University Mixed Indoor Nationals 2025: Scottish Preview

by Kabir ‘Kb’ Adkoli

It feels like I blinked once and we went from “yeah, Regionals is soon”, to now, the indoor season’s final tournament, University Mixed Nationals. Fifteen teams across eight Scottish universities, vying for two division 1 and three division 2 bids, was always going to result in some hard-fought battles. In the end, it was St. Andrews who took home the crown ahead of Strathclyde who will also be joining them in division 1. Heriot-Watt are leading the other Scottish teams heading to division 2, being joined by Stirling and Edinburgh. For a full recap of ScUXIR, check out The Release Point recap, but if you agree with me that there’s no point dwelling on the happenings of that traumatic weekend, here’s my preview for UXIN!

Division 1

St Andrews: Seed 9

If there’s one lesson I’ve learnt this season, it’s that St Andrews are THE team in the region right now. The team were almost invincible at regionals with only a narrow 9-7 loss to a formidable Edinburgh side in the power pools. However, they placed fourth at both open and women’s indoor nationals, which must surely instill the mentality that even the sky may not be the limit to what they can achieve, as no other university had both single-gender teams do so well this year. They’ve got Cambridge, Bristol, Warwick and Loughborough 2 in their pool, and despite being seeded 3rd within that, they can be looking to take all the glory.

Strathclyde: Seed 19

Some might argue that Strathclyde, and doing well in mixed ultimate over the past couple of years, are two things that juxtapose one another. However, this year seems to be different as they took silver at regionals (exactly as I predicted), and demonstrated their quality as they qualified for division 1 ahead of others who were expected to go. Despite the team training on hardcourt, similar to the courts at nationals, they extensively use the width of the pitch and three handlers; it’ll be interesting to see if that works this weekend as well. In a Fabrizio Romano moment, we have insider information that the Dark Horses will potentially be missing a couple of figures who featured in their regionals squad. Will this be detrimental as they navigate a pool that includes Manchester, Southampton, Durham and Sussex? Only time will tell…

Kb’s predictions:

I’ve talked about Saints to almost the same degree I talk about our glorious king, LeBron James, and despite them narrowly falling short of a medal at both open and women’s division 1, third time’s the charm, so I think they’ll finally get their hands on some silverware this weekend. I am inclined to predict them coming in at second place, with the finals being their only loss of the weekend. But, my inclinations seem to be wrong quite often, so I’m going to tip them to be invincible and win the whole event! Strathclyde, unfortunately won’t enjoy the weekend to the same degree, as, despite winning Open division 2 nationals, they’re going to have a tough outing. I think they’ll beat their seed and finish 13th.

Division 2

Heriot-Watt: Seed 4

If there was a top 5 scariest moments in Scottish ultimate history, Heriot-Watt’s “zone on Sunday” would be a strong contender for the list. I’m still not sure what happened there, but from the stories I hear, their defence was a clear strength as they slowed down the offence of every team they played on the second day of regionals. The masterful utilisation of the tactic to choke the opposition for space in the large Scottish indoor pitches could spell doom for anybody Heriot-Watt face at nationals, as the hardcourt pitches at Hull University make it even harder to break through the zone. The only concern with this team was that they didn’t field a women’s team, which keeps us guessing whether or not they will be able to integrate female matching players into a team that did well at division 2 Open nationals. They find themselves in a pool with Bath 2, University of East Anglia and Leicester.

Stirling: Seed 8

I feel like I’m repeating the exact things I said about Stirling in the open and women’s nationals preview, but just when I underestimate Stirling, they always put up a solid showing. As a younger squad with relative inexperience, they still come into every game hungry for a W. With an open team that finished 11th at division 1 and a women’s team that finished 8th in division 2, the team definitely has the quality to go on a solid run in division 2 this weekend. While Stirling seem to do incredibly well on the first day of the tournament, their second day seems to be a potential concern as their open team won only once on Sunday at nationals, while their women’s team lost all their games.

Edinburgh: Seed 15

From being the only Scottish team at division 1 mixed nationals last year to 15th seed in division 2 this year, Edinburgh seem to have dropped off quite dramatically. This is extremely surprising as the team does not lack quality, thanks to many university ultimate ‘stars’. However, things just don’t seem to be working indoors for Ro Sham as they finished 15th at division 1 open nationals and 14th at division 1 women’s. While I can’t diagnose why Edinburgh seem to be underperforming, it would be silly to think that anyone should underestimate this team, as their ability to go division 1 in both single-gender nationals and being the only team to beat Saints mixed indoors at regionals, shows they are a top side.

Kb’s predictions:

All three Scottish teams at division 2 could have made cases to have gone to division 1, a testament to the quality that they bring to the table. Despite being the lowest seed among the three, I’m going to back Ro Sham to be the best, as the pieces must eventually fit together for the team I’m predicting to be the only team able to beat Saints mixed this season. I think they will have a narrow loss in power pools which will spur them on to end up with a bronze medal. Stirling have looked really strong at the two nationals they’ve already played, and are likely to carry that momentum into this weekend as well. While there won’t be a medal, they’ll beat their seed by 1 and end in 7th. After all I said about Heriot-Watt’s zone being more effective on the smaller hardcourt pitches, it would’ve been logical to place them among the top teams in the division. However, there are too many X factors with this team, such as their standard Saturday performances, which is why I think they’ll come in 10th. This is fuel for Heriot-Watt as I’m sure my prediction will drive them to finish way higher now.

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That is the end of my previews for the Scottish university ultimate indoor season. Feel free to follow division 1 and division 2 mixed nationals over this weekend and good luck to all that are competing. Also stay tuned to The Release Point for the indoor nationals recaps and for the outdoor season!