BUCS Women’s League 2023-24 Update
Please see below for an update on BUCS Women’s League 2023-24.
Nov 10th: All fixtures for the weekend 11-12 November are up to date on BUCS Play. Please see the event page for a reminder / clarification of game rules including a hard cap.
Nov 3rd: South-Eastern League. Sussex will be joining the league fixtures (games will only count as friendly) and so there is an update to the schedule - please see updated schedule link and more details below. As per previous update, the fixture on 11th November will be held at Imperial, Harlington Sports Ground.
Oct 27th: We now have a confirmed venue (Imperial, Harlington Sports Ground) for the South-Eastern fixture on Saturday 11th November - schedule link and more details below.
Oct 20th: Further updates to confirm fixtures in Northern, Midlands, and Western Leagues are now correct in BUCS Play. We are also making progress with South-East fixtures - some more information below.
Oct 17th: Further update re Midlands League - see relevant section below.
In general games are scheduled to take place on two central venue fixture dates, Saturday 11 November 2023, and Saturday 3 February 2024; with Saturday 2 March in place as a backup date. We have tried to make sure that there are no UKU competitions or GB trials/training sessions that affect either Women’s or Mixed divisions, taking place on the two main dates.
The approach of using central venue fixtures for these leagues is based on our view (supported by feedback from our most recent consultation with affected club representatives) that this is the best compromise for maximising accessibility and experience for the players involved. Playing multiple games in a day does require a compromise on game lengths however. Based on feedback from the consultation meeting in April, we have been more directly involved with scheduling the fixtures to try to ensure consistent and appropriate game lengths within each league, and to make sure that (a) nobody plays 3 games in a row, (b) there is sufficient time for the cap to be played out, and for players to have a short break when playing two games in a row. Please see the end of this post for more details.
South Eastern (updated 3rd November)
We have confirmed that the games will take place on the original central venue fixture dates of Saturday 11th November and Saturday 3rd February.
Fixture 1 is confirmed as taking place at Harlington Sports Ground, Sipson Lane, Harlington, Middlesex UB3 5AQ.
This link has the game schedule and some other details.
Games should be 70 mins, points target 15 (on both fixture dates).
We are close to confirming the venue for the 3rd February and will confirm soon.
Please note that BUCS Play was updated for the 4-team schedule, but now needs to be updated again to account for the 5th team being involved. Therefore, as of 3rd November, the match details in BUCS Play for the South-Eastern Women’s league are not quite correct (location and approx. start/end times are OK). These will be updated as soon as possible.
Scotland
Both fixture dates will take place at St Andrews. The games have been scheduled, and BUCS Play is accurate and up to date (other than the game between St Andrews 1 & 2).
Games should be 60 mins, points target 13.
Western (updated 20th October)
Both fixture dates will take place at Duckes Meadow, University of Exeter.
BUCS Play is NOW up to date and showing all fixtures on both dates.
This link has the schedule and some other details.
Games should be 70 mins, points target 15.
Northern (updated 20th October)
Fixtures on 11th November will be held at University of Durham.
BUCS Play is NOW up to date and showing all fixtures on both dates.
This link has the schedule and some other details.
Note that we still require hosts to be confirmed for the fixtures on 3rd Feb 2024, so the exact times for the games in Feb cannot be shown in the schedule.
Games should be 60 mins, points target 13 (on both fixture dates).
Midlands (updated 20th October)
Fixture 1 is confirmed as taking place at Loughborough on SUNDAY 12th NOVEMBER.
Fixture 2 is confirmed as taking place at Nottingham on Saturday 3rd February.
BUCS Play is NOW up to date and showing all fixtures on both dates.
This link has the game schedule and some other details.
Games should be 60 mins, points target 13 (on both fixture dates).
Game length / points target
For all games, when time is up, finish the point then reduce points target to current highest score +1, but never exceed original points cap. No draws.
Hard cap will last 20 minutes. I.e. 20 minutes after normal time is up, the game must end. When the hard time cap is reached:
Finish the current possession. If the hard cap is reached between points, the pull should be thrown and the receiving team has one possession to score.
Draws are allowed at the hard cap.
Game rules (game length, points target, number of time-outs) should be consistent for all games within each league, but may vary between leagues depending on the required fixture format.
Schedule requires teams to play 3 games in a day (one on or both fixture dates)
Game length: 60 mins
Point target: 13 (half at 7)
Time-outs: 1 per team per half
Schedule only ever requires teams to play 1 or 2 games per day
Game length: 70 mins
Points target: 15 (half at 8)
Time-outs: 1 per team per half