Blue (university sport)

A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level.
The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other
British universities and at some universities in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Contents
History
University of Cambridge
History
Awarding process
Categorisation of men's sports
Categorisation of women's sports
Regalia
Hawks' Club/Ospreys
University of Oxford
Administration
Costume
Clubs
Other British universities
'Blues' in Australia
University of Adelaide
La Trobe University
University of Melbourne
University of Queensland
'Blues' in New Zealand
See also
References
External links

History
The first sporting contest between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge was held on 4 June 1827, when a two-day cricket
match at Lord's, organized by Charles Wordsworth, nephew of the poet William, resulted in a draw. There is no record of any
university "colours" being worn during the game.[1][2]

At the first Boat Race in 1829, the Oxford crew was dominated by students of Christ Church, whose college colours were dark
blue. They wore white shirts with dark blue stripes, while Cambridge wore white with a pink or scarlet sash. At the second race,
in 1836, a light blue ribbon was attached to the front of the Cambridge boat, as it was the colour of Gonville & Caius College.[3]
These colours — light blue for Cambridge, and dark blue for Oxford — became the official colours of the two boat clubs, and
through the rivalry of the Boat Race, the colours became inextricably linked with the universities and contests between the
two.[1][4]
University of Cambridge
Athletes at the University of Cambridge may be awarded a full blue (or simply a blue), half blue, first team colours or second
team colours for competing at the highest level of university sport, which must include being in a varsity match or race against
the University of Oxford. A full blue is the highest honour that may be bestowed on a Cambridge athlete, and is a much-coveted
and prestigious prize. In general, the full blue standard is approximately that of being successful at a national level of student
competition, and the half blue standard is that of being successful at county or regional level.

History
Once light blue had been chosen as the colour of Cambridge's Boat Club, the other university sport clubs followed suit, though
out of courtesy would request permission from the Boat Club before awarding such a "blue". In the 1860s the three senior sports
— rowing, cricket and athletics — were awarding blues, and the presidents of each formed an informal "Blues Committee" to
oversee such awards. By 1880 a number of smaller clubs involved in varsity matches had successfully requested the right to
award "half blues".[1]

Awarding process
The criteria for awarding blues are different for men and women. Awards are made at the discretion of the men's and women's
Blues Committees.[5] The Men's Blues Committee is formed from one representative of each of the full blue sports, and the
Women's from one representative of each of the full blue and half blue sports. Each committee meets to discuss issues relating to
Cambridge sport.

In some sports with full blue status, the varsity match second team is awarded second team colours.

The awarding of a full blue often requires a person to fulfill a number of requirements in the same academic year, particularly in
sports with discretionary full blue status. If, for whatever reason, an exceptional athlete is of or above full blue standard but does
not fulfill all the requirements for the 'automatic' award of a full blue in any given year, the committee has the authority to grant
an extraordinary full blue to that person subject to scrutiny of the particular case. The individual's case must be presented to the
Blues Committee in person and must be backed up by substantial evidence and references. The award is unlikely to be made
unless the person is of world-class or at least international standard.

Each sport has specific criteria for each award; the general categorisation of men's and women's sports is laid out below, though
the status of each sport is subject to frequent review.

Categorisation of men's sports

 Full Blue
Boxing, cricket, field hockey, football, golf, lawn tennis, table tennis,
rowing, rugby union, squash, gymnastics
Full Blue (some) / Half Blue (rest)
Athletics, basketball, cross country running, rugby league,
swimming, ice hockey
Discretionary Full Blue
Badminton, canoeing, cycling, dancesport, fencing, judo,
powerlifting, ice hockey, karate, modern pentathlon, orienteering,
rifle shooting (small-bore and full-bore), sailing, skiing, water polo,
real tennis, karting
Half Blue
American football, archery, Australian rules football, Eton and
Rugby fives, ice hockey, kickboxing, korfball, lacrosse, lightweight
rowing, mountain biking, pistol shooting, polo, rackets, association
croquet, clay pigeon shooting, riding, rifle shooting (small-bore and
full-bore), volleyball, windsurfing, yachting, and mixed lacrosse.
Under review
Gaelic football, Chess, Tiddlywinks

