Category: Participation

*Exclusive offer extension – Early Bird Gym membership!

by ntusport, posted in Fitness, Nutrition, Participation, Wellbeing
fitnessclasses  yourgym.png 

Did you know that staying active while at university helps to improve focus, relieve stress and maintain mood?

An exclusive one-off payment of £110 covers you for the entire year and gives you access to everything we have on offer! 

  • unlimited use of all NTU gyms and sports facilities (both City and Clifton)

  • unlimited access to NTU fitness classes and blast sessions with priority booking 

  • free gym induction

  • discounted fitness packages

  • free Play for Fun sessions

  • free court hire

  • access to the University of Nottingham’s casual swim sessions for only £2 per visit

And now there is no need to slow down out of term time. With this membership, you’ll have access to BUCS Universal, the initiative that gives you access to university gyms up and down the country! 

Simply speak to a member of the fitness team about getting your universal pass after you sign up. Find a university gym near you. 

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MY DAY AT WOMEN’S WEDNESDAY

by ntusport, posted in Clubs, Participation, Uncategorized

On Wednesday 15 November, 2017, we held the first ever Women’s Wednesday, where our female teams took over Clifton Campus to celebrate female sport as part of the This Girl Can campaign. As part of this, we invited St.Johns C of E  Academy from Worksop to bring some of their students, in the hope that they would be inspired by the action. Here are our favourite two account of the day from two students….

1. Chloe, year 5 – St Johns C of E academy

“T,R,E,N,T we are the Trent army!

So far my day has been great, we are currently watching cheerleaders (they are amazing) and they are extremely inspiring. Fencing is awesome and the people who can do it and training to do it are talented. Tennis is cool. We had a picture with the Trent Lacrosse team. Volleyball is the coolest things ever, or is it? Badminton is quite similar to tennis but different in a way. Football is awesome.”

2. Imogen, year 5 – St Johns C of E academy

“To begin with we watched the cheerleaders, they did an extremely good routine that was quite exciting. Next we went across to a different building to see some indoor fencing which was very fast. In the end NTU won furthermore fencing is an unusual sport which I don’t think I would like to do. Then we saw tennis it was unbelievably good with 8 people playing on 4 courts. After that we watched a strange sport called lacrosse, basically lacrosse is like hockey but you throw and catch the ball with nets on the end of a stick. Soon after we watched volleyball and badminton both good sports. We kept chanting all the way round “T, R, E, N, T we are the Trent army.

During the football match we carried on chanting. First Oxford Brookes scored. Then the goalkeeper was knocked over the match was quite good. In the Rugby match NTU was against Leicester sadly 5 minutes into the game there was an injury of an NTU player who (luckily) wasn’t too badly hurt. Fortunately it doesn’t usually happen.”

 

 

From Cheer to Boxing!

by ntusport, posted in Clubs, Participation, Wellbeing

“University has definitely encouraged me to try many new things; including sports. Having never been much of a team sport kind of person before coming to university (aside from football aged 10), I have thrived from being part of a competitive club at NTU. 

As a club Cheerleading has gone from strength-to-strength and been very physically challenging. Engaging in this as a beginner was intense but ever so rewarding. However it has been exciting to take part in several ‘skill swap’ sessions including American Football and Thai Boxing. Not only were we able to show how physically demanding Cheerleading can be, but myself and a few others found that we really enjoyed these sports that we may not have tried had it not have been for these encouraging ‘skill swap’ sessions, organised and ran by the clubs themselves. 

Having enjoyed the Thai Boxing session thoroughly, I decided to hang up my cheer dress for this year, and look further into how I can get my teeth stuck into a new challenge.”

Sophie Pyke, (Cheerleading president last year)

Are you keen to get involved in sport, or even just get more active? We want to hear from you! Why not come along to our ‘Girls Night In‘ evening next on Tuesday where you can enjoy some free food, mocktails and music, and enjoy an evening socialising with your female peers.

For more information about Trent Girls Can Week, and how to get involved, click here.

 

THE BENEFITS OF BEING A CHAMPION

by ntusport, posted in Participation

Following my graduation from Nottingham Trent University with a degree in Sport & Exercise Science, I was fortunate to secure a job with British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) as a Higher Education Tennis Administrator. Now, two months into the role, I have had a chance to reflect on my two-year post as a Sport Champion with NTU Sport, which has highlighted the extremely positive impact of the experience on my personal and professional development.

The transferable skills and wide and varied experiences I had the opportunity to develop as a Sport Champion were instrumental in the application process for this new opportunity and will continue to support me through my time within it. This is especially evident given the similarities between the two roles, where, at NTU Sport I helped to oversee and promote the Play For Fun programme and aimed to increase student participation in sport and, now at BUCS, my main objectives are to increase the profile of and participation in tennis in higher education, whilst looking after the BUCS tennis competitions.

