Undergraduate prospectus

Student life: sport

When you come to Essex you will have the ideal opportunity to get involved in sport, from recreational to elite level. Our Sports Federation runs over 40 different clubs who all welcome new members. Most clubs provide basic coaching, giving you a perfect excuse to try something new, like climbing or gliding, or to perfect your existing skills. Levels are varied and cost is minimal.

At our Colchester Campus

Approximately 40 acres of our Colchester Campus are devoted to sport. In addition to cricket, football, hockey and rugby pitches, there are tennis courts, a frisbee golf course and an artificial cricket wicket and nets. We have a floodlit grass training area and a floodlit synthetic turf pitch which is used for training and hockey matches, as well as jogging and orienteering routes around the campus.

Our water sports clubs have a clubhouse at Brightlingsea and our sub-aqua, swimming and water polo clubs use the pool at Colchester Leisure World.

Our indoor facilities are also extensive. These include a multi-purpose sports hall, four glass-backed squash courts, an indoor climbing wall, three activity studios (ideal for aerobics, dance, martial arts and yoga) and one purpose-built five metre high dance studio. We have a brand new 110-station fitness and weights room and all CV machines have TV and iPod capabilities. The layout of our gym caters for the novice user to the Olympic athlete and will accommodate all fitness levels.

In 2009-10, we had our best ever year in terms of performances across the various Students’ Union sports teams. Notable performances included having the following teams promoted from their respective leagues: Badminton Women 1st; Badminton Men 2nd; Basketball Men 2nd; Football Men 1st; Table Tennis Men 2nd; Squash Men 2nd. There were also individual champions and medallists in athletics, canoeing, rowing, ten pin bowling, archery, pool, cheerleading and dance. In addition to this the Men’s Football 1st won the South East Conference Cup Final and the Men’s Basketball, Women Tennis and Women’s Badminton all finished as runners up in their respective Conference Cup competitions.

Our Sports Centre is home to the North Essex Squash Academy. The Academy provides a platform and pathway for the development of aspiring young squash players, from school children right through to elite and international level. University squash players and teams have the opportunity, through the Academy, to train with full-time squash professionals and receive expert coaching.

The University’s Human Performance Unit (HPU) provides sports science support for sports bursary students and elite athletes. There is also a Human Performance Unit race team which sponsors talented triathletes from across the country and provides coaching and support services.

Our Sports Centre runs a number of coaching courses through its SPACE (Sports Performance and Coaching Education) programme. This allows you to gain a number of coaching and officiating qualifications while at the University, as well as feeding into a number of local organisations to get hands-on coaching work.

In order to continue to improve sporting performance, our Sports Centre employs a full-time Sports Development Officer to target specific clubs and individuals with the potential to excel at a higher level. We provide structured support to talented athletes through the Sports Bursary Scheme, offering a wide range of support services.

At the Southend Campus

We have an arrangement with Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre, located at Garon Park, which provides a range of sporting facilities, including badminton, five-a-side football, basketball, netball, a large and well equipped gym, tennis and table tennis. Team sport facilities are available to all our students on Wednesday afternoons without charge. In addition, the Students’ Union co-ordinate a range of sporting activities for students in Southend, including basketball and football clubs. Subject to demand, a minibus service runs from The Union at the Southend Campus to Garon Park each Wednesday afternoon in term-time. At other times, there is a regular bus service from the bus station to Garon Park, taking just under 15 minutes for the journey.

Southend caters for an enormous range of sporting activities throughout the Borough and facilities are available for golf, tennis, cricket, fishing, swimming, cycling, football, rugby and many others. Seven miles of glorious coastline offer a wealth of water sports from sailing to kitesurfing, and the Southend Marine Activities Centre allows those on a budget to try their hand at a variety of water sports.

If you are living within the Southend Borough you can apply, via the University, for an Advantage card (costing £1 per annum) which gives half price admission on most individual bookings at council-run sports centres, including gyms and a new state-of-the-art international diving and swimming facility due to open in summer 2010.

Sports bursaries

The University has a bursary scheme to help athletes who are competing at national or international level to meet the extra costs of elite participation. The scheme provides a personal and academic mentor, free access to the University and Borough sports facilities, extensive sports science support from our Human Performance Unit, guaranteed on-campus accommodation at our Colchester Campus for the duration of study and substantial financial support. For more information visit the Sports Centre the Sports Centre website.