The British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Home Nations competition will kick off in Edinburgh on 13 April 2010 with 600 student athletes competing in five team sports across three days.
The biennial BUCS Home Nations sees the UK's top students represent their university country of residence in netball, football, hockey, basketball and rugby 7s. The football and basketball matches are being hosted at Heriot-Watt University.
Home Nation teams from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales will have access to some of best university facilities in the country, including the National Hockey Academy at Peffermill and the Heart of Midlothian FC Academy facilities at the Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Campus.
All competitors, officials and volunteers will be accommodated at the University of Edinburgh's Pollock Halls to create an athlete village in the city centre and give students the opportunity to experience a multi-sport competition environment. The English Universities team will begin the tournament as overwhelming favourites, having held the overall trophy since the event's inception in 1993.
The games will begin at 10.00am on Tuesday 13 April with the women's England vs Northern Ireland Hockey tournament. A full timetable is available on the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) website.
The BUCS Home Nations is hosted by Scottish Universities Sport (SUS) on behalf of BUCS. Stew Fowlie, SUS Sports Manager said, "The SUS network is delighted to be hosting this prestigious event in Edinburgh and is looking forward to welcoming colleagues from across the UK. Volunteers from across the SUS network will be on hand to help make a good event great. Our aim is to provide the competitors and visitors with a memorable and enjoyable week."
Karen Rothery, Chief Executive of British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS), said, "We're delighted that the BUCS Home Nations has returned to Edinburgh for the sixth time. Huge thanks must go to the universities of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt for creating a fantastic multi-sport event for our best student athletes. I wish all the teams the best of luck as they fight it out for their home nation."