Team Bath
Sports club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Team Bath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, Team Bath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of the 2002–03 FA Cup. They become the first university team to reach this stage since Oxford University A.F.C. in 1880. In 2005–06 the netball team were both founder members and the inaugural champions of the Netball Superleague. They were Superleague champions again in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013. The field hockey club enter a team in the Men's England Hockey League.
Full nameUniversity of Bath – Team Bath
Founded1971
Colours Blue and gold
 | |
| Full name | University of Bath – Team Bath |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1971 |
| Based in | University of Bath Claverton Down Bath, Somerset |
| Colours | Blue and gold |
| Website | www.teambath.com |
Team Bath's main sports complex is the Sports Training Village based at the University of Bath campus at Claverton Down. The university has hosted several sporting events, including the 1995 European Youth Summer Olympic Days, the 2019 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone competition and the 2023 UIPM Laser-Run and Pentathlon World Championships. The facilities at the University of Bath have also been used as a training base by many individual Olympians and Paralympians.
History
| Year | Key events |
|---|---|
| 1968 | University of Bath student, David Hembrow, swims for Great Britain at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He becomes the University's first Olympian. |
| 1971 | Construction on the new sports facilities begins at Claverton Down; Tom Hudson is appointed as the University's first Director of Physical Education. He remains in the role for the next twenty years. |
| 1972 | Former Wales football international, Ivor Powell, joins the University of Bath as a football coach. He goes on to serve in the role for thirty eight years. |
| 1974 | Denis Howell MP officially opens the new sports facilities. |
| 1976 | University of Bath becomes the first university in the United Kingdom to offer a sports scholarship. Martyn Hedges becomes the first recipient. |
| 1987 | The England national rugby union team begin to train at the University of Bath. |
| 1990 | James May, a University of Bath sports scholar wins, representing England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games wins a gymnastics vault gold medal. |
| 1994 | Sir Roger Bannister officially opens the athletics track. |
| 1995 | University of Bath hosts the 1995 European Youth Summer Olympic Days |
| 1997 | Phase I of the Sports Training Village is completed. A 50m swimming pool and four indoor tennis courts are added to the athletics track, eight outdoor tennis courts and field hockey pitch. |
| 1999 | Colin Jackson, coached by Malcolm Arnold, wins the 110 metres hurdles at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics |
| 2000 | Stephanie Cook becomes the first University of Bath-based athlete to win an Olympic Gold medal when she wins the Modern pentathlon at the 2000 Summer Olympics; Sascha Kindred and Matt Walker also win gold medals in the swimming at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. |
| 2001 | Lord Glentoran officially opens the bobsleigh and skeleton track. |
| 2003 | Team Bath F.C. reach the first round proper of the 2002–03 FA Cup. They become the first university team to reach this stage since Oxford University A.F.C. in 1880.[1][2][3] |
| 2003 | Tim Henman officially opens a Lawn Tennis Association academy at the Sports Training Village. |
| 2004 | Anne, Princess Royal officially opens a newly expanded Sports Training Village |
| 2004 | Jason Gardener wins a gold medal for Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the Men's 4 × 100 metres relay team. |
| 2005–06 | With a squad that included Pamela Cookey, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Jess Garland, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor, Team Bath's netball team win the inaugural Netball Superleague title.[4][5][6] They subsequently dominate the early seasons of the league, winning further Superleague titles in 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013.[7][8][9][10] |
| 2010 | Amy Williams wins a gold medal for Great Britain at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the skeleton. |
