INTRA MURAL SPORT – THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PROGRAMMES

Oxford Brookes University Sport has previously consisted of training and competition for BUCS athletes and a general use facility for all students to utilise at their discretion. In September 2011, we put in place an initiative to begin Intra Mural sport for all students using Sportivate funding to help start each programmeBefore intramural sports were introduced we had approx.:

• BUCS Members – 783• Student Gym Members – 2750

BROOKES SPORT – OUR INTRAMURAL INITIATIVE 2011/2012

OBJECTIVES FOR INTRA MURAL SPORT AT OXFORD BROOKES

• Increase participation in sport and exercise• Provide social and fun sessions for students to enjoy• Meet Sportivate participation targets • Encourage non-active students to take part in sport

SPORT MALE19 - 21

FEMALE19 - 21

MALE22 - 25

FEMALE22 - 25

TOTAL

Football5-a-side

80 15 20 5 120

Football11-a-side

100 20 20 10 150

Basketball 25 5 5 0 35

Netball 0 25 0 5 30

Squash 10 6 2 2 20

Badminton 10 10 5 5 30

WHAT DOES INTRA MURAL SPORT DO FOR THE UNIVERSITY?

• Provides opportunity for students who may not be able to participate in sport for various reasons to partake in physical activity. Some reasons may be:• Didn’t make the team• Time constraints• Lectures• Play another sport

• Provides a social environment for students to meet new people outside of their course or halls

• Creates more awareness for BUCS teams (spectators)

• Opportunity to create links between University, BUCS teams and outside sports clubs

MY JOB ROLE – SPORTS COORDINATOR

Sports Coordinator: set up and oversee all intramural sports programmes.

•Find sports of interest

•Meet with NGB

•Find a coach/organiser

•Frequent checks and meetings

•Create a database for each sport programme

•Provide links between BUCS clubs

•Create links with outside clubs

HOW WE GAIN INTEREST…

• Fresher's Fair – sign up sheets with each club and individual stand

• Trials of BUCS teams – sign up list goes to Sports Coordinator for future reference (people who do not make the teams get invited to the intramural sessions)

• Posters, schedules and leaflets – displayed around the Centre for Sport and handed out in halls

• Emails – frequently sent to update and remind anyone timings of sessions for those that have expressed interest in a particular sport

• Social Networks – Facebook Intra Mural page keeps frequent posts regarding the upcoming sessions for students to attend, which is also linked to the Oxford Brookes main page and sports sites

COSTING

•We initially received funding through through Sportivate from Sport England which covers a budget for start up equipment, coaching and facility hire where necessary

• All sports are the same price to show consistency for students and that no sport has a priority over another

• Each sport is £3 per session for the semester or we offer an intramural membership for each sport. £25 for the semester will allow the students free access to all the sessions in the sport of their choice

HOW WE RUN THE PROGRAMMES

Each sport is run slightly differently dependent upon if it is a league or a drop in session

Who runs them:

•Where possible a student or students from the specified BUCS team will organise and run the session. This allows the opportunity for volunteers or newly qualified coaches to gain experience in planning and running sessions. If the student is qualified we pay them as a coach, if they are a volunteer we offer a free membership as an incentive to work hard

What the organisers do:

•They are required to take a register each session, and add new players information. Depending on the sport, they must organise league or session and ensure everyone gets to participate. After each session they must report back to the Sports Coordinator with numbers and feedback.

SPORTS RUNNING AT BROOKES

• 11-a-side Football – league

• 5-a-side football – league

• Basketball – drop in session

• Netball – drop in session

• Badminton – 2x drop in sessions

• Squash – drop in coaching and league

2012 Potential Sports

• Lacrosse – drop in coaching

• Cycling – social riding club

• Softball – inter-hall league

FOOTBALL: 5-A-SIDE & 11-A-SIDE

• Two separate leagues are run each weekend over the academic year

• Students form their own teams, then teams sign up at Centre for Sport Reception

• Organised and ran by student BUCS football players who arrange the schedule and referees for each week

BASKETBALL

• Drop in session ran on a Friday evening 7 – 8.30pm

• Students just turn up and play on the day

• Organised by 4 of the BUCS basketball men’s team, who arrange the teams on the day and referee. Shorts games of 5minute then new teams

NETBALL

• Drop in session ran on Tuesday evening 5 – 6.30pm

• Students just turn up and play on the day

• Organised by 2 of the BUCS netball team/committee, who take warm up and beginning drills, then arrange into teams and referee games. These students receive a free gym membership for volunteering

BADMINTON

• Two drop in sessions Friday evening 8.30 – 10.30pm and Sunday 8 – 10pm.

• Students just turn up and play on the day

• One session there is a student that has recently qualified as a badminton coach and is there to offer coaching to anyone who wants it and ensure all players get to play. Other session is run by the men’s and women’s BUCS captains who ensure all participants get to play. 5x courts offer 24 people playing at any time.

SQUASH• One drop in session Sunday evening 5 – 7.45pm

• Students just turn up and play on the day

• A qualified squash coach that is also a BUCS player and club captain runs the session, which consists of 1x 45minute coaching session and then arranges a league for the remaining 2 hours. They are responsible for planning and coaching the session.

OUR CURRENT PARTICIPATIONSustained participation from September – December

•Basketball – 41•Netball – 31•5-a-side Football – 129 •11-a-side Football – 163•Badminton – 44•Squash – 11

Oxford Brookes University Sports Department have recorded the above figures for a sustained participation in Intra Mural Sport throughout the first semester for the academic year 2011-2012

OBSTACLES

• Facility: facility constraints have been a major issue for Brookes Sport. One Sports Hall, two squash courts and two astro pitches to accommodate all BUCS teams, public use and the intra mural programmes has been difficult.

• Consistency: students tend to loose interest or become focused on deadlines half way through the semester.

CONCLUSION

Oxford Brookes University met most of the Sportivate participation targets set for the semester.We now provide fun and social sessions for all students to enjoy including those who may not frequently compete in physical activity Our sport/gym participation numbers have now risen by 400 due to the new intra mural sessions and we hope to introduce more sports in 2012

QUESTION AND ANSWER

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING OUR INTRA

MURAL SPORT PROGRAMME AT OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY