Whether you’re a budding athlete, just a fan of the odd kick-about, or find throwing and catching difficult in itself, Chad’s has got heaps to offer you on the sporting side of college life. There is a huge variety of sports played in college all throughout the year with virtually all teams represented by men and women, including hockey, football, rugby, badminton, squash, rowing, basketball, netball, tennis, cricket, table tennis, croquet and not forgetting pool and darts! If you are serious about a sport, there is the opportunity to get involved at university level (all details available at the Fresher’s Fair) for which Durham boasts an impressive reputation.

Being smaller, Chad’s possesses a real advantage over the larger colleges in that it is easy to get involved in sport at any standard, whether you wish to play at an intense level for college in the various inter-collegiate leagues and tournaments or simply to pick up something completely new and just for fun – even if you haven’t been near a tennis racket or a sports field during sixth form. Most sports have weekly training sessions and regular matches against other colleges, with university-wide summer 7s tournaments particularly organised for rugby, hockey and football – which are absolutely brilliant.

We have our own Boat Club, offering each and every Chadsian the opportunity to pick up rowing either from scratch or at an already competent standard. Our beloved Boat House is a short stroll down from college, and aside from its array of sculls, doubles and fours, proudly houses the Chad’s Punt! Chad’s has been well-represented in numerous regattas across the country throughout the past year, with particular fun had during the Durham Regatta (‘the Henley of the north’) over a weekend in the summer term.

As one of the best ways of meeting people all over college, Chad’s sport naturally comes with a thriving social scene, and thus team love is strengthened by various team socials over the course of the year, culminating in the fantastic ‘Sportsman’s Formal’ at the end of the summer term – a great way of celebrating our successes together and rewarding Chad’s sportsmen and women for all that commitment shown through rain or shine on the sports pitch.

There are so many sports that we can’t list them all and we hope that lots of you will pick up something, whether or not it’s a sport you are already good at, join the croquet or table tennis team, or turn up for netball practice to master those ever elusive throwing and catching skills.