The administrative skills I developed as a Sport Champion have been extremely useful in every thing I do on a day-to-day basis at BUCS. It allowed me to become more familiar with Microsoft Office – particularly Excel – which is central to all that I do at BUCS. I also valued experiencing bi-annual meetings with UoN Sport and Sport Nottinghamshire, where I experienced minute taking and chairing meetings.

As a Sport Champion I felt my social skills developed dramatically with being in constant contact with a range of populations, from University students and staff both within and outside NTU to, on occasion, other individuals external to the University. Communication skills are essential to my new role when dealing with a range of populations, from students, University staff and external businesses. These skills are also essential for almost all other walks of life!!

A large part of the Sport Champion role is promoting sport participation at NTU, channelled through the Play For Fun programme. Marketing skills are essential to all employers, especially with the ever-increasing use of social media as well as other marketing methods, and will be essential as I aim to increase the profile of University tennis in my role. These skills were developed through my time at NTU Sport.

I gained invaluable experience with event planning and management by being a part of events like Trent Girls Can, pop-up promotions, and the Great British Tennis Weekend to name a few. Within this and the regular Play For Fun programme I also developed people management skills, with session leaders and volunteers for events, which are essential in all careers. Both of these skills will help me in my new role as I am due to lead on a number of large events in University tennis, a part of which I will look to make the most of available volunteer support.

The NTU Sport Sport Champion role has been an invaluable experience of mine and was a big part of my time at University. I would highly recommend the opportunity to any student at the University looking to expand their experiences and enhance their career development prospects, especially those in sport and sport participation and development. This job really has shaped my career immediately after University and I strongly believe it will continue to have a huge impact on all that I do in whatever my future roles may entail.

Harrison Fernandez Lewis 

Get active at NTU Sport

by ntusport, posted in Clubs, Fitness, Nutrition, Participation, Performance, Wellbeing

At NTU we have many different ways you can get involved in sport and exercise, and we currently have some special early bird offers in place for you to make the most of.

1. Two early bird gym membership offers:

   a) Early bird Annual Active Gym Membership = £110 (will increase to £140 on 16 October 2017)

   b) 3-year Special Offer (only available between 1 September – 16 October 2017)

Both memberships will give you:

  • Access to two gyms, the City Suite on City Campus, and the Lee Westwood Sports Centre on Clifton Campus.
  • A free gym induction
  • Discounted fitness packages, including Boditrax scans.
  • Unlimited access to NTU Fitness Classes and Blast Sessions, with priority booking. They are very popular and offer a huge variety of options, with classes taking place at City and Clifton.
  • Free hire of our world-class facilities, such as the brand new tennis centre, sports halls, squash courts, and the 3G to have a bit of fun with your mates.
  • Free Play for Fun sessions, which offer an alternative to just going to the gym by giving you the chance to start something new, get back into a sport you love, make new friends and most importantly, have fun!
  • Access to the University of Nottingham’s casual swim sessions for only £2 per visit.

2. At NTU there are 60 sports clubs for students to participate in, catering for every level of experience.

3. Volunteering is a great way to get involved, and we work in partnership with Nottingham Trent Volunteering to offer a huge range of sport volunteering opportunities.

4. We have very popular intramural leagues in Football, Netball and Rugby, where you can enter your own team. Represent your hall, society, course, or simply round up some of your mates – everyone is welcome.

Experiences of a Sport Champion

by ntusport, posted in Fitness, Participation

There has been five Sport Champions at NTU this year – Patrick (me), Jake, Fay, Harrison and Danielle. You’ve probably seen us around campus in our kit. However, you may not know what we were here for!

The Sport Champions’ role is to get as many students playing social sport as possible. We want all students here at NTU to benefit from the wide range of sports that are on offer, and have a ton of fun whilst playing! We understand that not everyone wants to play sport competitively, that’s why it is so important to provide opportunities for people to have fun and stay active in a relaxed environment.

Sport Champ 2.

Work for us began before the start of term 1, as we helped to organise a development day for the sport committee members at NTU. But after that we were straight into promoting our ‘Play for Fun’ programme during fresher’s week. That week we worked tirelessly to promote and engage as many freshers with our programme. It is definitely one of the perks of our job that we get to chat to our fellow students on a day to day basis to spread our passion for social and beginner sport. It’s also great fun getting people involved who may not have done otherwise. For example, some of you may have seen us set up table tennis or a small tennis court on campus. We like to call these our ‘pop up’ events and you can be sure that you’ll see more of these events next year! Not only do we promote social sport sessions, we get to take part as well. When we go to social sport sessions we try to make sure that it is as inclusive as possible and that everyone is involved and having fun.

