University’s ‘Give it a Go’ Sessions: Your Gateway to Trying New Sports in 2024

Fancy trying out a new sport this year? Well, then the University’s “Give it a Go” sessions are for you.

Following a successful launch earlier this academic year, the University has decided to continue offering free sports taster sessions to all students. With many of us committing to doing more exercise or trying a new sport as part of our New Year’s resolutions, Give it a Go sessions offer the perfect way to get involved in a fun, low-commitment way!

The sports offered through this scheme range from those you will be familiar with such as badminton, volleyball and mixed netball, to less common sports such as Ultimate and pickleball, all at a beginner friendly level. Best of all, all sessions are free and you don’t need any equipment! If you want to attend any sessions, you can simply book them through the Cambridge Sports app available on the app store.

The University Sports Centre’s commitment to continuing to support and run these free beginners’ welcome sessions represents a major growth in Cambridge’s sporting scene. The aim is to help welcome new people who want to take up sport, who may have previously been put off by high levels of commitment, high sporting intensity or who simply never considered themselves good at sport.

This push to broaden participation and make sport more welcoming has included the addition of other university sports initiatives such as the new social badminton, five-a-side football tournaments and squash leagues created for the Lenten period. Once again, the University has made these social tournaments free and open to all, in an effort to remove as many barriers to the sport as possible.

Callum O’Shea, Give it a Go coordinator for Cambridge University Sports, shared their plans and ambitions for this project with Varsity. They commented: “We would like to see the programme grow in the future and, based on the number of people who have taken part so far, it is clear that there is significant demand. Obviously as the programme grows and people develop new skills, it is important that there are appropriate ‘exits’ for the programme too, so that people can continue to play and perhaps progress to a higher level away from the Give it a Go sessions. With this in mind, we have launched social leagues in badminton and squash this year and will be looking to increase the quantity and quality of university sports leagues and other recreational leagues over the course of our 2023-2027 strategy.”

The University’s hard work to extend its free sports provision to enable students to engage more and widen participation should be celebrated as a step forward. It is hoped that programs such as these will continue to break down barriers to involvement in sport, whilst reducing traditional sporting elitism.

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Callum O’Shea further elaborated on the potential benefits that widening access to sport will hopefully bring to the University: “We are working closely with the University and college wellbeing staff, as it is recognized across the university university the enormous positive impact that physical activity can have on general well-being. That doesn’t mean it’s a guaranteed solution to all problems, but the program is about having fun and making friends, and getting some exercise at the same time, and that’s important as part of the overall student experience. Through the program, we really hope to engage many students who would not otherwise engage in physical activity: the program reduces some barriers to participation, including cost. It is also important that it provides a space where everyone learns and develops together, and so there is much less fear of embarrassment that a beginner might have if playing with very experienced people.”

All that’s left to say is that if you’re planning on trying a new sport and meeting new people this term, it might be worth attending one of the sessions.

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2024-06-29 02:40:42
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