Categorisation of women's sports

Full Blue - whole team

Boxing, Fencing, football, table tennis, hockey, lacrosse, lawn
tennis, netball, rowing, rugby union, squash, dance.
Full Blue (some) / Half Blue (rest)
Athletics, cheerleading, cricket, modern pentathlon, swimming,
volleyball, basketball, taekwondo
Discretionary Full Blue
Badminton, cross-country, cycling, dancesport, gymnastics, ice
hockey, judo, karate, orienteering, rifle shooting (full-bore), sailing,
skiing, volleyball, boxing, real tennis
Half Blue
Archery, canoeing, canoe polo, cricket, Eton fives, gliding, golf, ice
hockey, korfball, lifesaving, lightweight rowing, orienteering,
association croquet, pistol shooting, polo, riding, rifle shooting
(small-bore), taekwondo, trampolining, triathlon, windsurfing,
waterpolo, ultimate (if they compete in the Open division), yachting,
mixed lacrosse
Under review
Windsurfing

Regalia
The winner of a blue or half blue is entitled to wear a blues blazer, which is one of the most recognisable and distinctive garments
associated with Cambridge University. Full blue blazers are completely coloured Cambridge Blue. Half blue blazers have a
number of different designs, depending on the wearer's sport; a typical design is an off-white blazer with Cambridge blue lapels
and trimmings. There is a variety of other blue and half blue paraphernalia,
including scarves, ties, pullovers, bow ties, caps and squares. Such items are worn
with pride.

As of May 2011, the colour recognised officially by the University as Cambridge

Blue actually has a slight green tint.[6]

In 2008 in Cambridge an alumnus launched Oxbridge Blues Jewellery [7]

specifically for women's blues and half blues at the two Universities. These are the
only blues item to have been licensed by the University of Cambridge.
Cambridge University Half Blue
blazer and bow tie.
Hawks' Club/Ospreys
Men holding blues, half blues or second team colours in a Full blue sport are eligible
to join the Hawks' Club. Women holding any of these awards are eligible to join The Ospreys, which was founded in 1985.[8] In
2019, the Hawks and Ospreys finalized an agreement to share usage of the Hawks Clubhouse.

University of Oxford

Administration
At the University of Oxford, the committees for awarding blues and half blues work on much the same principles as the
Cambridge committees. The principal difference between the two men's committees is that, at Oxford, all captains, regardless of
their status as full, discretionary, or half blue must attend meetings of the Committee. Until recently, the voting was broken up
according to blues status with full blue captains being allowed to vote on all matters while all the other captains could only vote
on matters directly relating to half blue sports. In Michaelmas Term 2006, the committee finally allowed discretionary full blue
captains the right to vote on matters directly relating to discretionary full blue sports. This has ended many years of inequality for
discretionary full blue status captains and was largely welcomed by the committee.

The committees are administered by an elected president, secretary and treasurer who serve one year. Unlike at Cambridge, where
the president of Cambridge University Boat Club holds the position, at Oxford, any captain can be elected president, regardless of
sport or status.

The role of the president is to call and serve as chair of any meeting of the committee, of which there are normally three per year
(six for the women). They also serve as the representative of the committee and sit on the University Sports Strategy Committee
and the Executive Committee of the Sports Federation. Both Presidents along with the Director of Sport represent Oxford at any
meetings of a Joint Blues Committee held with Cambridge. The purpose of the Joint Blues Committee is to discuss issues of
eligibility for the varsity match and to settle any disputes between the sporting communities of the two universities.

Costume
The colour of an Oxford full blue blazer is dark blue. The Oxford half blue blazer can be one of two designs. Either it is
composed of thick vertical stripes of dark blue and off-white, as in the adjacent image, or it can be dark blue, as the full blue
blazer, with two white stripes above the club badge on the left breast.

The Oxford range of Oxbridge Blues Jewellery[9] was launched in Oxford at the Women's Blues Award Ceremony in the Natural
History Museum in 2012. The range is the same as the Cambridge design except that the semi-precious stones are navy blue and
white.
Clubs
The club associated with the Oxford blue is Vincent’s Club, although its membership
is not restricted to blues, and there are wider criteria for election. Atalantas is a club
for sportswomen at Oxford, and also is not restricted to blues.

Other British universities

A number of other British universities, particularly in Scotland, award blues as their
colours. These include Aberdeen,[10] Bath,[11] Birmingham,[12] Glasgow,[13]
Heriot-Watt, [14] Liverpool,[15] Robert Gordon,[16] St Andrews,[17] and Stirling.[18]

'Blues' in Australia
Oxford University Rifle Club half
blue blazer and tie
University of Adelaide
The Adelaide University Sports Association at the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, South Australia awards a blue and a half
blue for outstanding sporting achievement, and a club letters for both sporting achievement and service.[19]

La Trobe University
La Trobe University has awarded blues and half blues since its early years, with the first blues being awarded in 1968. The annual
Blues and Sports Awards Night recognises the elite sports men and women who have represented La Trobe via the university's
clubs, intervarsity sporting competitions and the World University games. There are also awards for Outstanding Service which
recognise the outstanding service to sports clubs by members of the La Trobe Community.[20]

University of Melbourne
The Melbourne University Sports Association (originally known as the 'Sports Union') awards blues and half blues at the
University of Melbourne, for outstanding performance in inter-university events (primarily through the Australian University
Games and Australian University Championships). A 'distinguished service award' may be made (including to non-students) for
outstanding service to a sporting club (or clubs), the Sports Association, and/or sport at the university generally.

