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Cardiff Met is one of the top athletics universities in the UK, regularly finishing in the top three at the BUCS Indoor and Outdoor Athletics Championships.
As a student athlete at Cardiff Met, you will be part of the only UK university programme to have access to a full indoor and outdoor training facility, and access to a range of coaches across all event groups who regularly produce athletes who represent Home Countries and GB at both an age group and senior level.
Club membership includes facility membership for the year, a training top, entry into an extensive competition programme, including the Cardiff Met Grand Prix series, the Gwent XC League, the Indoor Dual Meet, Varsity and eligibility to represent Cardiff Met at the 5 BUCS Championship events throughout the year.
The club also runs a recreational offering, run by our experienced and friendly committee and student coaches, for those who are new or returning to athletics.
Athletics Performance Programme
Cardiff Met Athletics Club has a rich history of success in BUCS, and in recent years, current and former students have been part of teams at Age Group, European and global Championships.
The athletics performance programme supports around 30 of our highest achieving club members each year with a wide range of performance and sport science services.
Para Athletics at Cardiff Met
Cardiff Met Athletics has always been committed to supporting Para Sport, with former students including Aled Davies and Harrison Walsh. Our Para athletics performance offer is fully integrated into the wider performance programme, as are our para competition opportunities where we strive to facilitate as many WPA-endorsed competition opportunities for athletes as possible within our own competition and BUCS Championships.
We work closely with a group of coaches and practitioners who have specialist knowledge about Para athletics and who support athletes to strongly contribute towards the BUCS teams whilst also targeting their specific goals throughout the wider athletics season.
Meet the Team
Our Athletics Programme is led by Head of Athletics, Rhiannon Hawker, and supported by our Club and Competitions Coordinator, Emily Thomas.
Phil Warwicker, our Junior Head Coach, leads on the delivery on the Junior Programme and the Cardiff Archers club.
In addition, we work with a number of talented and passionate Performance Coaches who provide coaching to our students throughout their time at Cardiff Met. The staff team also work alongside the student club committee to ensure that all athletes all have access to coaching and competition opportunities.
Find out more about the Athletics team.
Performance Athletics
Performance athletes at Cardiff Met are supported to achieve success at the highest level possible within the sport. The support provided depends on the athlete’s performance level, with athletes fitting into two tiers of support:
- Tier 1 – the Cardiff Met & Welsh Athletics Joint Performance Pathway
- Tier 2 – the Cardiff Met Performance Development Pathway
As well as benefiting from access to exclusive performance facility training times, performance programme members receive thousands of pounds worth of support, including support and guidance in the following areas:
- Physiotherapy
- Soft Tissue Therapy
- Coaching
- Strength & Conditioning
- Performance Athlete Lifestyle
- Physiology
- Biomechanics
- Psychology
- Nutrition
View the full Athletics Performance Programme information.
Scholarships are awarded to our very highest performers and are awarded as a cash award each year.
There isn’t a direct application process for athletics scholarships; our staff team identify potential scholars as part of the admissions cycle.
Athletes will be automatically be invited to be part of the Performance Programme based on recent performances and a set criteria. Performances must have been achieved on/after 1st January of the year of entry (i.e. for incoming students in 2025, performances must have been achieved on/after 1 January 2025).
All performances over 100m, 200m, sprint hurdles, and horizontal jumps must have a legal wind reading. Hand-timed performances will not be accepted.
The Performance Programme standards for 2025/26 are below:
|
Event |
Male |
Female |
||
|
Tier 1 |
Tier 2 |
Tier 1 |
Tier 2 |
|
|
100m* |
10.60 |
10.75 |
11.75 |
12.05 |
|
200m* |
21.40 |
21.95 |
24.40 |
25.00 |
|
400m |
47.50 |
48.50 |
55.00 |
56.50 |
|
800m |
1:50.00 |
1:53.00 |
2:08.00 |
2:12.00 |
|
1500m |
3:49.00 |
3:51.00 |
4:24.00 |
4:31.00 |
|
S/C*** |
9:05.00 |
9:25.00 |
6:45.00 |
7:05.00 |
|
5000m |
14:15.00 |
14:30.00 |
16:15.00 |
16:50.00 |
|
10,000m |
30:00.00 |
31:00.00 |
34:45.00 |
35:45.00 |
|
Sprint Hurdles* *** |
14.30 |
14.90 |
13.80 |
14.30 |
|
400m Hurdles*** |
52.50 |
54.50 |
60.30 |
64.00 |
|
High Jump |
2.07 |
1.96 |
1.75 |
1.66 |
|
Pole Vault |
4.75 |
4.40 |
3.85 |
3.35 |
|
Long Jump* |
7.30 |
6.95 |
6.05 |
5.55 |
|
Triple Jump* |
14.90 |
14.00 |
12.55 |
11.70 |
|
Shot Put *** |
15.90 |
13.60 |
13.50 |
12.10 |
|
Discus*** |
49.50 |
43.50 |
46.00 |
42.00 |
|
Hammer*** |
64.00 |
50.00 |
55.00 |
48.00 |
|
Javelin*** |
64.00 |
55.00 |
46.50 |
39.00 |
|
Dec/Heptathlon*** |
6850 |
6450 |
5100 |
4800 |
* wind assisted times/distances & hand times will not be considered
*** consideration standards relate to performances with Senior implements, but discretion will be applied where performance potential has been demonstrated with U20 implements
Events
Cardiff Met hosts a series of indoor competitions each year, all of which our student members have access to free of charge. The Christmas Classic and Non Thomas Grand Prix events are also some of the leading and most popular open indoor events in the UK fixtures calendar each year.
- Cardiff Met v University of Birmingham Dual Meet
- Cardiff Met Christmas Classic (inc. Welsh 3000m Championships)
- Cardiff Met New Year Non Thomas Grand Prix
Athletics Club
View the Athletics Club.
Junior Athletics
Athletics Club and Academy for young athletes based at the National Indoor Athletics Centre (NIAC).
Cardiff Met Junior Athletics are based at Cardiff Met Sport Facilities. We offer recreational and competitive programmes, competing across Wales and England for children aged 5 and upwards.
Book junior athletics session and courses online or through the Cardiff Met Sport App.
Find out more about our Junior Athletics programme.