News for home page. The latest four new stories will be displayed in date order.

Swimming Pool Closure – £115k Investment

Emily Halsall
June 6, 2019

We are investing £115k into updating and improving our swimming pool to make it an even better place for you to swim. For us to be able to complete the works, we need to close the swimming pool for just over two weeks between Monday 29 July and Tuesday 13 August.

This is the first time we have had a major pool closure for maintenance works since we opened in May 2010. Some of the works are essential health and safety requirements; replacing equipment that is at the end of its life span, and whilst the pool is closed for these, we will also be taking the opportunity to make further improvements to the wet-side areas of The Edge.

We recognise that closing a facility for any period of time is inconvenient for our members, but we have worked hard with contractors; spending an extra £7k, to bring the closure from an initial four, to just over two weeks, and in addition sought to find alternative solutions for you to swim during the closed period, details of which are below.

The last time you will be able to use the swimming pool will be on Sunday 28 July 9pm (last entry 8:30pm), and the first re-entry to the facility on Wednesday 14 August 6:30am.

 

Project work to be completed: 

  • Deep cleaning and re-grouting of the changing rooms and poolside floor.
  • The Sauna and Steam Room will undergo refurbishments.
  • Installation of new showers outside the Sauna and Steam Room.
  • Installation of brand new pool filters. It is recommended that swimming pool filters need to be changed every eight – ten years and this will be the first time this essential work has been carried out at The Edge.
  • Replacing broken poolside tiling.
  • Replacing the underwater lights.
  • Installation of a new colour swimming pool display unit.
  • New timing clocks so you can easily record your new personal swim best!

 

If you wish to swim during the closure period, we have set up an alternative arrangement with Leeds City Council local swimming pools;

  • If you are a University of Leeds Staff, Public, Alumni, NHS Trust, Corporate or Non- University of Leeds Student Edge member, simply show your green membership card at any of the below pools to enjoy a free swim.
  • If you are a University of Leeds student member, please come along to The Edge reception from week commencing 15th July where you will be issued with a green Edge card. Please take this with you to one of the below swimming pools to enjoy a free swim. Please be aware that your student card will not grant you access.

We recommend that you contact the specific swimming pool you wish to use in advance to check on their timetable, programming and availability.

Available Alternative Swimming Pools:

 

Armley Leisure Centre

LS12 3HB

0113 3367880

armley.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Chippindale Pool

LS21 2BB

01943 466852

chippindale.pool@leeds.gov.uk

Fearnville Leisure Centre

LS8 3LF

0113 3781260

fearnville.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Holt Park Active

LS16 7RX

0113 3781301

holtpark.active@leeds.gov.uk

John Charles Centre for Sport

LS11 5DJ

0113 3788000

jccs@leeds.gov.uk

John Smeaton Leisure Centre

LS15 8TA

0113 3782280

johnsmeaton.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Kippax Leisure Centre

LS25 7LQ

0113 3781275

kippax.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Kirkstall Leisure Centre

LS5 3BE

0113 3782086

kirkstall.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Morley Leisure Centre

LS27 9JP

0113 3367890

morley.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Pudsey Leisure Centre

LS28 7BE

0113 3367686

pudsey.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Rothwell Leisure Centre

LS26 8EL

0113 3367530

rothwell.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Scott Hall Leisure Centre

LS7 3DT

0113 3781285

scotthall.lc@leeds.gov.uk

Wetherby Leisure Centre

LS22 5FN

0113 3781265

wetherby.lc@leeds.gov.uk

 

 

If you are a swimming lesson customer and want to find out what will happen to your usual lessons, please click here.

Make sure to keep updated with the investment project by following #EdgeInfo on Facebook and Twitter

If you would like any further information, or have any questions about the swimming pool closure please contact us here.

.

Summer Offer at The Edge

admin
May 16, 2019
summer 2019 promotion offer at The Edge

Get your summer in shape!

Wondering how you’ll fit your fitness around your summer plans? The Edge has you covered.

With our flexible summer promotion, you can choose between one, two or three month premium options to make sure you strike the perfect balance between summer fitness and fun.

Our summer memberships give you unlimited access to our:

Check out our opening times and timetables here.

Already an Edge member? It’s the perfect chance to get your friends along for a break from the barbeques and beer gardens.

