So it’s time for my End of Year Round Up! Very exciting, I know!
Being Sports President this year has been everything that I’ve wanted and more.
From wanting to be Sports President in my first year at University to now where I’ve completed my first year in office and got re-elected for next year, I have had a truly remarkable journey that has built me up as an individual.
This year I have achieved nearly all of my manifesto points within the first term, allowing me to concentrate on the bigger and better ideas that I have planned for the Christ Church sporting body.
My job has been made so much easier by the fact that I work with you as such a passionate, dedicated and talented group of individuals!
Moreover working with my incredible Sabb team this year has made the process so much more enjoyable. There hasn’t been a single day in the office that we haven’t had a laugh about something and the boys have definitely become lifelong friends.
So here are a few of my highlights of the past year – Enjoy! (This is only a snapshot as I couldn’t include everything!)
COMMUNITY FEELS
Team Christ Church
I created a new brand to strengthen the unity, ethos and the values of our sporting community. Whether it’s wearing the new social wear or competing on a Wednesday, creating this identity has allowed our members to feel like they are part of something bigger.
(My amazing Sports Exec Team!)
Committee Training
I changed the original Presidents and Captains training day and opened it up to all committee members. I developed, delivered and rolled out a comprehensive programme to ensure our Sport committees were prepared for the year ahead in their new committee roles. For me, it wasn’t just about ensuring that students were confident in their position but also an opportunity to enhance their leadership and employability skills.
This campaign went off and took over social media! The campaign is about empowering women to be active in sport and physical activity during their time at University. When females have faced years of a culture of systematic discrimination, it's important to encourage them into physical activity. It is not about putting women above men, but raising them to an equal platform. Well done to everyone that got involved!
Expect Respect
The Expect Respect Campaign is a joint initiative that CCSU and the University have created to ensure that we have a welcoming campus that is free from harassment. This year the sabbatical officers and I have worked hard to promote the campaign, encourage students to ‘Take the pledge’ and undergo By Stander training.
Canterbury Pride 2017 was a fantastic event and one that CCSU was very excited to support and get involved with. We marched and celebrated with students, staff and the LGBT+ community at Canterbury Christ Church within the parade through town.
TOP NOTCH PERFORMANCES
Right from the Mannequin Challenge promotional video to the Summer series, this year’s Varsity has been incredible. Over 1000 students participated in Varsity making it our best result in 5 years! 4 more wins and we would have won overall!
This year for the first time Cheerleading featured in a timetabled demonstration, showcasing their talented routines and adding to the spectacle of Varsity.
The theme for Varsity this year was LGBT+ and this was showcased by players wearing rainbow laces (a national campaign) and facepaint/ribbons.
I’m very proud of all members of Team Christ Church that competed and got involved but also a thank you to all spectators for coming to support our teams!
Every Wednesday/Sunday our Sports teams go out and represent Team Christ Church against other universities up and down the country.
Here are a few of our league winning teams/high performing individuals this year:
- Men’s Cricket 1s South Eastern 1A & Indoor South East Conference
- Men’s Football 2s South Eastern 4B
- Men’s Football 3s South Eastern 5B
- Men’s Hockey 1s South Eastern 1A
- Men’s Cricket 2s South Eastern 3B
- Men’s Tennis 2s Southern Eastern 5B
- American Football South East 2A
- Boxing – Oliver Watson won a silver medal in the Intermediate Featherweight division of the 2017 BUCS National Student Amateur Boxing Championships.
- Trampolining – Won4 medals from BUCS Nationals and placed 7th out of 53 overall. They also gained the highest percentage (94%) of a routine completion during the competition.
- Equestrian - Layla Maidment and Megan Gowland both made it to Regionals.
EVENTS
My favourite night of the year! 478 students attended the awards ceremony and it was an incredibly successful event. It was an amazing feeling to reward the clubs and individuals that have worked hard throughout the year and to give them the recognition that they deserve.Here is a video to capture the spirit of Team Christ Church:
Men’s Cricket – Club of the Year 2016/17
Charity Events/Fundraisers
Our teams raised roughly over £8000 for charity this year! One of my favourites was the Cheerleading with American Football and Lacrosse event for MIND. It was an unbelievable feeling of Team Christ Church coming together and raising over £1500 in one night! I really do believe that we have something special here at Christ Church and when it matters the most, that’s when we pull through and support each other.
Sabbs Do Strictly
Another highlight was the ‘Sabbs Do Strictly’ event with C4 Dance that also raised money for MIND. The atmosphere was electric and the performances by C4 Dance themselves were incredible. Not to mention the hard work that us sabbaticals and our dance partners put in prior to the event leading it to be a huge success. Also winning against the other sabbs (mainly Phil) was pretty good too!
I’m a Social Sec Get Me Outta Here
This was a phenomenal night with nearly 400 people through The Lounge’s doors. I had the pleasure of arranging all the rounds and sorting out the delicious treats for our beloved social secs. You can be assured that next year is going to be even bigger and better!
Shout out to this year’s Queen of the Jungle: Francesca Clemens from Pole Fitness!
Old Boys Weekend
This weekend is always one that I look forward to every year. However being sabb this year, I wanted to strengthen the relationship between the University and our alumni network. By rekindling the bond, some fixtures were played back at Christ Church Sport facilities. Next year working with Ian Blackmore and Paul Carney, I am hoping for all fixtures to be on the university grounds and the grass fixtures to return to mighty Stodmarsh!
This is an award ceremony for staff nominated by students. I had the pleasure of co-hosting with the lovely David Hannaway and with nearly 800 nominations this year, the event was a great success. Congratulations to all winners and thank you for all of your hard work.
FORWARD PLANNING
Sports Review
I played a strategic role in the review of the Club Sport Provision and formed a working partnership with Christ Church Sport and the Union.
I am looking to start the partnership groups this academic year with the desire to structurally enhance our delivery of Club Sport.
Sports Funding
To ensure the sustainability of our Sports membership, I have created a new funding model which ensures financial stability for our sports provision and giving more ownership to our student leaders. This ensures that teams get exactly what they pay and there is more transparency on membership costs.
In addition to this, I created a Hardship Fund for students that are unable to afford to participate in Sports and reduce barriers. This will be available for students to apply for in October 2017.
THE FUTURE
And loads more exciting plans for next year! If you want to find out more please email me on: biba@ccsu.co.uk
Finally, I just want to say massive thank you for a fantastic first year as Sports Sabb and to everyone that has helped me throughout the year. - BRING ON THE NEXT!
