The University has recently finalised arrangements for the introduction of a new student sports membership, which will be introduced from September 2011.
The membership, costing £100 a year, has been introduced to enhance the student experience of sport and to reinvest into the STV and its services.
Paying the membership will be optional for students, who can choose instead to ‘pay and play’ for a particular activity (eg swimming). More regular users are likely to gain better potential value by paying the one off annual membership fee.
The new membership will enable students to:
- Enjoy an exclusive two-hour slot on weekdays during term time when facilities across the Sports Training Village (STV) will be ring fenced for their use and for the use of staff;
- Benefit from priority when booking in advance;
- Participate in tailored sports activities;
- Benefit from increased investment in the sports facilities and services.
In terms of staff, you will continue to pay for sport under existing payment arrangements but will also be prioritised during the exclusive sports slot.
In the few areas where staff have previously benefitted from the free use of facilities (eg squash courts), a charge will be introduced from September. Staff will appreciate that it would not be reasonable to continue to allow them free use of facilities once students are required to pay.
Professor Kevin Edge, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, said: “The overwhelming feedback from our students in recent years has been a call for greater access to sports facilities, particularly at peak times.
“We are the only UK University to offer the majority of our sport facilities ‘free of charge’ to our students, but the consistent feedback from students is that this ‘free sport’ is only available at restricted times, with access to certain facilities severely limited, and under very poor advanced booking arrangements.
“This new scheme aims to change all that with the focus on prioritising facilities for the use of students.”
The University is committed to reinvesting income from the membership scheme into its sports provision – enhancing the facilities and opportunities for recreational student sport and providing additional accessibility for student sports clubs.
Professor Edge added: “This reflects the University’s Sports Strategy which makes a commitment to enhancing the student experience through its sporting provision.,
“We believe this is the best way to deliver on this commitment, and will now be working in consultation with the Students’ Union to ensure that future investment does just that.”
Below are the answers to some of the questions you may have about the scheme:
| Q1. | Will there be a similar £100 membership fee for staff? |
| A. | Staff currently pay to use the majority of the facilities on campus and this will continue. Staff have a range of existing membership options together with a range of pay and play options. The latter has been extended to include a pay and play fee for squash which did not previously exist. |
| Q2. | I have been playing sport for free at the University as a member of a staff club, will this continue? |
| A. | No, unfortunately not. There have been some inconsistencies in the system whereby some staff clubs pay to use the facilities while a couple of clubs were receiving free facility time. This will be addressed with the organisers of the clubs concerned. |
| Q3. | I have been paying £1.95 to swim occasionally in the 50m pool. Will I be able to do this in the future? |
| A. | Yes, the same pay and play options will continue. |
| Q4. | I currently pay £192 per year for an annual swim membership and through this swim regularly in the 50m pool; will there be any change to this arrangement? |
| A. | No, as is the case already, staff will have the option to take out a variety of memberships all at a 15% reduction on the normal commercial price. |
| Q5. | I have been playing squash for free for many years and am very disappointed that the University now intends to charge me for this facility. How can the University justify taking away this staff benefit during such uncertain and challenging times? |
| A. | It is not fair of us to charge students to use the sports facilities without also expecting staff to do the same. |
| Q6. | Will staff be able to benefit from the exclusive two-hour slot or is it just for students? In which case when are we supposed to play? |
| A. | Both students and staff will have access to the facilities during the two-hour slot. |
| Q7. | You talk about priority booking for students – what about staff? |
| A. | Staff will be able to book facilities in advance in a similar way to students. |
| Q8. | Will these changes stop me from just coming in to use the Sports Café? |
| A. | No, the STV will continue to be open both through the main entrance and through the rear terrace, for those working in the new East Building, There will be no barriers on the upper level. We hope to encourage more students and staff to visit the STV and the Sports Café. |