Sports and Societies
CURRENT STUDENTS
Catz boasts a wide variety of sports and societies, allowing everyone to get involved and show their love for the wheel!
Catz prides itself on being known as a sporty college and has Cuppers teams in football, rugby, netball, hockey and many more. In the 2023-24 season we won Men’s Football Cuppers, Mixed Hockey Cuppers and Women’s Badminton Cuppers and were Runners Up in the Men’s Rugby Cuppers! So, if you’re into sport, Catz is the place to be!
New opportunities to play sport are constantly being offered – be sure to check out the newly established girls’ rugby team! Other sports on offer at Catz include athletics, badminton, basketball (men’s), rowing, climbing, cricket, croquet, cross country, cycling, golf, lacrosse, skiing and snowboarding, squash, swimming, table tennis tennis, ultimate frisbee and water polo.
The Kittbag (which also runs a newsletter) has sports news from around the College.
If sport isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other opportunities, with societies on offer for everything from music and drama to charity and literature, including Card Playing Society, Chess Club, St Catharine’s Christian Union, Catz Careers and Entrepreneurs Society, St Catharine’s College Film Society, Law Society, Medsoc, Catz Orchestra, Catzappella, and many more. Some highlights include:
Chill in the Chapel – this is a fortnightly, informal music event held in the College (you guessed it) chapel. Anybody is welcome to perform any style of music, with hot chocolate and biscuits served after the recital. Chill in the Chapel, or just Chill, is a Catz speciality – it provides a perfect break from work for anyone who enjoys music.
The John Ray Society – first year natural scientists (or NatScis) are automatically a member of Catz’ John Ray Society. Throughout the year, it hosts talks from speakers covering all of the science disciplines, a book sale, the John Ray Annual Dinner and the John Ray Garden Party (in May Week).
The Shirley Society – this is Cambridge’s oldest literary society and is based at Catz. They hold talks, poetry evenings and play readings, as well as weekly literary meetings known as ‘The Union’. The Shirley Society also run ‘Volta’, a creative writing magazine.
If you have any questions about sports and societies at Catz, feel free to email our Sports & Societies Officer, Eva Kynaston at jcr.sportsoc@caths.cam.ac.uk. The College website has a list of some Catz societies.
Facilities
Catz pitches are situated about a 5-minute cycle from College, at the end of King’s Road. The pitches can be accessed from both South Green Road and King’s Road. We have football and rugby pitches, tennis, netball, squash and basketball courts and a sports pavilion. We are also the only College with our own Astro Turf hockey pitch. Information about changes expanding the outdoor sports facilities at Catz can be found here.
The College’s squash courts and badminton courts can be booked through the online court system : Booking System - St Catharine's College | Skedda.
For details on how to book other College facilities, including College rooms, look on the How Do I? page.
Societies Funding
College sports clubs and societies may apply for funding through the Amalgamated Societies & Clubs. Meetings to allocate funds take place at the start of the academic year in the first couple of weeks of Michaelmas, so monitor your emails carefully for more details.
It is still possible to to apply for funding after the Amalgamated Clubs & Societies meeting. If you are starting a non-sporting society contact the Senior Tutor, Dr Holly Canuto, if you are starting a sports club contact Dr Peter Wothers.
How Can I Start a Sports Club or a Society?
Contact our Sports and Societies Officer, Eva Kynaston, if you need help setting one up. Otherwise, to set up a Catz-specific society, go ahead and email Kati Sexton, our Student Services Manager
This Cambridge SU page might be of some use, but mostly pertains to University-wide societies.
Our list of Sports Captains and Society Presidents is currently being updated. If you have any questions please use jcr.sportsoc@caths.cam.ac.uk to get in contact with our Sports and Societies officer.
Sports Captains
Society Presidents
Catz Choir
Catz Rowing
Catz Femsoc
Catz Hockey
Cambridge RAG
Mixed Netball
Catz Badminton
Jazz Catz
Women’s Rugby
Varsity Ski Trip
Hyperbolics
Basketball
Athletics:
Hi everyone! My name is Zahra and I am this year’s athletics captain. The great thing about athletics is that there is something for everyone to try. There are so many different events you can get involved in from track events like sprints and long distance to field events like shot put, javelin and long jump. It doesn’t matter if you are a complete beginner or an athlete, if you’re just looking for a way to keep fit, or even just trying to meet new people. Training days usually vary according to what event you intend on participating in. There will be a taster session on this coming Saturday and the following Saturday where you will have the opportunity to try out any event and find what suits you best. We also have a new college league which you can sign up for by contacting me. If anyone is interested in coming to any of the events or would like to join just send me an email at zb261.
Student Minds Cambridge
Wine and Cheese Society
Catz Squash
Ladies Netball
Catz Music Society
Catz Christian Society
The Spoke Podcast
Mixed Lacrosse
Yarn Society
Board Game Society:
Hi, I’m Daniel, the current president of Board Games Society.
Under normal circumstances, we’d meet up one evening a week and play board games. We have a large variety of games to choose from. We are very friendly, welcoming, and just play for fun, and there’s absolutely no commitment required, just come when you feel like it.
Unfortunately, at the moment meeting up in person won’t be possible so we’ll be playing games online, which is what we did during Easter term last year. There will be a Board Games night in the first week of Michaelmas term, so if you’re interested send me an email, my address is dwh47@cam.ac.uk
I look forward to seeing you there!