| 2012 | Thirty University of Bath-based athletes compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. They included Michael Jamieson who won silver in the Men's 200 metre breaststroke and Samantha Murray who won silver in the modern pentathlon |
| 2014 | Lizzy Yarnold succeeds Amy Williams as she wins a gold medal for Great Britain at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the skeleton; Kelly Gallagher also won a gold medal for Great Britain at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in alpine skiing. |
| 2015 | The Australia national rugby union team train at the University of Bath during the 2015 Rugby World Cup. |
| 2015 | University of Bath host the 2015 European Modern Pentathlon Championships. |
| 2016 | Twenty University of Bath-based athletes compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics, winning twelve medals between them. They included Paul Blake who won gold in the Men's Paralympics 400 metres.[11] |
| 2017 | Sophie Kamlish win gold at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in the women's 100 metres; Danny Talbot is a member of the Great Britain team that wins gold at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in the Men's 4 × 100 metres relay. |
| 2018 | Lizzy Yarnold wins a second gold medal for Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the skeleton. Laura Deas win a bronze in the same event. Dom Parsons win a bronze medal in the men's skeleton. |
| 2016 | Thirty University of Bath-based athletes compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, representing eight different countries and winning seventeen medals between them. The England national netball team that wins gold in the netball tournament features five former or current Team Bath players – Ama Agbeze, Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Kadeen Corbin, Serena Guthrie and Geva Mentor.[12] |
| 2018 | James Cooke wins gold at the 2018 World Modern Pentathlon Championships and Vicky Holland win gold at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Series within 48 hours of each other. |
| 2019 | University of Bath host three stages of the 2019 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone competition. |
| 2019 | University of Bath host the 2019 European Modern Pentathlon Championships. James Cooke wins gold at the event.[13] |
Source:[14]
Historic 2024
The year 2024 marked a significant period of success for Team Bath athletes across various sports, particularly at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.[15]
Olympic and Paralympic Success
Team Bath athletes secured 17 medals during the Paris 2024 Games.
. Notable achievements include:
- Dimitri Coutya and Piers Gilliver in wheelchair fencing, each winning four medals (two gold, one silver, one bronze).
- Tom Dean becoming a triple Olympic champion in swimming, defending the men's 4x200m freestyle relay title.
- Dan Bethell winning a silver medal in SL3 men's singles para-badminton.
- Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe claiming Team GB's first-ever Olympic artistic swimming medal with silver in the Duet event.[15]
World Championships and European Titles
Team Bath athletes excelled in various international competitions:
- Kate Shortman and Izzy Thorpe won Britain's first World Championships medals in artistic swimming (silver and bronze) in February.
- Marcus Wyatt became the men's European Champion in skeleton.
- Matt Weston won silver in both the men's race and team event at the Skeleton World Championships.
- Corie Mapp secured Overall World Cup gold in para-bobsleigh.
- Freya Anderson anchored Aquatics GB to women's medley relay silver at the World Aquatics Short-Course Championships.[15]
Rugby Achievements
The University's rugby program saw significant milestones:
- Archie Griffin became the first current student to make his senior international debut for Wales in the Six Nations.
- Jenny Hesketh and Mollie Wilkinson made their Welsh debuts in the Women's Six Nations.
- Six students were selected for the U20 Six Nations across England, Scotland, and Wales teams.[15]
Other Achievements
- Team Bath athletes brought back a total of 93 senior international medals to their training base.
- The University received UK Sport-accredited Elite Training Centre status.
- A £450,000 upgrade of the Team Bath Gym was completed.