Sport Champ 1.

However, this job isn’t all fun and games. We also have some important jobs which can be a little more tiresome. Every week we have to update the social sport register which tells us how many of you are coming to our play for fun sessions. Even though it’s not the most exciting work, it is highly rewarding! When we see how many of you are coming along every week it motivates us to keep going out on campus to use sport as a tool to improve your university experience.

Also, we are lucky to be in a position where NTU sport provided us with the opportunity to enhance our qualifications in sport. For example Fay was able to complete a netball coaching course, and I was able to complete my level 2 rugby coaching badge. Also, Harrison and I were given a great opportunity to attend a development conference hosted by BUCS which gave us some great ideas. The conference was at Leeds Beckett University and there were a several different seminars throughout the day. We had talks about inclusivity in sport, how to engage students in sport, and creative ways to advertise on social media to name just a few. It was a fantastic day that I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to work in sport development.

Sport Champ 3

As my time as a Sport Champion comes to a close I’ve been able to reflect on what I’ve gained. I think this job has been great for me because I have gained valuable experience in the sport sector. I have improved my social skills, my ability to analyse and interpret data, and my organisational skills. All of which are crucial if I am to be get a job in the world of sport. Also, this job is a fantastic way to have fun whilst earning a bit of money. It has never felt like ‘going to work’, it has always been a pleasure! The skills and knowledge I have gained from being a Sport Champion have led me to being accepted to study for an MSc in Sport Policy, Business and Management at the University of Birmingham, which I am extremely excited to start.

Last of all, I’d just like to say good luck to those new students who have been selected to be Sport Champions next year. Good luck and enjoy it!

Patrick Culligan (3rd year Education Studies and Sport Education)

Sport Champ 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

A YEAR AS VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT

by ntusport, posted in Participation

When myself (Joe Junkovic) and Jess Stansfield both started as Sport Volunteer Assistants, I really didn’t expect the job role to be as varied and rewarding as it has been. In term 1 there was a focus on recruitment and engagement with potential volunteers. We were responsible for flyering, poster campaigning and social media marketing to promote volunteering to students at NTU.

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After students started to sign up to the many different volunteering roles such as coaching in schools, photography and community volunteering, myself and Jess greeted all the volunteers during the first meeting. This was highly beneficial as it helped us to become familiar with the volunteering team. The meeting also highlighted key aspects of the volunteering programme such as safeguarding and different scenarios and how to deal with them.

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In the build up to Christmas, we helped to officiate and administer a number of primary school football and basketball tournaments. These tournaments were competitive, fun and entertaining. Children were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals at the end of the day and were also given a tour of the new NTU tennis centre. Children were given time to practice and have a rally on the new refurbished courts.

From Christmas to Easter, we were responsible for continuing to promote volunteering across the University in an effort to sign up as many people as we could to the volunteering programme. We also helped our line manager Stacey Trainer (Sports Volunteering Coordinator) to monitor the register and see how popular the volunteering programmes had been amongst the students. There were also meetings between ourselves and the Sport Champions, which helped both job roles to understand and find out what the other had been up to in an effort to increase sport participation and opportunity for all students.

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In our final term as volunteering assistants and we have been involved with exciting University events such as the recent BrackFest at the Brackenhurst Campus. Brackenhurst was beautiful with lots of green spaces, music, food, games, and a daunting rock climbing wall that we were encouraging students to conquer.

We were responsible for getting students to sign up and have a go at climbing. We also handed out freebies such as the popular pink NTU t-shirts that were all gone within an hour, flip flops and tote bags. Students were also given NTU ‘Play For Fun’ leaflets that detailed the current sport and volunteer opportunities the University are offering. There was also a real focus throughout the day on promoting the ‘This Girl Can’ campaign. Therefore after students had a go at rock climbing they were asked to take a picture of themselves in the ‘This Girl Can’ picture frame. Pictures can be seen here.  This was the first time either of us had been to Brackenhurst and it really helped to promote volunteering to students who we won’t have had the opportunity to work with before, and who may not have heard much about the available opportunities

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As our time as sport volunteer assistants and students of NTU comes to an end, we have both learnt a number of valuable skills and grown as people throughout the year. I have further developed my social skills through numerous volunteering events and showcases where interaction with students has been key. I have also developed my administration and data entry skills through updating volunteering registers and spreadsheets. My marketing skills and knowledge has also significantly improved through volunteering stalls, social media and promotional activities. All of these skills have added to my CV and will hopefully make me more employable in the future. The next step for myself is studying for a master’s degree in International Business at Montpellier Business School.

By Joe Junkovic (3rd year Sports Science & Management Student).

