CSP : Lincolnshire Sport
The Lincoln College Athletic Union launched in September 2015, with the aim of offering all Lincoln College students the opportunity to participate in further sport and physical activity. The focus of the Athletic Union is to make sport and physical activity options more varied, accessible and suitable for students studying at Lincoln College. The Athletic Union project is a partnership between Lincolnshire Sport and Lincoln College and for the past two academic years has seen a Sports Project Officer develop and coordinate a series of sport and physical activity sessions/programs across all three Lincoln College campus sites; Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough.
The success of the Athletic Union project can initially be seen in the numbers of students which have been engaged. During Year 1 a total of 414 students were recorded as taking part in sport or physical activity sessions delivered by the Athletic Union. This exceeded the target set of 289 students, and saw nearly double the number of predicted females participate (87 recorded, 46 targeted). Currently during Year 2, 386 students have been engaged in sport and activity sessions, with throughput standing at 1841. With five months of the current college year remaining, targets are set to be exceeded again, and it is clear that the work from Year One of the project has been built on and developed further.
A key driver of the success of the Athletic Union in engaging students in sport has been its student led approach. Before the Athletic Union project commenced, consultation was completed with students studying across Lincoln College to obtain their views on sport, and to help understand their feelings towards participation. A large number of barriers for taking part in sport and physical activity were identified which included; the travel requirements of students, the limited access to sports facilities, the lack of activities available, the cost of taking part in sport, and the lack of activity organisers. The results of this consultation were thus used to inform the work of the Athletic Union project and in order to enhance the college sport offer specifically to students’ needs. In addition to this original consultation, students are encouraged to express their views on college sport on a regular basis at events and during tutorials, and also informally through speaking with the Sports Project Officer in spaces such as the canteen and common rooms. By being available for students to connect with this ensures that the Sports Project Officer has up to date insight on students’ views towards college sport.
A significant area that the Athletic Union project has sought to address has been ensuring that staff and students understand the benefit that involvement in sport and physical activity has on overall wellbeing, and how this can also support academic performance. This has been the biggest challenge facing the Athletic Union project since a sporting offer (outside of curriculum sport) had not previously existed across the college sites. Conversations and meetings with key staff members such as the Youth and Wellbeing Team and course leaders for certain curriculum areas have helped to break down this barrier, and have thus allowed staff to see how activity participation can benefit their students. For example, a self-defence course has been delivered to students from the School of Access at Lincoln College (students with physical, learning or behavioural disabilities) which enabled them to both take part in activity and also gain valuable life skills. The Sports Project Officer has also been able to connect the college with local sports clubs and National Governing Bodies which helps increase students’ awareness of community activity options outside of college, and simultaneously has improved the range of activities which can be offered within college. At Gainsborough College support from a number of local sports clubs has seen students engage in activities such as Archery, Rifle Shooting, Golf and Rugby; whilst through accessing Sportivate funding, students at Lincoln and Newark College have additionally been able to receive coaching from local canoeing (Lincoln College) and wheelchair basketball (Newark College) clubs.
The Athletic Union project has had to be innovative in its approach to creating a sporting offer across Lincoln College as previously no such offer existed, and it was also apparent that a high number of participation barriers where in place for students. This new approach has included being creative with spaces for sport; turning Automotive Garages into archery ranges, putting table tennis tables in classrooms, and creating Street Golf courses from green spaces. The need to understand students’ motivations for taking part in sport has also been key; knowing when a more coach led activity is required in order to suitably engage students, or when it is best to step back and just ‘let them play’ without being overly focussed on rules or techniques. This is a mind-set which has supported the success of the Athletic Union project and one which might be slightly untraditional to the current view of ‘coaching’.
With a Sports Project Officer working across three different campus sites there has also been a need for staff and students to support the work of the Athletic Union project to ensure engagement levels can be maintained. Staff and students who have shown a willingness and commitment to the project have been identified and supported to become additional sports leaders. At Gainsborough College staff and students have undertaken a Football Activators Award meaning they are now qualified to lead their own recreational football activity on site, and have further used their leadership skills to organise their own table tennis league on campus. Working in partnership with Lincolnshire Football Association, two students have also been recruited as Football Activators for the college and lead their own sessions as well as reaching out to minority student groups such as females and BME groups. To build on this college led work further, the development of formal volunteer roles – College Sport Ambassadors - has recently been introduced. These roles are designed to give students with a particular passion for a sport or activity a chance to lead sessions to fellow students whilst gaining additional voluntary experience.
To emphasis the impact the Athletic Union project has had at Lincoln College, the following is a selection of feedback gained from staff who have engaged with the project, in additional to some feedback gained from partners who have supported the development of the project.
“Learners have loved the sessions and Alice (Sports Project Officer) coming to instruct has ensured that they have taken part in sport/enrichment activities. Students have remained fit and whilst they have not lost any weight, they have not gained any noticeable weight. We have been very grateful for the support from Alice. The learners have loved attending the gym sessions!”
Donna Bright, Lecturer, Newark College
“Through engaging in sport/physical activity students’ behaviour has been better. Activity has been really good and so many took part who have not previously been engaged in sport. The sports are really crucial to our programme and enhance everything that we are trying to do with our learners”
Helen Murphy, Tutor, Gainsborough College
“The variety of sports and the support given to our learners has been great and it has enriched their study programme. Alice has been excellent and the learners have participated well”
Andrew Steward, Tutor, Lincoln College
“I have enjoyed the variety of sport, there have been brilliant opportunities given to students. Students’ attitude toward keeping fit has improved as well as their team work skills. Thank you very much Alice”
Lorraine Breeton, Lecturer, Lincoln College
“I have enjoyed seeing students who may not be strong in academia or who have behavioural issues excel in sports. Thank you to Alice for the support over the last academic year”
Kevin Gibbon, Lecturer, Gainsborough College
“It has been great working with Alice, she has really helped bridge the gap between partnership working and engaging with the college. Working with the college has enabled us to engage with 16-19 year olds, which is a hard target group to reach for physical activity”
Hannah Lane, Football Development Officer, Gainsborough Town Council