- The 50th anniversary of the Founders Hall opening was celebrated.[15]
Hall of Fame
| Date of Induction | Inductees | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2014 | Jason Gardener | Athletics |
| 12 May 2014 | Ben Rushgrove | Athletics |
| 27 May 2014 | Amy Williams | Skeleton |
| 20 July 2015 | Tom Hudson | Former Director of Sport |
| 3 August 2015 | Lyn Gunson | Netball |
| 17 August 2015 | Jan Bártů | Modern Pentathlon |
| 28 January 2016 | Paul Palmer | Swimming |
| 2 February 2016 | Bobby Crutchley | Field hockey |
| 4 March 2016 | Heather Stanning | Rowing |
| 28 March 2016 | Pamela Cookey | Netball |
| 18 May 2016 | Kate Allenby | Modern Pentathlon |
| 18 May 2016 | Stephanie Cook | Modern Pentathlon |
| 22 June 2016 | Malcolm Arnold | Athletics |
| 22 June 2016 | Colin Jackson | Athletics |
| 9 July 2016 | Ivor Powell | Football |
| 16 November 2016 | Kate Howey | Judo |
| 26 January 2017 | Ged Roddy | Former Director of Sport |
| 26 January 2017 | Mark Foster | Swimming |
| 28 April 2017 | Steve Borthwick | Rugby union |
| 3 May 2017 | Sascha Kindred | Swimming |
| 25 September 2017 | Stacey Francis | Netball |
| 24 November 2017 | Paul Blake | Athletics |
| 29 November 2018 | Alison Oliver | Former Deputy Director of Sport |
| 25 February 2019 | Michael Jamieson | Swimming |
| 16 October 2019 | Stephanie Millward | Swimming |
| 16 October 2019 | Andrei Vorontsov | Swimming |
| 21 October 2019 | Nigel Redman | Rugby union |
| 7 December 2019 | Serena Guthrie | Netball |
| 8 February 2022 | David McNulty | Swimming |
| 12 April 2024 | Anna Stembridge | Netball |
| 12 April 2024 | Jess Thirlby | Netball |
Source:[16]
Medallists
The following athletes have either been students at the University of Bath or have been based at the University's training facilities.
Summer Olympics
- Artistic swimming
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kate Shortman | Duet |  |
- Athletics
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jason Gardener | Men's 4 × 100 metres relay |  |
| 2016 | Eilidh Doyle/Emily Diamond | Women's 4 × 400 metres relay |  |
- Judo
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Kate Howey | Women's 66 kg | |
| 2000 | Kate Howey | Women's 70 kg | |
- Modern Pentathlon
The University of Bath has hosted the Pentathlon GB National Training Centre since 1998.[17]
- Rowing
The University of Bath has hosted a British Rowing Performance Development Academy (previously known as Start) since 2003.[18]
- Swimming
The University of Bath has hosted the Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre since 2008.[19]
Summer Paralympics
- Athletics
- Sailing
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Alexandra Rickham | Two Person Keelboat - SKUD 18 | |
- Swimming
| Athlete | Games | |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sascha Kindred | 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Matt Walker | 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Nyree Lewis | 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Stephanie Millward | 2012, 2016 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Anthony Stephens | 2004, 2008 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Liz Johnson | 2004, 2008, 2012 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Wheelchair fencing
The University of Bath hosts the Wheelchair Fencing National Training Centre, which officially opened in December 2022.[21]
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Piers Gilliver | Men's épée A | |
| 2021 | Piers Gilliver | Men's epee A | |
| 2021 | Dimitri Coutya | Men's epee B | |
| 2021 | Dimitri Coutya | Men's foil B | |
| 2021 | Dimitri Coutya, | Men's team foil | |
| 2021 | Dimitri Coutya, | Men's team epee | |
Winter Olympics
- Skeleton
The University of Bath hosts the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association national training centre and has the UK's only outdoor push-start track.
Source:[22]
Winter Paralympics
- Alpine skiing
| Games | Athlete | Event | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Kelly Gallagher | Alpine skiing | |
Facilities
Sports Training Village
Team Bath's main sports complex is the Sports Training Village based at University of Bath campus at Claverton Down. Facilities include:
- Olympic-sized London 2012 legacy pool.
- Fitness gyms
- Outdoor floodlit 400m athletics track.
- Indoor sprint track.
- Three large sprung-wood sports halls.
- Indoor and outdoor tennis courts.
- Judo dojo.
- Fencing pistes.
- Outdoor and indoor shooting ranges.
- Bobsleigh/skeleton push-start track
- Rugby and football pitches
- Outdoor field hockey pitches
- Physio treatment areas and sport science labs
Source:[23]
Directors of Sport
| Years | |
|---|---|
| Tom Hudson[24] | 1971–1991 |
| Ged Roddy [25] | 1992–2009 |
| Stephen Baddeley[26] | 2010– |
