James Ackland signed off at the University of Cambridge on a high.
College Emmanuel Entry year 2017 Course PhD Psychology Sport Orienteering
The psychology PhD student was in his final year, and balanced his research with being crowned the British champion in sprint orienteering. He was also third at the Scottish Sprint Orienteering Championships.
During his time at the University and as part of the UCAPP scheme, James represented Great Britain at the World Universities Championship in 2022, was a reserve for the event in 2024, and competed for GB at the Euromeeting in 2023.
He won the Varsity Match in 2023, earned six top-10 results at various major national-level races since 2022, and represented Scotland at Senior Home Internationals every year since 2021.
“The importance of sport to my university experience cannot be overstated,” said the former Emmanuel College student.
James Ackland at the Euromeeting individual sprint race. Picture credit: Wendy Carlyle, 2023.
I’m proud of what I’ve achieved while involved with UCAPP, and it’s helped me to develop as an athlete in ways that I hope will continue to pay off for many years to come.
"I am incredibly grateful to the coaches and everyone else involved in the programme for supporting me to progress from the joy of everyday participation to pushing for more ambitious performance targets."
Future goals and targets:
- Continue to represent Great Britain and Scotland internationally
- Earn podium places at major national-level races
- Sub-15 minute 5k