The Newcastle University student union are planning to develop support on offer for students participating within sport. Alex Duggan is the Athletic Union Officer on the Athletic Union Executive Committee at the student union, and is responsible for overseeing the 65 sports clubs at Newcastle University.
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She said, “We have split the committee into three different areas,
There is finance, so removing financial barriers, we’re going to look at how grants are being divvied out next year to clubs.
We’ve got a positive culture change group, that’s looking at dangerous behaviours within sports clubs and tackling that locker room culture and initiation drinking culture within clubs.
The final group is mental health support because I know a lot of students do struggle at uni and we’ve got great systems at the university with the student health and well-being team. But I think finding that specific sport outlet for student athletes would be really beneficial.”
Alex, a former rugby player here at Newcastle University, is in her first year as Athletic Union Officer after being involved with the Executive Committee last year.
The role oversees the day-to-day workings of different clubs and helps out with any issues they may have. This can be to do with club finances, health and safety or any disciplinaries, offering relevant support needed on top of what is already on offer.
She added, “I saw lots of areas for growth that I thought if I was in the role I can maybe help a little bit more.”
Kimiko Cheng, last year’s Athletic Union Officer, recommended Alex for the role, who won with a resounding 1126 votes after a successful campaign, and is already planning to make sport more appealing and enjoyable at Newcastle University.
Studies have found that 75% of university students would like to do more exercise but feel like there are certain obstacles that prevent them from doing so, with students from lower socio-economic groups being less likely to participate.
Alex recognised these obstacles, saying, “Balancing your time from being a student and being academic but also being involved in a sports club, it’s really hard to find that balance.”
On top of recent plans to develop support, the University also offers an Activities Access Fund, (although this is now closed for 2024/25), which grants £350 to eligible students per academic year to support participation within sport.
The new initial plans by Alex and the committee cover a range of support areas to help combat barriers to participation for students and encourage more people to get involved.
Visit the Student Union website for more information about support services: https://nusu.co.uk/home
What does this mean for intramural football?
With there now being an incredible 48 eleven-a-side intramural football teams across the Wednesday and Saturday leagues, and plenty others in the weekly 7-a-side league, intramural football is the most popular intramural sport at Newcastle university.
So, it is important that every player on every team has access to support if they are struggling. Further support from the student union can not only help current players have the best intramural experience possible, but it can also encourage more of you students to bite the bullet and get involved for the first time.
More consideration into financial barriers and grants can help enhance the services on offer for intramural teams should they require it, possibly allowing for purchases of more equipment and also support with general costs such as referee and membership fees.
The growing focus on players’ mental health while at university can also have a huge benefit, allowing for the most important thing, enjoying football while getting the most out of your intramural university experience.
With this, there is no reason why the intramural football leagues can’t become even more popular, getting more people involved in a fantastic program.
If you have any questions about this please get in touch, and go have a read of my other posts about intramural football on the page.
Instagram– @leaguesofourown_ncl