It´s Fresher´s Week! That means moving in, getting to know your way around campus and plenty of fun events to attend!
Something you should definitely not miss is the sports fayre and there are loads of reasons why everyone should join a sports club at university!
You don´t have to a high-performance athlete to join a sports club at university, clubs often offer different types of memberships. You could play competitively for a team, but you can also just join a sports club for the social aspect of it.
From “traditional sports” like football, netball or gymnastics, universities in the UK often offer a wide range of different sports. You might find sports you have never thought of trying before, for example, archery, sailing or Ultimate Frisbee.
For a full list of available sports clubs at Aberdeen University click here.
Make sure you go to the sports fayre during Fresher´s week to find out about all the different options available to you! Most clubs also offer “taster” or “give-it-a-go” sessions in the first one or two weeks of uni, so why not attend those to see if you enjoy the sport and meet some people you like!
Related Posts:
10 Tips for Moving Into University Halls
How To Bond With Your Flatmates | 10 Things To Do
10 University Bedroom Essentials
Without further ado, here are my 6 reasons why you should join a sports club at university.
6 Reasons Why You Should Join a Sports Club at University
1) Meet New People
One of the main reasons to join a sports club at university is to make friends. It also gives you the opportunity to meet a bunch of people you might not meet otherwise, as they might be doing an entirely different course to you.
I have made loads of friends in my sports club that are studying an entirely different course to me, who I probably would never have met had it not been for the sports club.
2) Try Something New
Thankfully, university sport isn´t like sport at school!
I don´t know about you, but my teachers used to be absolutely obsessed with volleyball and track and field, that would be the only thing we´d ever do. And I was extremely fed up with it! I hated sports during my time at school and really looked forward to playing a sport I actually enjoyed at university.
While there are all the traditional sports like volleyball, football or hockey, university gives you the opportunity to try something you have never done before!
Why not try joining the archery club or have you ever played ultimate frisbee? One of my friends also joined the rifle club which he absolutely loves!
There are plenty of things to try, so remember to go to the give-it-a-go sessions during Fresher´s Week and find the right sports club for you!
3) Keep Fit, Healthy and Reduce Stress
It is always good to try and keep fit and do at least a little exercise every week. It can be hard to move enough when you spend a lot of time in lectures or sitting at your desk studying. That´s why it´s important to have some time every week dedicated to running around for a bit!😅
Not only is playing sports and exercise good for your physical health, but it´s also important for your mental health.
Everyone needs time to de-stress and switch off from uni for a while – and joining a university sports club is a great way of doing it! Go to training, see your friends, run around and have fun playing whatever sport you are doing in order to leave any uni work or stress behind for an hour or two.
4) It Looks Good On Your CV
It can also look good on your CV if you join a university sports club.
Playing for a team will build your teamwork skills and perhaps you could also take an active role in the club committee. This will help develop other important skills like communication, organisation and time management skills. Proof of these might come in handy when applying for your next internship or job.
5) Competitions, Travel and University Pride
If you play competitively for a team, for example in BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sport), it gives you the opportunity to travel the country and play against teams from other universities. Not only does that give you the chance to meet even more people, but it will also make you proud to be representing your university at those competitions.
Playing competitively often needs a greater commitment to the club, requiring you to attend most training sessions and perhaps giving up a whole day or weekend to travel to other universities for competitions.
However, if this is too much for you, then it is always possible to simply join the club and play non-competitively, just for fun!
6) It´s Great Fun!
The most important reason to join a university sports club is to HAVE FUN! You don´t have to play competitively (that´s what I have done so far) and can just go to the training sessions in order to meet your friends and have fun!
Most clubs also organise other social events throughout the year, like pub crawls, bowling nights or pot-luck evenings, which are also great fun to attend! It´s also nice to head over to the pub all together after training for a drink!
All in all, whether you are wanting to meet new people, stay fit at university, enhance your CV or simply have fun, there are loads of reasons why you should join a sports club at university!
Take the opportunity to try something new and mix with more people at university – joining a sports club will definitely help you make the most of your time at uni!
Let me know if and what sports club you join or leave a comment below if you have any other questions!
