Juliette Champaud wins 2025 Students Union Sports Colour Centenary award

The centenary awards recognise students when they have 3 years of exemplary service to a sport club(s) or 4 years or more of dedicated service to one or more sports club(s).

Juliette co-founded the Wheelchair Basketball club at UCL and the society will be entering its second year from September 2025. This year they were nominated for two Student Union sports awards and have attracted both able and disabled students to the club.

Juliette said: 

"I play standing basketball as my main sport but tried out wheelchair basketball during a few one-off sessions organised by UCL.

‘I really enjoyed it and the sense of community it creates. With some other players, we decided to make it an official club at UCL, the first proper disability-friendly sports club on offer, attracting both disabled and able-bodied students.

Juliette has played basketball throughout her academic studies and says she always held admiration for disabled athletes.

“I think deep down, I have always loved watching Paralympics and finding it remarkable what humans, in all shapes and sizes, are able to achieve. 

‘It’s great to have a group in one of the biggest Universities in the UK that basically embodies that extraordinary human capability.”

In addition, Juliette has been nominated by UCL for the postdoctoral Schmidt Science Fellowship, a prestigious postdoc programme that supports the next generation of scientific leaders and researchers to solve complex and interdisciplinary challenges. 

Juliette’s PhD research involves analysing healthy brain development in human premature and term infants at UCL and St Thomas' Hospital, Kings College London.

If you’re interested in learning more about UCL’s Wheelchair basketball club, please see the link below: https://studentsunionucl.org/clubs-societies/wheelchair-basketball-club?v=74148