Both the Blues and Seconds Team have the opportunity to compete at a range of events throughout the season. These include:
- The Varsity Match: Every year in late February or early March, the team take on Cambridge in the Varsity Match. This is the main focus of the season for both the Blues and Seconds Team.
- The British University Championships (BUCS): There are usually three BUCS events throughout the season, the Short Course Championships (held in early to mid November), the Long Course Championships (held in late February), and the Teams Championships (the date has varied a lot recently, but usually sometime in spring). For those wanting to compete at a high level, BUCS is a really great opportunity, with many Team GB swimmers usually in atrendance.
- The British University Swimming League (BUSL): BUSL takes place in three stages. In the first two stages, Oxford is grouped with three other nearby universities as part of a ‘conference’, with stage one consisting of a set of one-on-one matches and stage two consisting of a combined meet. In stage three, the winners of each conference are invited to the national finals (Oxford usually qualifies for the A final). BUSL is a slightly more casual competition than BUCS, but provides additional race experience which many swimmers find very valuable. Historically, the club’s BUSL team mostly consists of Blues swimmers.
- Counties, Regionals, and Nationals: Each season, there is usually a group of swimmers who are keen for a bit more racing so also attend county, regional, and national championships.