  • 1 Month = £35
  • 2 Months = £60 (works out at £30 per month)
  • 3 Months = £75 (works out at £25 per month)

Buy today!

To sign up to our summer promotion, simply buy online or come into The Edge Reception. Memberships are available from June 1 onwards! For more information please contact the Sales and Marketing team.

Buy online

Please be aware of our planned swimming pool closure.

We are investing £115k into updating and improving our swimming pool to make it an even better place for you to swim. For us to be able to complete the works, we need to close the swimming pool for just over two weeks between Monday 29 July and Tuesday 13 August.

Find out how you can still swim for free on our Summer Promotion during the closure weeks here.

 

FAQs

What is the summer promotion?

The summer promotion is a premium promotion across the months of June, July and August. 1 month = £35, 2 months = £60 (£30 per month) and 3 months = £75 (£25 per month)

When can I buy the summer promotion?

The summer promo can be purchased from May until August 15th

Where can I buy the summer promotion?

The offer is available on our online store: https://sportsbookings.leeds.ac.uk/OnlineMemberships

When is the latest I can buy the summer promotion?

  • The 3-month membership is available until June 30th
  • The 2-month membership is available until July 31st
  • The 1-month membership is available until August 15th
  • All memberships will expire on or before August 31st regardless of purchase date

Do I pay at the start of each month or do I pay upfront?

All payments are made up front

Where can I park to use the Edge?

The summer promotion members will have the normal access to car parking.

https://sport.leeds.ac.uk/the-edge/campus-car-parking/

 

Terms and conditions

  1. Memberships are premium, excluding the use of the BUCs university gym membership scheme
  2. Memberships can start from 1st June, all memberships expire 31st August
  3. Months covered include June, July and August
  4. Upfront payment, no contract, no joining fee
  5. Multi-month memberships must be consecutive
  6. This offer is not transferable from one individual to another

100 Years of British University Sport

Beth Stanfield
May 15, 2019
Cleckheaton Athletics, Women's 100m, 1974
This year marks 100 years of British University Sport (now known as BUCS). The University of Leeds was one of the original ten founding members.

Despite being called BUCS today, British University Sport began 100 years ago thanks to the formation of the Inter-varsity board of England and Wales in 1919.

Firstly, in February 1918, the Presidents of University Unions conference in Manchester called for the need to establish an ‘association’ to promote the development of sport at university. Afterwards, the Inter-Varsity Athletics Board of England and Wales held its first ever inter-varsity meeting consisting of nine universities.

Uni of Leeds Athletics Club, 1930

University of Leeds Athletics Club, 1930. Courtesy of the University of Leeds Special Collections.

Following on from this, in March 1919, the board formalised the first ever athletics meeting involving ten universities.
We are one of the ten founding institutions; alongside Aberystwyth, Bangor, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Nottingham, Manchester and Sheffield.

So, on the 28th May 1919, the first ever athletic meet took place in Manchester. Nine of the ten founding universities competed and this marked the official beginning of University sport in the UK.

In 1922, other sports added to the programme were hockey, association football, rugby union and swimming. If you want to read more about the history of BUCS and university sport, visit the BUCS website here.

University of Leeds Women's Hockey, 1912

University of Leeds Women’s Hockey, 1912. Courtesy of Frances Cook.

We’ve worked with the Alumni Office to gather historic photographs of our sports teams from the last 100 years (and more!). Have a browse through our Facebook album here.

Finally, if you have any memories or photographs of your sporting days at Leeds, please submit them to us via this form and we’ll share the best ones.

University of Leeds Devonshire Hall Football 1970-71

University of Leeds Devonshire Hall Football 1970-71

BUCS have launched a Hall of Fame and ‘100 People of University Sport‘ to commemorate the centenary of British University Sport.

Sports Colours Awards – Winners Revealed

Beth Stanfield
May 3, 2019
A selection of silver trophies
The annual Sports Colours Awards took place on Wednesday 1st May in the University of Leeds Refectory.

