The University of Exeter was awarded the ‘Excellence in Student Sport Experience’ award last night (6/07/23) at the annual CUBO awards. The award ceremony was an evening to celebrate campus and commercial services in higher and further education. The University was also awarded in the ‘Creativity in Catering and Retail’ category, for one of the newest food additions to campus – Forum Kitchen.
This year, the University of Exeter Sport’s aim has been to embed sport and physical activity at the core of the University’s approach to transforming the health and wellbeing and inclusion of our student community. Exeter Sport has evolved its Social Sport programme significantly, which was not unnoticed by CUBO who shortlisted the programme last year. After the successes previously of targeting less-active females, University of Exeter sport launched and successfully ran a comprehensive Get ‘INTO’ Sport campaign, a wellness referral programme and EmpowHer sessions. These programmes and initiatives offered a new and diverse variety of activities specifically for international students, people who identify as female, and students with mental health difficulties. These sessions were aimed to encourage physical activity and movement outside of a non-committed, pitch-up-and-play format while offering internal leagues and cups or structured 1-1 PT sessions: all completely free to the student.
This year the social sport programme has grown and provided a plethora of non-committal physical activity opportunities while improving our student’s mental well-being. The programme is the start of a student’s sporting journey or where they are returning to an activity they used to love playing. These sessions provide structure and help build a student’s confidence and progress into a more competitive sport or a structured club environment if they wish. This year has seen 57% of social sport attendees build the confidence to take the next step in their University sporting journey by joining an AU Sports Club. This showcases the success of the students’ sport experience, helping them transition through the programmes.
“Your amazing motivation and support through every rep during the workout made all the difference and you got me through the entire hour. I also greatly appreciate your knowledge and understanding, especially starting difficult weight training. You made me feel very welcome and comfortable”.
Congratulations to the Exeter Sport team who have helped create a fantastic year for our students, keeping them active at little or no cost. For more information about the social sport programme, you can head to the website here.