Leeds uni is hosting a sports contest with laser tag, crazy golf and sledging

Chemical engineering students from across the UK and Ireland will stream to the city after The University of Leeds won a bid to host a sports competition. The University of Leeds team has assured that they will host “more sports than ever before”, and have added Laser Quest, crazy golf and sledging to the long list.

A group of students from the university secured the bid to host the annual Frank Morton Sports Day, together with the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). More than 3,000 chemical engineering students are expected to attend the event at the First Direct Arena in February 2018.

The day typically includes competitions from football to quidditch, as well as a recruitment fair and evening of varied entertainment.

President of Leeds’ 2018 bid, Matthew Powders, said: “The bid is ambitious, and we’re all determined to deliver the greatest Frank Morton yet – with new sports and fantastic venues it will be a celebration of why Leeds chemical engineering department is a great place for students.”

The event itself is named after chemical engineering professor, Frank Morton, who founded the competition in 1961, when he arranged a football match between chemical engineering departments at Birmingham University and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).

Andy Furlong, IChemE’s director of communications, said: “It’s a great opportunity, not just for students, but also for companies to exhibit at the recruitment fair and meet some of the brightest and the best chemical engineering students in the UK.”