Lancashire Rising Star Fund

The University of Central Lancashire and Lancashire Sport Partnership have teamed up once again to offer a cash boost to young sporting hopefuls.

The Lancashire Rising Star Fund gives young athletes from across the region the opportunity to receive a grant to cover costs such as travel, training, accommodation, competition fees, and equipment.

Each recipient also receives a package of support from UCLan that includes strength and conditioning services, nutritional advice and support and access to UCLan sports and training facilities.

For more information about the scheme and how to apply please click here.

BUCS round-up

There was heartbreak for two of our teams against higher ranked opposition in BUCS knock-out action this week.

Men's Tennis 1st lost 8-4 at Leeds Met Carnegie 3rd in the final of the Northern Conference Cup, while UCLan Rams American Football team fell 38-6 against Swansea in the Trophy quarter-final.

Men's Football 2nd team drew 2-2 at Lancaster 1st, but our 4th team lost 2-1 at Manchester Met 6th. Men's & Women's Hockey 1st teams both slipped to defeats.

Women's Rugby Union triumphed 37-7 at Cumbria 1st, while Men's 1st team lost 29-0 at Newcastle 2nd.

Netball 2nd and Men's Badminton 1st were both defeated, but Women's Badminton drew 4-4 at Manchester Met 2nd. Men's Tennis won 10-2 at home to Keele 2nd.

England call-up for UCLan Rugby duo

Two UCLan Rugby League players have been named in England's 36-man train-on squad for the Student Four Nations Championships 2014.

Aaron Hall and Liam Thompson were selected after helping the North West University team finish third in the recent regional championships held in Nottingham.

England will face Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the competition and will look to regain the title after a narrow loss to Wales in 2012. England coach Gareth Pratt said: "The Regionals were an excellent standard this year, which has made the selection process extremely difficult.

"We have selected a good blend of players including some experienced players who played in last year's Student World Cup alongside some very promising new talent. We will now begin our preparations for the Four Nations - with the new squad and coaching staff I'm confident we can regain the title."

Aaron and Liam were joined at the regional event by team-mates Zac McClusky, Joe Frobisher, Cameron Ladd, Nik Zalad and Liam Wiggins, while Josh Dolan and Stuart McLean were also selected but missed out through injury. The Four Nations Championships are scheduled over Easter and will take place at Nottingham University.

RFL National Colleges Cup 2014

UCLan Sports Arena will host the prestigious RFL National Colleges Cup Semi-Finals 2014 on Wednesday, 19 March.

The first semi-final kick-off at 1.00 pm and features Hopwood Hall (North West) v NC Pontefract (Yorkshire). This will be followed at 3.00 pm by Calderdale College (Yorkshire) v St Peters (South West).

For further details please email us.

BUCS round-up

UCLan Golf 1st team are through to the final of the BUCS National Championship after a thrilling encounter with holders Exeter 1st.

The scores were tied after the first session, but UCLan eventually pulled away to win 5.5-3.5. They now face Stirling 1st in the final. The victory capped a memorable few days for the team, having also clinched the 'Team of the Year' prize at last week's Preston Sports Awards.

UCLan Rams American Football team are through to the last eight of the National Trophy after a 26-8 success at University of Portsmouth. They travel to Swansea 1st in the quarter-final.

Men's Football 1st missed out on a place in the Northern Conference Cup final after losing 1-0 at home to University of York 1st. Our 3rd team lost 2-0 in the league at Manchester Met 3rd, but our 5th team won 3-2 at home to University of Chester (Warrington) 3rd. They must now wait for Chester's final result to determine if they win promotion.

Men's Tennis 1st remain on course for the double after beating Hull 1st 8-4 in their cup semi-final. The 2nd team drew 6-6 at Lancaster 2nd in the league. There was heartbreak for Netball 1st & Women's Fencing 1st who both exited their cup competitions at the semi-final stage.

Men's Hockey 2nd lost 5-1 in the league at Liverpool John Moores 2nd, while Women's 2nd drew 2-2 at Manchester 5th. Men's Volleball defeated Keele 1st, but lost out to MMU (Cheshire) 1st & Liverpool 1st. Women's Badminton 1st triumphed 8-0 at MMU (Cheshire) 1st.

BUCS round-up

UCLan Netball 1st won promotion with 100% record

UCLan Netball 1st celebrated their promotion to BUCS Northern Division 1A with a 47-29 win against Liverpool 2nd. Our 2nd team lost 40-25 at Liverpool John Moores 3rd, while the 3rd team missed the chance to clinch promotion from Division 7A after a 47-40 defeat at Cumbria (Carlisle) 2nd. They now await the results of Cumbria's final three games to decide their fate.

UCLan Golf 1st are through to the last four of the National Championship after an 8-1 victory at home to Bournemouth. They now meet Exeter 1st, who triumphed 7-2 against UCLan in last year's final.

Rugby League 1st were denied promotion to Northern Division 1A after losing 18-10 to title rivals Manchester 1st. Men's Rugby Union 1st lost 44-22 at Leeds 2nd, but our 2nd team won 25-0 against Chester 2nd.

Men's Football 1st team's hopes of promotion to the top Northern level are also over after their 2-2 draw with MMU Cheshire 1st. The 2nd team drew 3-3 with Keele 1st, while our 3rd & 4th teams both lost 5-4 at Manchester 3rd & Cumbria (Carlisle) 2nd respectively. Our 5th team ran out 3-1 winners at UCFB Burnley 4th, while the Women's 1st team won 4-0 at MMU Cheshire 1st.

Men's & Women's Hockey 1st teams both slipped to defeats, but their 2nd team counterparts both enjoyed 4-3 victories - the Men beat Bangor 2nd, while our Women edged past Manchester Met 3rd. Women's Basketball 1st lost 45-69 at home to Bradford 1st.

Men's Tennis 1st secured promotion to Northern Division 2A after a 6-6 draw at Lancaster 1st. Men's Table Tennis 1st beat Lancaster 2nd 9-8, but our 2nd team crashed 10-2 at Leeds Met Carnegie 1st.

Women's Badminton 1st won promotion to Northern Division 1A after a 4-4 draw at Manchester 2nd. Men's 1st team won 6-2 against Lancaster 1st, but the 2nd team lost 5-3 at Salford 1st. Squash 1st were defeated 4-1 at Lancaster 1st.