There were over 250 guests in attendance, from a whole range of Leeds Sport clubs.

the stage in the refectofry with 'celebrate week' in gold ballons over the stage

Photo by ELOUISA GEORGIOU PHOTOGRAPHY

We can now reveal the winners of each award category are: 

  • Social Leagues Team of the Year – CU Netball
  • Gryphon Leadership Award – Annalisa Townsend
  • Sue Jacklin Club Coach of the Year – Aidan Lewis (Football/Futsal)
  • Mike Brook Performance Coach of the Year – Steve Grime (Football)
  • Mike Brook Most Improved Team of the Year – Ice Hockey A
  • Chris Hatton Award for Most Improved Athlete – Damla Harmanci (Women’s Rugby Union)
  • Most Improved Club of the Year – Volleyball
  • Committee Member of the Year – Matty Powell (Squash)
  • James Burke Team of the Year – Women’s Ski Duals
  • Roberts Award for Most Outstanding Athlete – James Willstrop (Squash)
  • Club of the Year – Netball
netball club with their club of the year trophy and certificate

Photo by ELOUISA GEORGIOU PHOTOGRAPHY

Congratulations to all the winners and all those that were nominated as well.

A big thank you to the hosts, all the presenters, The Refectory and of course, everyone that attended. We hope you had a fabulous evening.

Make sure to tag your photos with #LeedsColours19 on social.

Official photographs from the event can be found here.

Sports Colours Awards – Shortlist Revealed

Beth Stanfield
April 1, 2019

The annual sports colours awards will be taking place on Wednesday 1st May 2019 in the University of Leeds Refectory.

The Sports Colours is our chance to celebrate the amazing efforts of our student athletes, teams, volunteers and coaches from our Leeds Sport Clubs.

celebrate written in black on a pink ballon

Over 470 nominations across the 15 different award categories were submitted, and we can now reveal the final shortlist for each award.

 

students at the sports colours awards

 

Club Colours
  • Lauren Walker – Athletics
  • Lucy Carroll – Badminton
  • Anna Daggett – Boat
  • Cormac Auty – Boat
  • Shairb X Mohammed – Boxing
  • Alasdair Sadler – Cricket
  • Oliver Grayson – Cricket
  • Emily Day – Cricket
  • Georgia Howard – DanceSport
  • Scott Reynolds  – Fencing
  • Clarissa Welsh – Fencing
  • Alistair Richards – Football
  • Amy Hunt – Football
  • Ellie Richards – Football
  • Holly Bartleet – Football
  • Lorna Williams – Football
  • Maria Ledezma-Viso – Football
  • Will Shaw – Golf
  • Daisy Broadbent – Gymnastics
  • Elizabeth Atkinson – Hiking
  • Jonathan Coney – Hiking
  • Joseph Lawley – Hiking
  • Sarah Organ – Hiking
  • Alex Cooke – Hockey
  • Charlie Saxby – Hockey
  • Daniel Williams – Hockey
  • Joel Haslam – Hockey
  • Josh Charge – Hockey
  • Alys Nichols – Hockey
  • Amelia Cookson – Hockey
  • Eleanor Lyne – Hockey
  • Ellie Brook – Hockey
  • Georgia Panayi – Hockey
  • Maz Rose – Hockey
  • Sadie Abel – Hockey
  • Sophie Sole – Hockey
  • Jennifer Bradley – Karate
  • Owain Johnson – Karate
  • Barbora Rozkopalova – Kickboxing & Krav Maga
  • Jessica Bradbury – Kickboxing & Krav Maga
  • Markyetta Hutchinson – Kickboxing & Krav Maga
  • Will Jones – Lacrosse
  • Caroline Griffin – Lacrosse
  • Anna Blake – Netball
  • Annalisa Townsend – Netball
  • Katie Miles – Netball
  • Lola Onasanya – Netball
  • Olivia Peacock – Netball
  • Rosie Tate – Netball
  • Florence Taylor – Polo
  • Nicholas Lithgow – Polo
  • Kayley Hau – Pool & Snooker
  • Danny White – Powerlifting & Weightlifting
  • George Milton – Rugby League
  • Isabel Birds – Rugby League
  • Simran Channa – Rugby League
  • Tommy Ferguson – Rugby Union
  • Will Joyce – Rugby Union
  • Alexandra Clarke – Rugby Union
  • Hannah Blount – Rugby Union
  • Phillipa Phelps – Rugby Union
  • James Allison – Sailing
  • Jess Hodge  – Sailing
  • Katie Spencer – Sailing
  • Amber Padfield – Skydiving
  • Will Dickens – Skydiving
  • Ellen Newman- Squash
  • Ellie Daly – Squash
  • Harry Maskell – Squash
  • Helen Burlison – Squash
  • Ophelia Pool – Squash
  • David Price – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Ella Mencel – Swimming & Water Polo
  • James Bevan – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Leah West – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Abigail Lence – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Jessica Fielder – Taekwondo
  • Charlotte Muir – Trampoline
  • Harry Sharman – Trampoline
  • Katherine Bradfield – Trampoline
  • Dave Rochelle – Ultimate Frisbee
  • Francisca Darko – Volleyball

