League proposal.

As a result BUCS will retain the Championship Final 8s with teams playing quarter finals on the Saturday and semi finals (and positional play offs) on the Sunday.The semi final winners will progress to the BUCS Big Wednesday for the Championship Final. This will ensure the Final 8s is retained whilst ensuring basketball remains at the heart of the BUCS Big Wednesday at Leeds Metropolitan.

The Trophy will follow all other league sports with the first drawn team hosting standalone knockout matches with the final being played along with all other Trophy finals on 19th March at Leeds Metropolitan.

BUCS Big Wednesday will bring together 14 university team sport championship final matches all in one day at one venue. Leeds Metropolitan University will host the first ever BUCS Big Wednesday on 20th March 2013 which will also include the men’s and women’s BUCS Mars football finals, BUCS hockey finals and BUCS netball final.

The event also incorporates the Trophy Finals across 12 sports the day before, providing two days of top quality action. Head of Sport Programmes at BUCS, Mark Brian, said:

“The new event will provide two days of intense nail-biting sport. The BUCS Big Wednesday will highlight the best teams currently in the university sector, and in some cases incorporating the best individual players in the country, showcasing what university sport has to offer. We look forward to working with Leeds Met and the University of Leeds to make the first ever BUCS Big Wednesday a spectacular event”

What do you think? Happy with the changes or would you prefer to see it all happen over one weekend?

Image Credit: Nathan Dainty

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BUCS Announce Change in Final 8s Format, Introduce ‘BUCS Big Wednesday’

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