Pick a sports club that suits your likes and passions.
Socialising is important and I’ve already shared that joining a sports team or a society is a great way to do that. But, how do you know one is right for you?
It can be really tempting walking around Fresher’s Fayre to pick all the student sports and societies that sound interesting but I don’t recommend doing that. It works out very expensive and could be a waste of money.
I wanted to join all sorts of clubs and in my first year I did. Each membership was £10-£20 each but I only really stuck to one of those out of the lot. I wasted hundreds in my first year on things and really regretted it. The second year, I definitely didn’t make that mistake—but did go to the Fresher’s Fayre for the free stuff!
So, here are my tips for choosing the right student sports and societies for you.
Think About the Things You’re Interested In
What are your passions? What sports do you love to play.
I had three big passions when I start university:
- Writing
- Basketball
- Music
With those in mind, I looked for all the clubs and societies that involved them. But then I forgot all about them as I was pulled into some that I would never have considered. I joined things like the Cocktail Society, the Football Club and even the Ju Jitsu club.
Now, granted, the Ju Jitsu would have been great had the club not clashed with the days that the basketball games were on. I think I would have kept going but I wanted to stick to the one sport that I adored and was good at.
The other two clubs and societies, along with all the others, were a waste of time and I shouldn’t have joined in the first place.
The second year, I kept my three passions in mind—and only those. I looked for societies that involved music or writing and instantly joined the basketball team again!
Go to the Free Trials
All the student sports and societies will have free trials. Some of these are held during Fresher’s week but others are often in the first week. You can go along and test it to see if you want to join.
This is something I highly recommend. That was the way I decided that Ju Jitsu would have been for me apart from the day that it fell on.
The others, I would have soon realised that I had no interest in them really or they weren’t for me by just going to the first night without committing myself to a year’s membership.
At the free trials, you not only find out what the club or society does, but you can find out more about the type of people who are part of it. I’ve never been part of the “in crowd”. I’m not the blonde-hair, stick thin beauty but I’m proud of that. I made the mistake of trying to fit into that crowd, when really I should have kept to the groups with the same mentality as me. That’s where I fit in better and wouldn’t have felt like an outsider.
Set Up Your Own Student Sports or Societies
There are times that your passion won’t be there. This was the case for many students at my university. Instead of complaining about it, they got together and set up their own.
This is a great idea and I highly recommend it if you have enough people who want to join. You can find out from your university how to set up a club, sports team or society. They will tell you how many people you need to join initially and give you the dates that you can put them on.
I saw some societies grow considerably due to the number of students who wanted it during my first year.
How did you choose your student sports or societies? Did you find that you wasted money or were you quite good in your first year? I’d love to hear stories from others!
Image credit: andriux-uk events
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