After what had been a busy opening few days to Freshers’ week, new students and returning students alike flooded to the sports trial in their droves. The trials, which started on Thursday 2nd and ran till Sunday 5th, seemed to be very popular and were aided by the good weather on the first few days and the fact that there was such a good turnout at the Freshers’ Fair. Sports like football and netball saw the numbers of trialists peak in their hundreds as both new and returning students sought to retain or gain a place on a team.
Falmer Sports complex and Falmer Sports centre were the places to be on Thursday and Friday as hundreds of students descended onto both the football pitches, astro turf and the sports halls to show the coaches and committees what they had to offer. Despite the weather turning for the worst at the weekend a hardy lot still attended the second trials and braved the monsoon conditions. Well done to everyone who took part in what were hopefully enjoyable and successful afternoons of sport.
Last year was highly successful and saw Sussex reach 51st in the BUCS rankings, with the high numbers of people attending the trials suggesting things are looking bright for this year as well. Teams like women’s Basketball that have been consistently playing at the highest level of University competition for the last few years, will be looking to continue their excellent recent successes whilst other teams like fencing, whose men’s team won the BUSA shield last year, will similarly look to build on such success in search of more silverware. However, the successes last year were not isolated to team events, as individual athletes like Miles Gandolfi and Emily Llewellyn experienced national and European successes in their respective sports of fencing and eventing.
Off the field a number of groups have been involved in local community projects through Project V and the Link up programme. Last year for example the women’s netball team successfully ran a four-week after school coaching programme to children at Bevendean Primary School. Without the help of the netball team and project V, the children would not have otherwise been able to play. This year we are hoping more groups will follow in Netball’s footsteps and increase our links within the local community, using their skills in helping others.
If for whatever reason you were not able to attend the trials or sadly did not get into the team it does not stop there. This Autumn term there will be a number of intra-mural sports competitions taking place, such as: indoor 5-a-side football, outdoor 6-a-side football, squash, table tennis and futsal, with more on their way in the next couple of terms. If you would like to get involved in any of these, pick up a form from either the Falmer Sports Centre or Falmer Sports Complex to enter and start playing.
There are over 25 different groups available through USSU sport, and more through the sports centre, so the time has never been better to try something new or get into something you have not done for a number of years. With clubs ranging form sub-aqua, canoeing and mountaineering to, volleyball, football and much much more there will be something for everyone, and if there isn’t, let me know!
The USSU Activities Office is located on the first floor of Falmer House. Dave can be found here to answer any activities queries you may have.