(return to top of page)

 

Full Colours

  • Alistair McLane – Badminton
  • Anisha De Silva – Badminton
  • Ashleigh Buck – Badminton
  • Jess Walker – Badminton
  • Kieran Wong – Badminton
  • Michael Sidwell – Badminton
  • Oliver Bowles – Badminton
  • Zayd Sheikh – Badminton
  • Ben Arthur – Boat
  • Matt Brigham – Boat
  • Holly Rayfield – Climbing
  • Kirsten Gray – Climbing
  • Yasmin Roberts – Climbing
  • Ailie Rennie – Football
  • Beatrice Fitzsimmons – Football
  • Bethan Davies – Football
  • Maria Ledezma-Viso – Football
  • Carlos Hollyman – Hockey
  • Henry Pymm – Hockey
  • Justin Brown – Hockey
  • Sam Apoola – Hockey
  • Emma Haley – Hockey
  • Henrietta Bamford – Hockey
  • Louisa Highwood – Hockey
  • Robyn Waugh – Hockey
  • Amber Brennan – Karate
  • Amelia Hall – Netball
  • Anya Wood – Netball
  • Lucy Hemsley – Netball
  • Dominic Bond – Pool & Snooker
  • George Milton – Rugby League
  • Harry Aaronson – Rugby League
  • Ross Muil – Rugby Union
  • Tommy Ferguson – Rugby Union
  • Ashley Ross – Rugby Union
  • Rosie Blount – Rugby Union
  • Christopher Guest – Snowriders
  • Jake Hauser – Snowriders
  • Robert Willis – Snowriders
  • Charlotte Davies – Squash
  • Tegan Younger – Squash
  • Carla Thornewell – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Rhys Aston – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Stephanie Williams – Swimming & Water Polo
  • Ed Beecher – Triathlon
  • Hollie Elliott – Triathlon
  • Jessica Fullager – Triathlon
  • Natasha Sinha – Triathlon
  • Oscar Barbour – Triathlon

(return to top of page)

 

The White Rose Award Winners
  • Ailie Rennie – Football
  • Barbora Rozkopalova – Kickboxing & Krav Maga
  • Elise Middleton – Netball
  • Ellie Richards – Football
  • Geni Carter – Hockey
  • George Milton – Rugby League
  • Gianluca Guerriero – Judo
  • Jack Stirland – Football
  • Lucy Ridler – Rugby Union
  • Matty Powell – Squash
  • Niamh Donnelly – Football
  • Nick Barden – Cricket
  • Sarah Ward – Kickboxing & Krav Maga
  • Tommy Pritchard – Rugby Union

(return to top of page)

 

The Gryphon Award Winners
  • Alice Hanton – Ultimate Frisbee
  • Caitlin Fox – Canoe Polo
  • Emily Potter – Ultimate Frisbee
  • Fionnuala Crosbie – Netball
  • James Willstrop – Squash
  • Jana Machacova – Triathlon
  • Joanne Pettitt – Netball
  • Josh Blower – Lacrosse
  • Kat Rowland – Ultimate Frisbee
  • Kate Waugh – Triathlon
  • Lewis Hammond – Canoe Polo
  • Lucy Hemsley – Netball
  • Michael McDermott – Pool & Snooker
  • Natasha Sinha – Triathlon
  • Rosie Blount – Rugby Union
  • Rupert Daniels – Ultimate Frisbee
  • Sam Dickinson – Triathlon
  • Tyler Smith – Triathlon
  • Xueting Chen – Taekwondo

(return to top of page)

 

Social Leagues Team of the Year – Nominees
  • LawSoc Netball
  • CivSoc Netball
  • CU Netball

(return to top of page)

 

The Gryphon Leadership Award – Nominees
  • Jordan Byrne
  • Sarah Ward
  • Mohsan Lin
  • Annalisa Townsend
  • David Price

(return to top of page)

 

