Student sport
Sport centre access
Sport centre access
Sport centre access for UHI students.
High Life Highland and the University of the Highlands and Islands have agreed a corporate partnership to provide discounted individual leisure membership for students and staff of the University.
High Life Highland leisure centres, community centres, and community schools offer a range of sports facilities. To find out where your nearest leisure centre is, and what facilities are on offer, see High Life Highland website.
High Life Highland leisure facilities are available at :
Alness Swimming Pool; Averon Leisure Centre; Aviemore Community Centre; The Badenoch Centre (Kingussie); Black Isle Leisure Centre (Fortrose); Craig MacLean Leisure Centre (Grantown on Spey); Culloden Academy Leisure Centre; Dingwall Leisure Centre; Evanton Sports Centre; The Fingal Centre (Portree); Gairloch Leisure Centre; Golspie / Sutherland Swimming Pool; Invergordon Leisure Centre; Lochaber Leisure Centre (Fort William); Lochbroom Leisure Centre (Ullapool); Nairn Leisure Centre; Thurso Swimming Pool; Tain Royal Academy Community Complex (TRACC); Wick Swimming Pool
The discounted membership is also available at Inverness Leisure.
The corporate partnership allows students and staff of the university (including academic partners) to gain a discount off High Life memberships. The discount applies to both Direct Debit and Annual payments. Students receive a 30% discount, staff and family memberships, 10%.
Students based at Perth College UHI have access to excellent facilities at the Academy of Sport and Wellbeing, which offers discounts on membership, fitness classes and personal training for all students registered with UHI Perth.
Students based at UHI Inverness and UHI Moray can also get a discount to the gym facilities at their campuses. Contact your local HISA team for more details.
Get involved – HISA Clubs and Sporting Opportunities
Get involved – HISA Clubs and Sporting Opportunities
The students' association, HISA, has a range of clubs and societies for you to join. Some of the sports clubs available include:
HISA has a number of clubs covering activities from Sailing to Snowsports. Find a full list of current clubs, and how to set up your own on the HISA website.
Newsletter
Newsletter
sport newsletter for students
HISA now produce a Sport and Wellbeing newsletter each month. This contains information about events, activities, clubs and societies and all things sport and wellbeing. You can see all the issues of the newsletter here.
Do you have a story or event you’d like to promote in the HISA newsletter? Email HISA’s Sports Development Coordinator, Laurie Symon, here.
Sporting Blues
Sporting Blues
Sporting Blues have been used in universities to recognise sporting excellence since the 1800s. The university Sporting Blues awards scheme was launched in March 2017 and recognises the sporting achievements of our students.
The awards scheme, which is a joint initiative between the university and the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association was proven to be very successful in gaining candidates in its first year with the blues being awarded at graduations to seven winners.
We would like to urge students and staff to nominate outstanding students as well as influencing students to either nominate themselves or fellow athletes.
Please take a moment to read Sporting Blues Criteria. Please note that all nominations must be for current students of UHI.
What are the Sporting Blues?
Full Blues
A Full Blue is awarded to athletes of outstanding ability judged by standards applicable to students’ different sports.
Half Blues
Half Blues are awarded to athletes for playing well above the average standard for a University 1st team (where applicable) or represent the University as an individual in national level competition.
Colours
To receive a Colour, athletes, where applicable, need to serve and play for their club and to be regular 1st team members, representing the team in at least 65% of the eligible matches, recording at least one victory.
Sports Person of the Year
This is an award for truly exceptional athletes, the panel will decide annually whether to award it, with the decision following the same criteria as that for a Full Blue.
UHI Team of the Year
This award is only open to the 1st team of any BUCS sport, and may be presented purely on the level of performance and achievement during the period between the last Blues Committee meeting of the preceding year and the last Blues Committee meeting of the current year.
Honorary Blue
Awarded to athletes that have won medals at World Championships, World Cups, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games or equivalent relevant to their sport. The award may also be made to a person connected with UHI with an outstanding contribution to University, Scottish, British or world sport.
Who are the Sporting Blues open to?
- Individual athletes, who compete on their own
- Individual athletes, who compete as part of a team
Key dates
- 28th April 2025 - nominations open
- 23rd May 2025 - nominations close
To submit a nomination please use this form for sporting blues, and this alternative form for honorary blues nominations.
Previous winners
Sporting Blues Winners from previous years are listed here.
Competition
Competition
Information for students playing sport competitively
Scottish Student Sport(SSS) and British Universities and Colleges Sport(BUCS) have regular competitions which are open to all UHI students. You can find full details of their competitions at the following pages:
Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2024-2026
Sport and Physical Activity Strategy 2024-2026
The university, in conjunction with the colleges and HISA, has an ambitious plan to increase the reach of service provision to help more students and staff be active more regularly and reach their potential through sport and physical activity.
This builds upon the excellent progress already made in encouraging and providing activities and opportunities that aim to inspire all students, staff and local communities.
The strategy encompasses four aims:
- Increase Physical Activity. To offer a diverse, innovative and inclusive programme of sport and physical activity, including competitive sport, that is tailored to the unique characteristics of academic partners and encourages regular (habit forming) participation by all students, staff, graduates and our communities.
- Strengthening Communities and Skills Development. To provide meaningful opportunities for our students, staff, graduates and communities through sport and physical activity that positively impact on reducing loneliness, student employability prospects, lifelong learning and internal and external engagement.
- Supporting Health and Wellbeing. To foster a whole university community that is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of staff and students. Promoting health behaviour and positive mental health in co-curricular activities.
- Effective Organisation. To ensure our sport and physical activity infrastructure is managed and monitored through effective governance systems ensuring that sport and physical activity experiences at UHI are embedded.
The Sports Development Group is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the strategy, as well as periodically evaluating and reporting on progress. It focuses on providing leadership, advice and support to relevant people across the university to enable the advancement of the strategy and of sport and physical activity at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Please see our student Sports Strategy 2024-2026.