5 Reasons For Postgrads to Get Involved With University Sports

If you’ve just started a postgraduate course, joining a university sports club might not be at the top of your to-do list. You’re probably getting to grips with a hefty reading list, settling into a new schedule and acquainting yourself with your department’s coffee machine. Locating the library’s optimum spot for toilet and WiFi access probably seems more important than finding a group of people to have a kickabout with.

However, it would be a mistake to dismiss sports club membership as a postgraduate. You may have a dodgy ankle or a natural aversion to sport, but chances are you’ll be able to find an activity that suits you and your athletic inclinations.

Take a look at some of the reasons to take the plunge and join a university sports club.

At first glance, sports societies might not seem like the most hospitable place for a postgrad. Boozy midweek socials, questionable rituals involving dog biscuits (I’m drawing from personal experience here, unfortunately. . .) and often inconvenient practice hours.

But you’d be surprised at the number of clubs that are accessible to postgraduates, swapping weekday sessions for weekend practices. Many societies are proud of their inclusiveness, shunning competitiveness for a more relaxed approach to sport. You needn’t put your body on the line as a member of one of these more low-key clubs.

The sheer number of different sports on offer at most universities means that you can look beyond the most popular sports. How about swapping football for fencing, or hockey for handball?

Lots of postgrads end up at a new university and in a new city. Joining a sports club is a way of meeting people outside your course, as well as familiarising yourself with the city itself.

Maybe you’ll become part of a running or cycling club and experience those off-the-beaten-track places you could’ve missed if you’d been hunkered down in the university library. This is a particularly good idea if you’re lucky enough to be based at a university with easy access to beautiful countryside!

When you’re deep into your Masters dissertation or PhD project, it can be easy to lose sight of the ‘real’ world.

We all have our moments: mistaking your cat for a research assistant, for example, or being plagued by increasingly bizarre thesis-based dreams.

Taking part in sports is a way of escaping these situations. By building a sports club into your schedule, you can avoid slipping into an unhealthy work pattern. This might not be top of your agenda when you’re stepping onto a frozen rugby pitch at 6pm on a January night, but you’ll thank yourself for it later. Trust us.

The health benefits of sport are well-known. Regular exercise reduces the risk of a whole host of nasty illnesses, from heart disease to cancer.

And the endorphins – ‘happy’ chemicals – that get released by your brain during and after exercise are great for our mental wellbeing.

We’ve already blogged about the importance of looking after your mental health as a postgraduate, and exercise is a vital part of any care regime. Researchers have found that staying active lowers stress, improves your sleep quality and can help with depression.

Becoming a member of a sports team at university can encourage you to get into a healthy rhythm, making it (slightly!) less easy to duck out of sporting commitments when the weather’s bad. Yep, even those aforementioned frozen rugby pitches can help combat the winter blues, even though it may not feel like it at the time.

Not all university sports societies require you to get wet and muddy in the dead of winter, though. You’d be surprised at some of the sports that have their dedicated club. I mean, I hadn’t even heard of a couple of the activities on offer at my university.

Perhaps you could try your hand at korfball, a sport with a sizeable following at several UK universities. Originating in the Netherlands at the start of the twentieth century, it’s akin to a cross between netball and basketball (and even made an appearance at the Olympics in 1920 and 1928!).

What makes korfball particularly unique and inclusive is that it’s a truly mixed-gender sport, featuring both male and female teammates.

Or you can follow in the footsteps of both Ronaldos and join your university’s futsal society. Futsal’s a fun, fast alternative to football, played indoors between five-a-side teams. Using a smaller ball than the traditional version of the game, it’s also more technical and less physical.

Trampolining, taekwondo or table tennis – whichever sport you opt for, universities usually run schemes where you can take part in a few sessions for free before committing to a group membership. These schemes make it easy as a postgrad for you to work out which sport and society suits you.

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