Sue Jacklin Club Coach of the Year – Nominees
  • Mark Luffman – Rugby Union
  • Aiden Lewis – Futsal & Football
  • Matty Powell – Squash
  • Ellis Pascal & Conor Meese – Women’s Rugby League

(return to top of page)

 

Mike Brook Performance Coach of the Year – Nominees
  • Kym Smithson – Netball
  • Steve Grime – Football
  • Joan Young – Netball
  • Lydia Griffiths – Women’s Lacrosse
  • Robbie Moulding – Hockey

(return to top of page)

 

Mike Brook Most Improved Team of the Year – Nominees
  • Men’s Water Polo 1’s
  • Women’s Fencing 1’s
  • Trampoline
  • Women’s Water Polo 1’s
  • Ice Hockey A
  • Men’s Hockey 3’s

(return to top of page)

 

Chris Hatton Award for Most Improved Athlete – Nominees
  • Damla Harmanci – Women’s Rugby Union
  • Lewis Talbot – Gymnastics
  • Hadassah Wolf – Judo
  • Joshua Mobberley-Clarke – Trampoline
  • Tara O’Carroll – Gymnastics

(return to top of page)

 

Most Improved Club of the Year – Nominees
  • Development Netball
  • Gymnastics
  • Karate
  • Women’s Rugby Union
  • Trampoline
  • Volleyball

(return to top of page)

 

Committee Member of the Year – Nominees
  • Ellie Richards – Women’s Football
  • Annalisa Townsend – Netball
  • Simran Channa – Women’s Rugby League
  • Matty Powell – Squash
  • Lucy Ridler – Women’s Rugby Union
  • Niamh Donnelly – Women’s Football  

(return to top of page)

 

James Burke Team of the Year – Nominees
  • Women’s Fencing 1’s
  • Netball 1’s
  • Women’s Football 1’s
  • Women’s Ski Duals

(return to top of page)

 

Roberts Award for Most Outstanding Athlete – Nominees
  • Michael McDermott – Pool & Snooker
  • Sam Dickinson – Triathlon
  • James Willstrop – Squash
  • Tyler Smith – Triathlon
  • Joanne Pettitt – Netball
  • Kate Waugh – Triathlon

(return to top of page)

 

Club of the Year – Nominees
  • Women’s Hockey
  • Boat Club
  • Netball
  • Women’s Football
  • Swimming & Water Polo
  • Women’s Rugby Union

(return to top of page)

 

Tickets for the event can be purchased here – https://clubsoc.luu.org.uk/groups/26270/ (you must log in or register to purchase tickets). All nominees are entitled to discounted tickets, priced at just £21.

 

Congratulations to all that have been shortlisted, we look forward to seeing you on the night!

 

We deliver excellent customer service for our customers

Max Harrison
March 19, 2019
Edge reception

Customer Service ExcellenceCustomer service excellence is at the heart of what we do and we’ve just received official accreditation for it!  At Sport and Physical Activity, we want everyone who comes into contact with the services we deliver to receive an excellent and memorable customer experience.

Sport and Physical Activity is part of the University of Leeds’ Commercial and Campus Support Services (CCSS) and has achieved Customer Service Excellence ®, a government standard that recognises an organisation’s commitment to putting customers first. The Service was particularly praised by the accreditation assessor for achieving “eight Compliance Plus awards,– an amazing achievement for a first assessment!”

Head of Sport and Physical Activity, Suzanne Glavin said: “We as a Service are delighted to have acknowledged, through this accreditation, our customer-centric approach to providing excellent services. We are particularly pleased that the inspection has highlighted our efforts to include as many students, staff and local community as possible, in supporting them to be active and engage in sport in the way that they want to take part”.

The Customer Service Excellence ® standard challenges organisations to examine their service in relation to 57 criteria that have been shown to influence customer satisfaction.  CCSS achieved a significantly positive result, receiving ‘Compliance plus’ for eight standard criteria, the most criteria that any first time participating organisation, for this accreditation, has ever received.

The Service was praised for:

  • In-depth understanding of its current and potential customers
  • Customer insight about customer groups to better understand their needs and preferences.
  • Particular efforts to identify hard-to-reach and disadvantaged groups and individuals
  • Reliable and accurate methods to measure customer satisfaction.
  • Analysing and publicising satisfaction levels of its customers
  • policies and procedures that support the right of all customers to expect excellence levels of service.
  • We have made arrangements with other providers and partners to offer and supply coordinated services
  • Developed coordinated working arrangements with our partners that ensure customers have clear lines of accountability for quality of service.

