From a slow start, to sporting triumph
Greg Sharp, Deputy Director of Sport, Sports Development and Recreation
Greg Sharp applauds pioneering student campaigners who worked hard to plant the seeds of sporting success
Could they ever have comprehended the impact their campaigns were going to have! I hope those sporting pioneers feel great pride in seeing how much has been achieved at Bath since their collective voices demanded action.
Being involved in Sport at the University of Bath for so long, I have often heard tales of the sit-down protests in 1969, but it is fascinating to read the accounts from the time. Access to sporting facilities was not at the forefront of conversations in the early years of the University’s establishment but the students would not be silenced. There were relentless requests, proposals and campaigns by passionate club members and athletic union representatives to provide not only access to playing fields but to appoint a Director of Physical Education as well, to oversee the sporting offer.
The visit of Dennis Howell, then Minister for Sport, provided the platform for the most memorable demonstration. It is not too hard to imagine the greeting he received with students jeering and waving placards screaming for action to be taken, as seen in the photo, but it was his departure that was blocked by the now infamous sit-in protest.
The determination of those students to be heard and to ensure sport was prioritised was the catalyst of all that is provided today for the students, staff, community and sporting partners. In 1969 the students were fighting to access Norwood fields to play their fixtures, today those fixtures can not only be played on grass but also on the first fully recyclable 3G pitch opened in the UK.
The 3G pitch continues a period of multi-million-pound investments dating back to the 1990s which, though a number of phases, has created the sports environment now known as the Sports Training Village.
The breadth and quality of facilities now on offer at Bath were a major factor in Bath being recognised as The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide Sports University of the Year 2026 and are a major draw for prospective students to consider studying at Bath, the next generation to benefit from an active lifestyle.
Part of me hopes that those sporting pioneers have celebrated this success along with us and have been bold enough to say, “I started that!”