Blues were first awarded in 1904, as one of the first items of business of the newly formed Sports Union, with retrospective
awards made back as early as 1870. Initially, awards were made automatically to all participants in an intervarsity contest, with
the level (full or half blue) dependant on the sport. In 1911, this model was replaced with the formation of a 'Blues Advisory
Board' to determine the awards based on an individual's performance. The BAB continues to serve this role today.[21]

University of Queensland
Blues and half-blues have been awarded at the University of Queensland since 1912. Blues have been awarded for outstanding
performances in club fixtures, representative games, and inter-university competitions as well as for international representation
whilst studying at the University. The University of Queensland blue is the highest sporting accolade an athlete can receive from
the university. In recent years, UQ Sport through its Blues Advisory Committee, has developed a selection method and criteria to
ensure that blues and half blues at the university are of the highest standard. Each year these awards are presented at the UQ Sport
Blues Awards Dinner.[22]

'Blues' in New Zealand

Since 1919 the New Zealand Universities Blue has been awarded to NZ University students who have achieved excellence both
on and off the field of play. Currently University Sport New Zealand is responsible for presenting this award[23]

In addition, individual universities will award their own blues. For example, University of Otago blues date from 1907,[24]
therefore pre-dating the New Zealand Universities blue.

See also
Hawks' Club – social club for men holding a Cambridge full blue, Half blue or second team colours
Rugby League Varsity Match – annual rugby league match between Oxford and Cambridge
The Boat Race
The Women's Boat Race
The Colours Match – annual rugby union match between University College Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin
The University Golf Match – annual golf match between Oxford and Cambridge
The University Match – annual cricket match between Oxford and Cambridge
The Varsity Match – annual rugby union match between Oxford and Cambridge
The Varsity Polo Match - annual polo match between Oxford and Cambridge
The Varsity Match (hockey) - annual hockey match between Oxford and Cambridge
Varsity letter – similar award granted by schools in the United States
Vincent's Club – social club for men consisting of those of appropriate character at the University of Oxford. Many
are sportsmen.
Sporting colours

