This clip outlines the variety of sporting opportunities on offer at the University of Birmingham and in the city, from involvement in the Active Lifestyles programme to sports clubs and national level competition.
Title: Sport at the University of Birmingham
Duration: 5.32 mins
Speaker Names (if given):S1 Will Bastin, Vice-President (Sport)
S1 The sports clubs and societies at Birmingham is split between the Guild and the University’s Sport Birmingham set up. Most of the clubs are actually in the Athletic Union. We have 43 clubs there and most of these clubs will compete in the BUSA structure [British Universities Sports Association] and for the past 16 years we’ve actually finished third in the overall rankings with all the other institutions.
S2 Students can get involved with lots of sports at Birmingham. There's such a variety. What’s really good that Birmingham offer is the Active Lifestyles programme and this is ideal if you’re a beginner or advanced and there’s so many different things like Tai Chi, dancing, Hip Hop.
S3 It’s basically an opportunity for those who may not be really into sport or exercise, like a professional rugby player or footballer, who just wants to have a release from the stress of university, to have a bit of exercise. You don’t have to be advanced; everyone’s beginners; so everyone’s on the same level. And I’m involved doing a 20-20-20 scheme where it’s 20 minutes of abs, 20 minutes of bum and 20 minutes of tum and basically it’s just me exercising, maybe not very well, but to the best that I can and it’s a relaxed and free atmosphere so that’s what Active Lifestyles is all about.
S4 I personally did gymnastics. I did that by myself which is great and I get to meet people and that was in the gymnastics Slater Hall that we have in the Munrow Centre; it’s an amazing hall, I love it. The whole floor is padded, we’ve got blocks everywhere and when I was learning somersaults there’s a pit that’s 15 metres deep and so you do somersaults into the pit and it’s full of foam so that was really fun. And because I did that on my own I get to meet people that way.
S5 There’s a range of sports that you can play at the University of Birmingham; everything from basketball to rowing if that interests you. Me myself, I’m interested in basketball. There is a basketball team in this university. I think the University of Birmingham is like one of the top three unis in basketball. I got involved in like the Afro–Caribbean society basketball team, I just used to play every Friday and kind of just to enjoy ourselves really, not anything competitive at all really.
S1 What you find is that the Athletic Union has a participation and competitive element and we have a similar situation in the Guild but there's a whole range of sports which are available. For example, in the Athletic Union we have a diverse range from life saving right through to hockey and rugby and then in the Guild we also have up and coming sports such as paintball and ice hockey.
S6 I play for Birmingham Uni seconds hockey team. I really enjoyed being involved in sport at Birmingham. I’ve learnt a lot from the coaches and from the other players and I’ve made some – well, what I would consider will be lifelong friends from it.
S7 One of the focus sports here at Birmingham is the badminton team. We have a very big team; it’s about 30 members in the competitive squad and 60 members in the non-competitive social squad. We train eleven to twelve hours a week and we have a social session on a Friday evening.
S1 The sporting venues in Birmingham are wide and diverse due to the nature of the city. We have obviously a number of football clubs; we have Aston Villa and Birmingham in the Premiership and West Bromwich Albion in the Championship. We also have the National Indoor Arena, which hosts a number of fantastic international events. WE had the European athletics championships, which the University of Birmingham actually supplied a number of volunteers to participate and steward in the event as well.
S7 Birmingham University is known for its sport. It’s in the top three in the BUSA Association and to me the sport was very important in swaying which university I wanted to come to. You’ve got a wide variety of sports and societies to choose from and the athletics union employs about 80 professional coaches.
S8 I’ve been involved at university level since I first arrived, competing in BUSA competitions, which is the British Universities Sports Association. I’ve also been able to, or been lucky enough, to be able to compete internationally.
S9 I’m on a sports scholarship here at Birmingham. I competed for Great Britain in the World Junior Championships last summer. I think the main thing I’ve learnt from my sport is time management and being really disciplined and I think this helps with my degree because it means I’ve got to keep on top of my time management and getting stuff done.
S10 I’m in my second year and I’m studying Sport and Exercise Science. I’m involved in the orienteering club both at Birmingham University but also with the Team GB. I love being involved in sport. I couldn’t imagine ever not being involved in sport. I just find it so much fun making new friends and being able to train as a team and achieve goals together. It’s a great experience.
S11 I’m a squash player; I’m the Men’s first team captain at Birmingham Uni. I try and train as much as possible and it helps with healthy living. It’s a great part of uni life and I wouldn’t substitute it for anything else.
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