Description

The Sports Network is made up of current students who are elected into their roles as the highest level of student representation we, as students, have in place within sport at Bristol Uni. From this position we can prioritise what students actually want from sport at the uni, whether that’s playing in a competitive BUCS league or a social intramural league on Sundays. Ignition is our main event of the year where we gather sports teams from across the uni to participate in 10 hours of activity (anything from skipping to swimming to shooting hoops!) to raise money for Bristol City Centre Hospitals. This year wellbeing is at the forefront of our agenda so make sure you follow our Instagram (sportsnetworkbristol) to keep up with what we have in store!

Our Chair this year is Jenny Herring:

“Hi everyone, I’m Jenny and I’m the Sports Network Chair for the upcoming 2020/21 season. My sports are rugby and water polo, though given the chance I’ll try and play just about anything! 

As Chair for a typical year my role would include running the sports network committee, sitting on grant panels, attending student council and coordinating our main charity event of the year which is Ignition. However, this year’s going to be slightly different… completely unlike other years for obvious reasons! Over the summer I’ve already been in weekly meetings with Rushab and the SEH/SU partnership team, making sure the interests of the students are represented while we develop a plan for the coming season; and have been working behind the scenes to make sure our sporting community is working cohesively to look after each other’s wellbeing in these difficult circumstances.”

Want to get involved? Come and join our committee! You’ll have an accredited role on an official SU Network committee for your CV, you’ll represent the interests of the 10,000 students that play sport across the uni, and you’ll have the resources to influence the decisions that matter to you and your clubs. 

Typically, a committee member can expect to spend 1-2 hours on the Sports Network per week, less during quieter periods (e.g. exams) and a little more towards big events such as Ignition (depending on the role). However, as students we know sometimes there just isn’t enough time to get everything ticked off that to-do list so by working as part of a committee we’ll be there to help out when needed.

The roles available are:

• Liberation Officer 
  • Coordinate with the liberation networks and wider student community to ensure that their views are adequately represented, understanding barriers to sport and address these accordingly
  • Bring forward new initiatives/collaborations to further ensure that members of these communities feel sport is accessible for them
• Wellbeing Officer
  • Engage with sports clubs and campaigns to promote the importance of understanding mental and physical wellbeing within sport
  • Collaborate with all levels of student athletes from participatory to elite level and their wellbeing concerns/queries and bring these to the front of the network's agenda
  • NEW FOR 2020/21 – This year the network is focussing particularly on the role sport and being active have in our wellbeing!
• Access Officer
  • Represents students who would like to get involved in sport at university at the participatory level, for example by engaging with intramural team captains
  • Work with students who would like to be further involved in sport but are unable to currently due to barriers
• Events Officer
  • Be the committee lead on the planning and running of events in the network (main event of the year is Ignition)
  • Coordinating with the SU Marketing team to publicise events run by the network

Nominations for committee open 19-28^th October 2020, with the Elections being held 2-6th November, so head over to our Instagram (sportsnetworkbristol) to keep up with the latest updates!! Any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Jenny  (st18233@bristol.ac.uk)

*Step-by-step guide to nominate yourself*

• Log in to your account on the Bristol SU website
• Click the drop down menu next to the ‘Hello, [your name]’
• Click on ‘Account/Profile’
• Then from the grey menu on the left hand side click ‘My Nominations’
• Scroll down to find the roles you’re looking for! (Sports Network Liberation Officer can be found on the first page, then Sports Network Events, Wellbeing and Access Officers can be found on the second page)

A visual guide can be found on the 'Elections' highligh reel on our Instagram (sportsnetworkbristol) but if you get stuck please don't hesitate to get in touch.