References
1. Christopher Thorne (10 July 1996). "Blues and the Blues Committee: Some historical notes" (https://web.archive.
org/web/20110716024827/http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/documents/en/his/history.pdf) (PDF). Cambridge
University Blues Committee. Archived from the original (http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/documents/en/his/history.pdf)
(PDF) on 16 July 2011.
2. "Oxford University v Cambridge University, University Match 1827" (http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scor
ecards/0/440.html). cricketarchive.co.uk. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121020114333/http://www.cric
ketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/0/440.html) from the original on 20 October 2012.
3. "How Caius Blue became the Cambridge colour" (https://www.cai.cam.ac.uk/news/how-caius-blue-became-camb
ridge-colour). Gonville & Cauis. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
4. Norris McWhirter. "The Oxford Blue" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090530175302/http://www.vincents.org/histo
ry/theoxfordblue/). Vincent's Club. Archived from the original (http://www.vincents.org/history/theoxfordblue/) on
30 May 2009.
5. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20060110021421/http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/committees/index.htm
l). Archived from the original (http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/committees/index.html) on 10 January 2006. Retrieved
2006-01-21.
6. "Identity guidelines - fifth edition" (https://www.cam.ac.uk/system/files/identity_guidelines.pdf) (PDF). University of
Cambridge. 25 March 2012. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161220071050/https://www.cam.ac.uk/syst
em/files/identity_guidelines.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
7. "Cambridge Blue & Half Blue - Oxbridge Blues Jewellery" (http://www.oxbridgebluesjewellery.com/cambridge/).
www.oxbridgebluesjewellery.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150924062824/http://www.oxbridgebl
uesjewellery.com/cambridge/) from the original on 24 September 2015.
8. "About the Ospreys" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090828063601/http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/ospreys/about.ht
ml). Cambridge University Women's Sports Club. Archived from the original (http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/ospreys/
about.html) on 28 August 2009.
 9. "Oxford Blue and Half Blue - Oxbridge Blues Jewellery" (http://www.oxbridgebluesjewellery.com/oxford/).
www.oxbridgebluesjewellery.com. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20150924062825/http://www.oxbridgebl
uesjewellery.com/oxford/) from the original on 24 September 2015.
10. "University celebrates top Athletes at 2015 Sports Ball" (https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/7320/). University of
Aberdeen. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
11. "Blues 2018" (https://www.thesubath.com/sport/bluesawards/winners2018/). Bath Students' Union. Retrieved
11 June 2019.
12. "Sports Awards" (https://www.sportandfitness.bham.ac.uk/student-sport/sport-awards/). University of
Birmingham. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
13. "Constitution" (https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_615103_en.docx). Glasgow University Sports Association.
Retrieved 11 June 2019.
14. "Dress code" (https://www.hw.ac.uk/students/studies/graduation/edinburgh/dress-code.htm). Heriot-Watt
University. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
15. "The University of Liverpool Athletic Union: Constitution & Guiding processes" (https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/
livacuk/sports/docs/Athletic,Union,Constitution,2018.pdf) (PDF). University of Liverpool. pp. 17–18. Retrieved
11 June 2019.
16. "Sports Awards" (https://www.rguunion.co.uk/getinvolved/awards/blues/). RGU:Union. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
17. "Blues and Colours" (http://squash.saints-sport.com/blues-and-colours-requirements). Saints Sport. University of
St Andrewsaccessdate=11 June 2019.
18. "Blues and Colours Code" (https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/pageassets/sportsunion/sportsunionball/Blues-
and-Colours-Code.doc). Stirling Students' Union. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
19. "AWARDS" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130409084809/http://unione.theblacks.com.au/Common/ContentWM.
aspx?CID=13). The Adelaide University Sports Association. Archived from the original (http://unione.theblacks.co
m.au/Common/ContentWM.aspx?CID=13) on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
20. University, La Trobe. "Life Members and Honour Board" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160422001250/http://ww
w.latrobe.edu.au/unisport/clubs/honour-board). www.latrobe.edu.au. Archived from the original (http://www.latrob
e.edu.au/unisport/clubs/honour-board) on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
21. Senyard, June E. (2004). The Ties That Bind: A History of Sport at the University of Melbourne. Petersham,
NSW: Walla Walla Press.
22. "UQ BLUES AWARDS" (http://www.uqsport.com.au/content/uq-blues-awards). University of Queensland.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20151022192217/http://www.uqsport.com.au/content/uq-blues-awards)
from the original on 22 October 2015.
23. "NZU Blues - Student Life & Sport" (http://www.universitysport.org.nz/nzu-blues). Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20130528015531/http://www.universitysport.org.nz/nzu-blues) from the original on 28 May 2013.
24. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20130522130102/http://www.ousa.org.nz/recreation/blues-and-gold
s-awards/). Archived from the original (http://www.ousa.org.nz/recreation/blues-and-golds-awards/) on 22 May
2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

External links
Cambridge University

Blues Committees (https://web.archive.org/web/20100316044656/http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/university-sports-cl

ubs/blues-committee/index.html)
Cambridge University Rugby Football Club (http://www.curufc.com/)
A history of the Cambridge Blue (https://web.archive.org/web/20110716024827/http://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/docu
ments/en/his/history.pdf)
Cambridge University Hawks' Club website (https://web.archive.org/web/20051126141714/http://www.hawksclub.
co.uk/hawkstart.htm)
The Ospreys website (the female equivalent of the Hawks' Club) (https://web.archive.org/web/20051201150735/h
ttp://www.sport.cam.ac.uk/ospreys/)
 Cambridge University Rugby League Football Club site (http://www.cuarlfc.com/content/view/12/33/)

Oxford University

Oxford University Sport (http://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/)

Oxford University Sports Federation Blues Website (https://web.archive.org/web/20160819153347/http://www.oxf
orduniversityblues.co.uk/)
Oxford University Squash Racquet's Club (https://web.archive.org/web/20050908203634/http://www.ousrc.co.uk/)
Oxford University Association Football Club: The Varsity match (http://www.ouafc.com/varsity/)
Oxford University Vincent's Club website (http://www.vincents.org/)
The Atalantas website (the female equivalent of the Vincent's Club) (http://www.atalantas.org/)
Oxford University Rugby League Football Club site (https://web.archive.org/web/20080212104514/http://www.our
lfc.org/)
Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club (OUABC)

Other universities

Criteria for election to Pinks (University of Dublin) (https://web.archive.org/web/20051126153330/http://www.tcd.i

e/Clubs/Boat/pinks.php)
Awards at the University of Adelaide (http://unione.theblacks.com.au/Common/ContentWM.aspx?CID=13/)
The University of Queensland Blues Awards Eligibility Criteria (https://web.archive.org/web/20130504132440/htt
p://uqsport.com.au/blues-award-eligibility-criteria)

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