Best Oxford colleges for sport

I was wondering which Oxford Colleges have the best reputation for their sporting facilities and teams.

Colleges rise and fall in the sporting rankings. Oriel is usually quite sporty. Most of the colleges have sports grounds and boathouses, some shared between colleges. Worcester has its sports ground at the college.

Reply 2

xyz1234567

The really serious sport is done at university level so in that sense it doesn’t matter. College sport (other than rowing which is often taken more seriously) tends to be more for fun and less elite.

Reply 3

Stiffy Byng

Original post by xyz1234567

Factoids: a Cambridge College boat crew rowed in the 1924 Olympics, and in the late C19 the Wadham College First Eight beat the Cambridge First Eight (which is why Wadham rows with light blue oars).

Reply 4

Bargeman

Original post by Stiffy Byng

Factoids: a Cambridge College boat crew rowed in the 1924 Olympics, and in the late C19 the Wadham College First Eight beat the Cambridge First Eight (which is why Wadham rows with light blue oars).

Lots of Colleges have Olympic medals in rowing but that was from a different time. These days most colleges struggle to get into the Temple at Henley. Summer VIIIs and Mays are still great fun and hotly contested at the sharp end of the top divisions.

Outside of rowing many share their sports grounds with other colleges all over Oxford. If college sport is going to be that much of a decider for you pick one with a sports ground fairly near the actual college. A couple of minutes walk, and a bar in your college pavilion, will make a big difference to your supporter numbers (and in some case team numbers) over a college with a ground 15 minutes cycle away in Marston (other remote sports ground locations are available...).