We as a club greatly recognise and value the need for greater inclusivity in sport. With your support we aim to raise and invest our funds into additional court time to provide sessions ensuring that all students have equitable access to our basketball programme, fostering a more inclusive sports community on campus.

Our Story

A little more about our club! In recent years, the University of York Basketball Club has established an undeniable legacy! Following last year’s incredibly successful season, the women’s team made club history by securing a promotion into the Northern Tier 1 for the first time since its establishment. Our club displayed an exhilarating performance during the Roses Tournament's closing ceremony, clinching two crucial wins over Lancaster and showcasing our skill and dedication on a grand stage.

Now, as we emerge from a rather challenging season and grapple with the financial strains of rising costs, we are more determined than ever to ensure the continuation of our successes and prioritise the health and wellbeing of our players. With your support, we can invest greater funding into coaching, court times, and equipment, ensuring the sustained growth and development of our players while also providing opportunities to expand our club beyond the realm of competitive basketball.

Rest assured that your contribution, no matter how big nor small, would have a profound impactful on the trajectory of our club and its dedicated members who continue to drive its success and development.

Where will the money go?

Amidst the current cost of living crisis, we as a club recognise the significant barriers that club expenses post to our members and their sporting opportunities. With the support of our donors, our club can allocate greater funds towards court access and travel fees. Our collective goal for challenge week is to raise £2000 as a result of your generous donations, as well as match funding available from YuFund!

Achieving this milestone would place our club in a strong financial position to maintain additional court bookings for the upcoming season, ensuring the continued growth of our players and the sustainability of our beginner program established at the beginning of the academic year. The generosity of our donors will also allow us to cover travel expenses for our members, affording our members the opportunity to compete competitively across the country in the sport they love.

Should we surpass our £2000 goal, the surplus funds will be channelled directly into coaching enhancements to further develop our players' talents and skills. Additionally, we recognize the financial strain that kit purchases can place on many of our members. Therefore, any excess funds will also be allocated to club kit purchases, alleviating some of the financial burdens faced by our club members at this time.

Why is this so important?

Your support is crucial for the ongoing expansion and triumph of basketball here at the University of York. At the outset of this academic year, our women’s team initiated a beginner's leisure program, marking a significant step towards fostering greater inclusivity within our collegiate sporting landscape. Despite our university boasting one of the nation's premier sporting systems, college basketball remains predominantly male-dominated, minimising opportunities for women to participate on equal footing. Our beginner's leisure program endeavours to rectify this imbalance.

Dedicated to providing a welcoming environment for women to acquire new skills and forge connections, the women’s team has generously allocated up to three hours of their weekly university training to open the court to our leisure members. While this initiative has yielded positive results, it inevitably diminishes the competitive training time available to the women’s university team.

Therefore, with your support and contributions, our club can allocate greater resources towards court access and facilities, ensuring the sustainability of our beginner program while simultaneously propelling the growth and advancement of our competitive women's team.

The Challenges

Below are some of the challenges we will complete as part of the week:

• UYBC Women’s will be lacing up to take on U14 York Eagles girls team in a friendly
• Across the week UYBC aims to cover as long of a distance as possible! Each Club member will cover at least a distance of 24 km in honour of the late Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.
• And finally, UYBC will be exchanging our basketball kit for our swimming costumes as we brave a cold plunge to round off the week!

Find us here

We have various forms of social media through which you can keep up to date with the challenges taking place throughout the week!

Be sure to follow our Instagram @UYBC for updates throughout the week, as well as our TikTok @uniofyorkbasketball.

Help us succeed!

We would love you to donate as much or as little as you are able and any donations are hugely appreciated. Your donation could also help us unlock fundraising challenges which will help us reach our goal even faster (you can see these on the challenges page).

If you are looking to support an individual athlete or challenge please put a message with your donation saying who!

Alternatively, if you are unable to donate then please do spread the word by signing up as a Challenge Week Ambassador for our club, and sharing our social media posts to your own socials so as many people as possible can read about our efforts!