The AU oversees sports clubs and awards and 15 - 20 sport scholarships annually to exceptional individuals. The ‘Elite Athlete Support Scheme’ provides sports science and lifestyle services for talented students. ‘Focus Sport’ clubs receive extra funding alongside professional coaching, access to facilities, and sports science backup, encouraging performance to the highest levels within both student and national competitions. UWIC staff are themselves directors of student clubs, and many are involved in international level coaching and consultancy.

The results speak for themselves: UWIC Women’s Rugby Union team recently won their fourth consecutive BUCS title; six players went on win the first ever Triple Crown with Wales. The UWIC Archers Women’s Basketball Team retained the BUCS Championship and was runner up in the English Basketball League. Masters student and Great Britain player Meagan Hoffman is clear, “My ultimate aim is to play for Great Britain in London 2012”. Meagan and two of her teammates, who are also London 2012 hopefuls, juggle the demands of academic study and elite sport: “it’s not too bad” Meagan explains, “but we have to find that balance”.

Recent alumni include Beijing Olympians Michaela Breeze (weightlifting), Tom Parsons (athletics) and Claire Wright (trampolining), and Paralympians John McFall and Nathan Stephens (athletics).

The National Indoor Athletics Centre (NIAC) - home to UK and Welsh Athletics academies and home to ten Beijing 2008 competitors – is located on campus and is included in the London 2012 Pre-Games training camp guide.

David Cobner, the Dean of the Cardiff School of Sport sums up the UWIC approach: “we are fully committed to the support of elite level performance in sport”. This commitment to excellence combined with the dedication of staff, students and athletes helps to produce a world class sporting environment sure to bring benefits in the run up to 2012 and beyond.