As we reach the end of the academic year I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight just how far our sports clubs and societies have come over the past year. The quality and range of activities and opportunities hosted by them has blown us away, and we really have had it all this year!

From themed quizzes, to competing in National Championships, acoustic nights, to guest speaker conferences, not to mention the success of Varsity. Our sports clubs and societies really have exceeded expectations this year and not a week has gone by without their being a good news story of some description!

With the introduction of the Activities Quality Mark our groups have been keen to improve the range of activities available for their members to get involved in, and as a result of this membership numbers have reached record levels, with our groups now having over 2500 members between them!

In addition to this we now have 111 sports clubs and societies (another record figure) ensuring that our students have the most diverse range of sports clubs and societies available to sign up to.

Another major development in the run up to the next academic year is the decision to support our volunteering projects in their transition to becoming fully student-led societies.

This means that they will operate like any other society, being led by student committee members, allowing them access to opportunities such as the Activities Quality Mark and its incentives.

This really is a great move for these already extremely successful projects, as it will allow them to continue their great work in gaining more members and will also open the door for some inter-society collaboration.

HarvestHud in particular has been a project which has performed over and above this year, which even resulted in it being shortlisted in the Huddersfield Examiner Community Awards for Project of the Year! So it’s a big welcome from me to our Volunteering Societies!

Ratification Deadline

Following the unbelievable success of the past year it is now time for our sports clubs and societies to get their documents in to ensure they can continue to be ratified with the Students’ Union!

Ratification, grant request, and health and safety packs all now need completing before Friday 3 July to ensure they can continue to do so. After attending training this week our committee members should understand the basics of these key documents, however if you have any further questions about the process or want to check your applications are up to scratch, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself or the Activities team.

Likewise if you couldn’t attend the training sessions and would like to set up a new club or society, as we are always keen to support students through this process and the aim is to get you set up in time for Freshers’ Festival!

So please remember the deadline for the submission of these key documents is Friday 3 July! These key documents can all be downloaded from the Activities Toolkit where you can find tips and guidance in the Activities Handbook and in the FAQ section.

Finally I’d like to give a massive thank you to all of our outgoing committee members who have served their sports clubs and societies over the past year and beyond.

Until you become a committee member you don’t really understand the scope of the role, and although at times it can be extremely successful and tiring, the amount you will have taken from your respective roles will keep with you forever and will be a real asset as you progress through life!

All the best,

Jordan Aird

VP Student Activities