CLUB COMMITTEE HANDOVER

by ntusport, posted in Clubs, Participation, Performance

Today marks the official committee handover day, so we caught up with NTU Sport staff members to hear their thoughts on this year, and what they are looking forward to next year!

Uttley, Lawrence (Participation Sports Development Officer):

Ok then chaps. It’s come to the end of the year for committee. Thought this would be a good time to reflect on how it’s gone. First of all from the newbies; Steve and Tom. Is this what you expected? What’s been the most challenging/ rewarding?

Drake, Steven (Outdoor Activities Sports Development Officer):

It has been a fantastic 9 months and I feel that I have had to learn a lot, but this challenge has been welcomed for the most part. One of the most enjoyable parts of my role has been working with clubs that I have not had much experience of doing myself, such as Rowing and Equestrian. I think the main challenge I have faced, is the minefield that is finance but I am slowly getting there.

Armstrong, Thomas  (Coaching and Competitions Manager):

Since joining the University late last year it really has been a case of being thrown in at the deep end. Coming in half way through a year presents its own problems, getting to know my clubs and committees, and the best ways I can support them in the short term has been hard. However seeing the great work our students are doing to develop their clubs has shown the potential all our students have to exceed, not only on the sports field/hall/court, but off it too. I have really enjoyed engaging with my new club committees, seeing them set plans and targets for next year has me excited of the possibilities for next year! What has been particularly pleasing for me is how the committees have engaged with their coaches and the University in maximising the potential of their clubs. As my role involves a lot of performance focus, our climb up the BUCS table and improvement in team performances has been great to see and long may it continue.

Uttley, Lawrence:

Tom, I know you’ve mentioned a few times that getting to know committees half way through the year and seeing what their targets are has been tough. How is everyone looking for targets for next year now that we’ve completed all our development plans and budgets?

Armstrong, Thomas:

Targets wise, all clubs have set themselves goals to move the club on in every aspect. This includes membership, performance and community/student engagement. I’ve challenged them to be ambitious while also being realistic about what they can do in their time in position.

Uttley, Lawrence:

Any big plans in the pipeline that you’ve got a particular eye on? Steve – what about you?

Drake, Steven:

Yes, I do Loz. I am looking at getting equestrian involved with Brackenhurst and using their state-of-the-art facilities. I am also looking at getting part of rowing programme moved to Lee Westwood for their S & C sessions. Our climbing team will be looking to get their highest BUCS points next year with the help of Molly Thompson-Smith (GB Climber Team Member) joining us for 2017-18. Do you have any plans Loz?

Uttley, Lawrence:

I genuinely don’t think there is a club that hasn’t got big ambitions next year. I’m personally looking forward to seeing Water Polo add a women’s team and how the men get on in a higher league. Boxing is also a sport I think we have a lot more to come from. With 6 out of my 19 presidents returning, I think it will mean changes can happen rapidly over summer. It will be interesting to see the students represented by a Non-BUCS student (Izzy Gregson) for the first time in my 8 years working and studying here. Definitely going to be strange without Matt around. Tom?

Armstrong, Thomas:

Anything away from performance you guys? For me I have a number of clubs setting out plans to get more girls into their sports including an American Football Flag team, while also getting some clubs engaging with local partners and communities. A number of my clubs have expressed a desire to do more charity and fund raising work this year with some great ideas to support local charities. There is also of course the performance aspect, which gets harder each year to improve on, but all the clubs are attacking this with a great attitude and commitment to their sport and the University.

Uttley, Lawrence:

Haha, the performance officer taking it away from performance goals. Ironic. This time last year, I set cheerleading a very tough target of making sure that anyone who wants to do cheer at NTU can, and I’m proud to say that they succeeded. There’s potential to add another team next year. My aim is to get all of my clubs to have a local club partner, providing avenues for both ends of the sport. Outside of sport, I want clubs to increase charity work. Athletics have been great teaming up with cricket to support BacZac the legacy. I’m really pleased clubs are starting to take on their own ideas around mental health and looking forward to my own personal development and pushing awareness even further.

Drake, Steven:

All my clubs are looking to grow next year and some have set themselves a target of growing by more than 50%. Equestrian are looking to keep up their great volunteering programme, and Triathlon will be looking to take on the staff again with a Dryathlon to raise money for John Van Geest research centre. Surf and Wakeboarding are also looking to keep active throughout the winter months with trips away which would mean more student engagement with water sports, which, would be a first for these clubs.

Uttley, Lawrence:

So basically what you’re saying is ‘watch this space’. Haha. Anyway fellas. Just want to say what a great year it’s been. It’s been great meeting you both and looking forward to working with you and sharing ideas for next year. Saturday was the Sports Awards and it was great to see so many clubs there, getting the recognition they deserved. Here’s to a successful 2017/18!