This month: Women’s Rugby, Yoga, and Judo!
Welcome to In the Spotlight! A monthly feature from the sports section of The Glasgow Guardian, where we give you an inside look into the sports clubs that make up the vibrant GUSA community at UofG. In the spotlight this month are Women’s Rugby (GUWRFC), Yoga (GUYC) and Judo (GUJC)
Women’s Rugby
University Women’s Rugby was founded in 1988 and has gone from strength to strength ever since! They’re always on the lookout for new members, and they highlight their reputation as a welcoming and inclusive sports club. Alongside being the British University and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Scottish 1 League Winners 2023-25, GUWRFC are also undefeated Varsity winners. With a wide range of abilities, from international rugby players to complete novices, Women’s Rugby offers a great opportunity to get involved in university-level sport!
The 1XV competes in the BUCS Premier North, which is the second-highest level of university rugby. GUWRFC enjoyed a very successful 2024-25 campaign, earning promotion to Premier North after going unbeaten in BUCS Scottish Tier 1 and claiming victory in promotion playoffs, which means they now compete across Scotland and England. They play performance-level rugby, focused on refining technical skills and competitive play. The 2XV competes in BUCS Scottish Tier 2 and focuses on welcoming new players, building confidence, developing skills and understanding the game.
Highlights of the GUWRFC calendar vary from the Varsity game against Strathclyde at Scotstoun Stadium, which is watched by over 1000 spectators, their weekly socials, such as themed sub-crawls, to a black tie Christmas dinner! Finally, their annual mystery tour, where they head off to a surprise destination for a week of fun, has in the past taken them to locations such as Malaga, Alicante and Lisbon!
As GUWRFC say themselves, ‘Women’s Rugby is a close-knit and supportive environment both on and off the pitch. Whether we’ve won big or lost a tough game, there’s always a group down to celebrate, commiserate or just have a laugh together.’
More details about Women’s Rugby can be found on their Instagram @gusa_womens_rugby or on the GUSA website!
Yoga
The Glasgow University Yoga Club is an inclusive, fun-loving community that offers not only seven classes a week led by expert instructors but also provides exciting workshops, creative socials and even special yoga retreats. Available classes range from Yin to Vinyasa, with GUYC’s instructors all having different styles, which in turn gives each of these sessions a different feel and flow!
Whether you’re a complete beginner trying yoga for the first time, a YouTube yogi or practice regularly, GUYC offers something for everyone and promises that you will leave a session feeling fully stretched and relaxed! Classes are open to all and require only a mat, which can be purchased alongside membership to the club. In addition to weekly classes, Yoga organises bi-weekly socials such as coffee catch-ups to cheese and wine evenings, as well as themed Sports Wednesdays, including recent themes of Yoga Togas and Yoga Rodeo. One of the highlights of the year is the Yoga retreats, such as the day retreat in an amazing yoga studio on the shores of Loch Fyne and in the past, a week-long retreat to Corfu!
All you need to know about GUYC and more can be found on their Instagram @glasgowuniversityyogaclub or the GUSA website
JudoÂ
Glasgow University Judo Club is among Scotland’s oldest and most active judo organisations! Founded in 1953, their expert coaches offer varied, engaging sessions and the judo community is a friendly, welcoming space open to everyone keen to try the sport!
For those who don’t know what Judo is, it’s an Olympic martial art in which the goal is to overcome your opponent, whether this be by throwing them to the ground or holding them down on their back. The key principles of judo – which translates to ‘the gentle way’ – are respect and discipline. While GUJC is all about the sport itself and creating the opportunity for people to try it out, they also provide weekly Wednesday socials where they head to Old Schoolhouse for food and drink, which provides a chance for club members to bond outside of training. Alongside these weekly socials, Judo often participates in student fight nights and organises annual dinners and much more!
One side of GUJC is the competitive part of Judo as a sport. GUJC takes part in various competitions throughout the year, and this culminates in the main highlight on their calendar, the BUCS Championship, which takes place in Walsall this year on the 14th-15th March. The other highlight in the competitive side of Judo at UofG is the opportunity to travel abroad for competitions. A particular memory of competitions for GUJC is travelling to Oslo, Norway, for the Ippon Cup – an international martial arts tournament that attracts athletes from many different countries with the aim of bringing together clubs and competitors to compete at a higher level, which they have done in previous years.
Although competition is a very popular part of GUJC, it is also possible to join Judo for recreational purposes. Alongside being great for your overall physical health and mental fitness, Judo is a fantastic stress relief that keeps you on your toes and sharp. As the club says, everyone always has new things to learn. The GUJC has access to coaches with years of experience and high-level competitive backgrounds who ensure that everyone is welcome and provided with quality training to the highest standard!
Judo holds two training sessions per week on Wednesday evenings from 18:15-21:00 and Saturday mornings, 10:30-12:30, with focus on technical skills and drills, randori style and mixed sessions. If Judo sounds like the sport for you, there is more information on the club’s Instagram page @gujudoclub as well as on the GUSA website!
That concludes In the Spotlight for October! Come back next month for all you need to know about Skydiving, Canoe and Karate.
All logo image credits: GUSA Website
Pictured: GUWRFC, GUYC, GUJC logos