Richard Hamilton, Customer Service Excellence Manager commented: “Following well-coordinated preparations, CCSS at the University of Leeds was completely ready to complete its assessment against the national quality mark for excellence in customer service.  This was a large project, requiring consistency across several diverse services.  The outcome has provided a great opportunity for CCSS to celebrate its excellent practice and respond positively to the areas identified for development.  Working with CCSS has been a pleasure for the Centre for Assessment – many congratulations on your impressive achievement.”

Read further about how we deliver customer service excellence.

Leeds Sports Awards Winners Announced

Beth Stanfield
March 1, 2019
boat and netball club at the leeds sports awards
On Thursday 28th February, sport at all levels across Leeds was celebrated at a glittering ceremony at the First Direct Arena.

The 16th Leeds Sports Awards saw 22 awards handed out in front of more than 800 people, including the likes of boxing World Champion, Josh Warrington, and Olympic and Commonwealth medalist, Nile Wilson. The awards celebrate sporting achievements and recognise the contribution of coaches and volunteers from elite performance to grass roots sport.

leeds sports awards

Our Netball club, Boat club and sports scholar Sam Dickinson were shortlisted for awards.

The University of Leeds Netball Club were crowned winners of the Student Sport, Special Contribution category.

Annalisa, Netball Club Captain said:

“All the girls work so hard. It’s incredible that someone has nominated us and recognised all the work we do and the effort they put in. They give up so many other commitments, their social life to volunteer for the club.
People realise that the Netball club are doing things for people, we’re coaching in local primary schools, getting involved in the community and spreading University sport across the whole of Leeds.”

Netball club at the Leeds Sports Awards

The University of Leeds Boat Club were Highly Commended for the Student Sport, Special Contribution Category.

Lydia, Boat Club Captain said:

“This has been one of the best years the Boat Club has seen. We’ve got the highest number of memberships ever, the most novices and the quickest seniors we’ve ever had. Tonight, we’ve been highly commended for Student Sport, Special Contribution and this is largely due to the volunteers that give up so much time to our club.”

“We’re really grateful for all the support we receive from LUU and SPA through Leeds Sport.”

Boat club at the Leeds Sports Awards

Triathlete, Sam Dickinson, was a finalist in the Senior Achievers, Sportsman Category.

A huge congratulations to the Netball Club, Boat Club and Sam. Your achievements over the past year have been outstanding!

 

Funding to grow volunteering programme

Beth Stanfield
January 24, 2019
volunteers with refugees as part of the football and language refugee programme - posing for a photo
Leeds Sport are delighted to announce that a funding injection from the Footsteps Fund will help us grow our sports volunteering programmes this semester.

Our Gryphons into Schools and Gryphons in the Community programmes will see almost 40 students deployed into local schools and community groups to deliver sport this semester.

students on rowing machines with volunteers encouraging them

The Footsteps Fund uses kind donations from alumni and friends of the University of Leeds to support initiatives that enhance the student experience and have an invaluable impact on individual students as well as the wider community. Students involved in Leeds Sport’s off campus volunteering programmes will develop their own skills and broaden their horizons as well as bring sport to new audiences across the city.

Following the success of last year’s pilot project delivering football and English language tuition at the Leeds Refugee Forum in Harehills, the Footsteps funding will help us to deploy volunteers to support four more community groups through our Gryphons in the Community programme this academic year. Students will get off campus and deliver boxing sessions alongside Unorthobox, after school sports at the LS14 Trust in Seacroft, and table tennis and boxing at the Reginald Centre in Chapeltown. A little closer to home students will also get their hands dirty fixing bikes at the Bike Hub on campus and support various cycling activities up at the Brownlee Centre.

volunteers and refugees outside smiling, playing football

The Footsteps fund will also enable us to deliver a new schools programme alongside the Leeds Rhinos Foundation(LRF). Volunteers from the University of Leeds Netball club will work alongside LRF coaches to deliver netball in primary schools across the city. By working with a qualified coach, students will have the opportunity to develop their coaching skills in a supportive environment as well as share their passion for netball with young people in Leeds. This is a partnership we hope to grow to encompass more sports and schools in the coming years.

