Hi everyone, I'm Chloe Woolaway and here’s my first blog as your new President (Sports and Engagement), I’m hoping to do a few over the year just to keep you updated of my adventures and what I’m up to!

So, early last Tuesday (10th July, 2018) myself, Adam Roche (CCSU Opportunities Manager), and the Christ Church Sport team made our journey across to University of West England in Bristol for the 2018 BUCS Conference!

Day 1

We arrived late morning for registration ready for our first breakout sessions, my first and only forum of the day was ‘Social & Recreational Sport - Creating the right opportunities for students’. In this talk it was very beneficial to understand how other Students’ Unions and Universities run things and be introduced to fellow Sabbatical Officers.

The evening activities then arrived and we all headed over to the UWE SU for the BUCS BIZ as well as networking where we could get to know our counterparts as well as other sabbaticals and staff in a more informal way.

If I’m honest day one was a bit overwhelming, I met so many new people and had so many different conversations about sports, Union’s, campaigns etc, it was all a bit crazy but a lot of fun!

Day 2

This was the day I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint. My first breakout session of the day was ‘A Healthy University: Promoting Exercise for Mental Wellbeing’. This was easily my most favourite talk of the week and it was so informative and I took so many ideas away from a sporting aspect as well as taking ideas away to give to Jamie! It was also interesting to see what UWE do to give mental wellbeing that platform and the events they put on to champion it.

Next up we had our main keynotes from 3 Olympians, in which all 3 were so inspirational. Our first was from Dame Katherine Grainger, GB rower and Great Britain's most decorated female Olympian. I remember watching her win Gold back in London 2012 as clear as day so to hear her story was so inspiring. The next keynote was from GB Hockey players, Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh and again another talk that just captivated everyone in the room and almost bought a tear to the eye hearing about their stories to success.

It didn’t stop there, we then broke off to our smaller sessions where I went to a talk with another GB Hockey player, Sam Quek. This talk was “what my DNA profile told me - could I have been a 3 times Olympian?” Sam had teamed up with a genetic profiling company, Muhdo Health and it was interesting to see how they have helped Sam to become a better athlete and Muhdo as a product itself is quite amazing in what it offers and hopefully we can look into what it can offer Christ Church Sport. 

Again the evening activities begun and it was the big day, England were in the semi-finals of the World Cup! As you can probably imagine, you could not fit anymore individuals who all shared the same amount of passion for sport into one room; the atmosphere was electric. Unfortunately though, it didn’t come home and there was a tear or two, but we got a free BBQ so it was okay! We ate away our sorrows!

Day 3

Day 3 was again another interesting one but there was no way it managed to top a great day 2! My two breakout sessions of the day were ‘Championing the Role of Women in Sport - Why the Profile of Women’s Sport Matter?’ and ‘Developing an Identity for Women’s Football’. The first talk was taken by Sue Anstiss MBE and was another inspiring talk to see how far female sports teams have come over the years, especially with the England netball, football, rugby and cricket teams and we briefly spoke about the growing partnership between the Man City women’s and men’s teams.

The second talk was to see the partnership the FA and BUCS have and what they have planned in the pipeline for University teams up and down the country. Also they spoke about the importance of Presidents within committees and how vital they are for the intake process of new players. 

The final event of the 3 days was the BUCS Awards Dinner and a roundup of a successful sporting year. The complimentary wine was flowing and it was great to see so many teams and individuals being recognized for all their hard work. Of course Loughborough won the BUCS trophy for the 38th year in a row, which was no surprise, maybe one day Christ Church! For now though, we’ll focus on that all important Varsity win!

So that’s it, my first BUCS experience and what an amazing one it was, so great to experience it at UWE with great facilities and of course meeting so many new people was a bonus!

If you have any questions about any of my talks or the conference itself, you know where to find me, chloe@ccsu.co.uk

Love Chloe x