Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Universities to battle it out for sporting bragging rights in Leeds Varsity
The sporting blockbuster will see the two universities lock horns across 25 different sports, playing over 60 fixtures to determine who will be crowned Leeds Varsity champions.
Last year witnessed one of the closest Varsity to date, as Beckett edged their rivals 32-31 to retain the Varsity trophy.
2017 promises to deliver another intense Varsity with Leeds University focused on improving from last year and winning their first ever Varsity title, whilst Beckett are aiming for their 13th consecutive victory.
Varsity will kick-off with the traditional netball and hockey fixtures the evening before on Tuesday 3 October at Leeds Beckett’s Sports Arena, Headingley Campus and University of Leeds’s Sports Park, Weetwood respectively.
Wednesday will see the rest of the sporting fixtures, in an action packed day of sport as part of the Varsity Festival, to be held at both Sports Park, Weetwood and Leeds Beckett’s Headingley Campus. The festival will include food and drink stalls as well as entertainment for fans to enjoy on the day.
Varsity will then conclude under the floodlights of Headingley Carnegie Stadium as the two universities go head to head in the event’s epic rugby union finale, with kick-off at 7pm.
Both institutions have traditionally played the fixture at Headingley Carnegie Stadium and this year will be no different, with Leeds Rugby opening their doors for Varsity despite the redevelopment of the South Stand and North Stand.
Varsity will welcome the return of the parkrun after its introduction last year. The parkrun will take place on Saturday 30 September (8:30AM start) at Woodhouse Moor, with students, staff, Alumni and other representatives of the universities taking part in the 5km run.
Both institutions will be raising money for sporting charity State of Mind, a charity set up to help promote positive mental health amongst professional athletes, fans and wider communities, with all proceeds from the Varsity programmes going to the charity.
After a narrow victory for Beckett last year, Leeds Varsity 2017 promises to be one of the most exciting and competitive yet.