Joining a sports social when you start University can allow you to enjoy weekly exercise while socialising with like-minded people. Speaking from experience, Cardiff University has a sports night every Wednesday, this also includes a theme such as pub golf, army, neon, or animal print. This bonds people and allows friendships to grow. It is also a fun distraction from your studies. The variety of sports clubs allows you to try every activity until you find one that best suits you. The give-it-a-go session at the freshers’ fair allows you to discover if you have a hidden or untapped skill in something you’ve never tried.
The Good
The good includes having a weekly training session, where you know you can go out and do an activity. This could something slightly slower-paced such as darts, or a high-impact one such as rugby. This allows you to have a structure in your week. Additionally, it decreases stress levels and benefits your mental health.
The Bad
Sports societies at University were once infamous for the intense initiations. Students had to endure this to become fully-fledged members of the club. These stories may be quite daunting for many, with some being especially intense. Due to this, universities had to ban these stereotypical and potentially dangerous initiations. However, being university students, society leaders managed to find a loophole around this ban as they held ‘welcome drinks’. These drinks closely toe the line of these previous initiations.
There are not actually many bad qualities in sporting clubs. There are just some bad preconceptions surrounding the drinking culture. Some people may feel pressure to drink but this is not the case. If you are a non-drinker you are still more than welcome, as these societies are all inclusive. Do not let preconceptions and certain pressures put you off attending. The University societies must include everyone, so do not feel pressured to complete certain tasks or drinking challenges.
The Ugly
Having a sore head mid-week after the sports clubs nights , will fall under this ugly category. Many sports societies also hold Christmas and end-of-year balls. Here you can celebrate the year you’ve had with the new friends you have made from these societies. However, feeling worse for wear when attending the following 9 am lectures, encompasses the ‘ugly’ side of the socials. I can assure you, you will not be looking as fresh-faced in the lecture hall following a post neon or animal print social.
