Cardiff University Canoe Polo Competition
CUCP is the second largest student canoe polo tournament in the UK. Held at Taff Bargoed in the heart of South Wales every year, with the help of Aberfan Canoe Club. We host 4 leagues- Open, B Teams, Ladies and Old Boys with over 40 teams taking part every year from Unis all accross the UK.
With two days of polo and a big party on the Saturday night, what more could you ask for?
CUCP 2024 dates are the 9-10th March 2024.
CUCP 2018
Cardiff University Canoe Polo Tournament was a success again this year with 190 people attending the party and well over 300 at the tournament, living up to its reputation as one of the largest student canoe polo tournaments in the country. CUCP was held at the Taf Bargoed Lakes, where all four pitches were used. We had four divisions split into Division 1, Division 2, Ladies and Old Boys with 43 teams competing.
Cardiff entered 4 teams this year, who played 25 group matches between them. This definitely made the weekend a test of endurance.
The A team consisted of Harry, Cameron, Barney, Rhys, Joe and James B. The B team were James C, Joel, George, Toby and Tom. The Ladies A team were Alice D, Jodie, Tessa, Izzy and Hannah. And the Ladies B team consisted of Catrin, Anna, Issy, Alice C and Robyn.
All teams showed great progress throughout the weekend, with some good polo being played. Big shout out to the Ladies team for a result that is the best we've had from the ladies in a long time with great individual and team performances! They were unlucky to miss out on a medal this year however finished in a respectable 4th place.
It was a cold and wet weekend which even included some snow, but this didn’t seem to stop any of the fun! Following a challenging day of polo on the Saturday, everyone returned to the campsite (eventually...after the faff-tastic loss of the minibus keys) to enjoy a hog roast and party. This year’s CUCP Party was jungle themed and some impressive costume efforts were made. The party was a great opportunity for members from different universities to get to know each other and have some fun with good music and games throughout the night.
Some may have had more fun than others (*cough* Toby), with considerably fewer fresh faces seen at 8am on Sunday morning. However, as everyone knows a match or two of canoe polo is just what you need to cure that hangover, right?
Some excellent polo was played during the final rounds with some end to end games keeping the crowds engaged! Nottingham Ladies, London As, Nottingham Bs and Bangor Old Boys were crowned this year’s winners.
Congratulations to the 2017/18 committee for organising a great event and a big thank you to everyone that helped out on the day ensuring its smooth running; including the referees, bank team and Aberfan Canoe Club volunteers. Already looking forward to CUCP 2022!
The final medal results are as follows:
A League
1st London
2nd Loughborough
3rd Warwick
Ladies League
1st Nottingham
2nd Liverpool
3rd Bangor
B League
1st Nottingham
2nd York
3rd Warwick
Old Boys League
1st Bangor
2nd Cardiff
3rd Bristol