England dominate Six Nations event

The Junior and Cadet Six Nations Table Tennis competition returned to England in 2013 with the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre the host venue.

The top youngsters from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Guernsey and the Isle of Man descended on UCLan for the event which saw England capture three of the four team titles on offer.

Manager of the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre (STFSC), Martin Baines, commented: "It was a fantastic opportunity to boost interest in the sport in Lancashire and I’m delighted UCLan could play a part in this."

UCLan had previously welcomed international table tennis to STFSC when the USA and Australian teams used the centre as a pre-Olympic training base in 2012.

The Six Nations event gave young aspiring internationals the chance to test themselves against higher quality opposition and English Head Performance Coach, Nick Jarvis, noted the importance of these challenges in a young player's career."There is always great rivalry in home internationals in any sport," said Nick. "Our players relished the competition and the experience should prove invaluable in the future."

UCLan cyclists break Chris Hoy record

Student cyclists from UCLan smashed a track record set by Olympian Sir Chris Hoy 16 years ago.

The four-man team - James Claydon, Chris Nicholson, Julian Pearson and Martin Woffindin - set a new record and won gold in the Men's Team Pursuit at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Track Cycling Championships 2013 in Glasgow.

Their time of 4:37:04 broke the record set by Heriot-Watt University in 1997 when the six-time Olympian Hoy was a student there. The team pursuit event is a four kilometre race against the clock.

Sports Coaching student Martin said it was an amazing feeling to break the record and win gold in the final against the University of Strathclyde: "It was a big shock as we didn’t come close to breaking it during qualifying and then it all came together in the final," he said. "Our teammates were watching the clock and knew with a kilometre to go we had a chance of breaking the record, so it was very tense and exciting."

Teammate and Sports Technology student Julian said: "To find out Sir Chris Hoy was one of the people who held the record before we broke it was astounding and to think we are on par with someone like him at our age is a great feeling."

Over 25 universities and colleges from around the country took part in the event at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. The UCLan Students' Union Cycling Club attracts both experienced and beginner cyclists and has over 25 members.