The funding will primarily be used to support comprehensive training, giving student’s formal qualifications and a meaningful legacy to their volunteering as well as enhancing their University experience.

Suzanne Glavin, Head of Sport at the University of Leeds said:

‘We are delighted to have the support of the Footsteps Fund to enhance and grow our volunteering offer. There is a great appetite from both students and local schools and community groups for these types of partnerships and we are really excited about the impact which the Footsteps Funding will have’

Supported by donations to the footsteps fund by alumni and friends of the University of Leeds

More information about the Footsteps Fund can be found here.
More information about Leeds Sport’s volunteering programme can be found here.

University of Leeds represented at 2019 Leeds Sport Awards

Beth Stanfield
January 18, 2019
Leeds sport awards 2019 finalists announced

The University of Leeds Netball Club and Boat Club have been made finalists in the Student Sport, Special Contribution Category of the 2019 Leeds Sports Awards.

Netball have increased their outreach work this year and are doing lots for the local community. Seven of their members are working towards coaching qualifications to enable them to coach in local primary schools across Leeds every week. Over ten of the club’s members umpire at social leagues across Leeds, with some working towards their umpiring qualifications too. In addition to this, 2 of their members run a weekly social netball session, open to anyone who wants to try out netball or play in a relaxed environment. On top of all this, the teams are excelling in their BUCS leagues, raising money for charity and trying to increase the profile of netball across the district.

Netball team warming up

Boat Club want rowing to be a part of breaking down barriers to higher and further education. 23 of their members coach in the community as part of an outreach programme where they deliver weekly sessions in local secondary schools. They aim to not only get young people active, but also build their confidence.
Once a term, the club volunteer at the RowLeeds Indoor Champs, where hundreds of school students come together to put their training to the test. The club also work closely with The Gorse Boat Club (TGBC). TGBC was founded in 2016 and is the school boat club for 5 academies and 1 sixth form centre from across Leeds. The two clubs often train together and UoLBC invite TGBC boats to their club regattas at the end of each term.

This year the boat club have also chosen to focus on mental health, working to improve the support they give to their members. In September, their 20 committee members were trained on how to support their members mental health and they’ve introduced a clear signposting system within the club. In October they did a 12 hour ergathon outside LUU to raise money and awareness their chosen charity: Mind.

rowing boat on the water

Sports Scholar Sam Dickinson has also been made a finalist for Sportsman in the Senior Achievers Category.
Sam is a member of the UK Sport Lottery Funded World Class Performance Programme and trains at the Leeds Triathlon Centre. In 2018, he won a silver medal in the U23 event at the ITU World Championships.

Sam Dickinson posing for a photo

In addition to our students being recognised, our Sports Performance Manager, Sarah Robinson, coaches at the City of Leeds Synchronised Swimming Club, who’ve been shortlisted for Young Club/Team in the Young Achievers Category. Sarah coaches the junior team and duet/solos towards the British Championships as well as the England Talent Development Squad 2019.  

The winners will be unveiled at the awards on Thursday 28 February at the First Direct Arena.

Tickets for the event are available here
A full list of the 2019 Leeds Sports Awards nominees is available here

What’s happening at The Edge in 2019

Vickie Hesketh
January 15, 2019

Make 2019 your fittest year yet with our incredible challenges and courses. 

This 2019 we have loads of exciting opportunities for you to boost your health and fitness and some great events for you and your friends to train towards.

  • 3 March is our Brownlee Centre Festival of Running. Brave the new year elements and get training for an event of your choice ranging from 1 to 20 miles. Find out more here. 
  • We have two of our most popular fitness courses returning; Self Defence and Women Only Strength Training start back week commencing 4 March. Find a four week, 1-hour course to suit you. Find out more here. We even have future course dates advertised running up until November 2019 if you can’t make the March ones.
  • 29 & 30 March is the annual, nationwide Swimmathon event, with two events hosted here at The Edge. Sign up and swim distances from 400m to 5k. Sign up here. 
  • A date for your diary! Our annual Adamons Bequest Fitness Challenge returns on Thursday 21 March with £1,000 prize money up for grabs for the fittest University Students. Prizes for University of Leeds Staff and Public Edge members as well. More information to follow shortly. To register your interest please drop us an email here.

Also, make sure you are following us on social media as we’ve got loads more workout videos planned to inspire your sessions and ensure your technique is correct.