Showcase: London Universities & Colleges Athletics

We love our network of societies here at Hype Collective- and we always want to show them off! We collaborate with societies on behalf of our clients and the outcome is always exciting, creative and beneficial for both brands and societies! What is there not to love?

This week, we’ve picked the brains of James Findon, President and Founder of LUCA, to discover who they are, and why it is so important they exist.

The brains behind LUCA

London Universities and Colleges Athletics (LUCA) was founded in 2015 to act as the governing body of university athletics in London. Participation in university athletics had been declining and had suffered from the lack of a structured competition schedule. LUCA was founded on the principle that clubs can work together to provide this competition schedule, and to work with each other to develop the sport across London.

LUCA now boasts 23 member clubs and 930 registered athletes.

Why are you different?

LUCA is an industry first among university sport. We’re a student led federation of 23 university clubs, working together to promote sport and organise a comprehensive competition programme. LUCA’s members are at the heart of everything we endeavour. A council of members meets three times a year to set the budget and vote on motions related to operations. LUCA facilitate the sharing of good practice and encourage clubs to work together on joint projects, such as the ‘This LUCA Girl Can’ campaign and joint Pole Vault training sessions.

Best achievement to date

LUCA don’t only know a thing about sport, but we can run a budget in surplus too. In 2017-2018 we ran a budget into the green, despite losing all external funding.

LUCA are a federation of clubs who receive no direct funding from any student union. Our only external funding has come from England Athletics, and even this was cut due to Sports England cutting their budgets.

LUCA have had to balance responsibility to balance the books whilst keeping competition fees competitive and affordable. LUCA has had to consequently increase fees (with consultation) to continue to run. Yet, despite the increases, have seen a record entry of numbers in all of their competitions.

The option to play with £1,000- what would you do?

We are on a mission to get more people to exercise regularly, as we believe sport can have a transformative impact on one’s physical and mental health. We believe athletics and running are among the most accessible and affordable sports. To promote our mission, LUCA organise runs such as the London Student’s Run. This event provides university students and staff the chance to take part in London’s cheapest chip-timed 5 and 10KM run. LUCA aspire for this event to bring more people into the sport and provide them with continuous opportunities to train by connecting with membering clubs. If LUCA were given £1,000 we’d push for a bigger and better event, transforming more lives of students and the wider community.

What’s your student demographic?

Athletics and running is a diverse sport and our community reflects this. Naturally, our registered athletes are pretty sporty!

LUCA in 3 words:

Participation-Innovation-Collaboration