August 17, 2012, by Harry Waddle
University staff enter into Olympic spirit
Nu2 Sport Project Activator Chris Campbell, recently organised a Staff Olympics to encourage employees at the University to engage in the Olympic spirit and broaden the reach of Nu2 Sport – a Sport England funded project which encourages staff and students to take part in sport, in a relaxed environment and without having to buy sports centre or club membership.
After a dismal early summer, it surprised everyone when the sun came out for the Olympics, and thankfully the good weather had made its way to Nottingham on the final Friday of the Games in time for the first staff sports afternoon in recent years, in conjunction with Nu2 Sport and Any-Body Club.
While Shanaze Reade was taking part in the final of the women’s BMX, and Team GB’s female hockey players were beating New Zealand to win bronze, 50 members of UoN staff were out on the 3G pitch taking part in their own sporting competition. A variety of Olympic based activities such as rowing, football and relays, as well as some more diverse activities, such as old school playground games, the bean bag toss and kwik cricket, were played as teams fought it out for gold, silver and bronze.
Staff came from across the University as is the Nu2 Sport and Any-Body ethos, including the imaginatively named Team GV representing Information Services (apparently the library classification for the Olympics is GV722), and Heebie GB’s, from Human Resources. They joined eight other teams, who took part in five different activities focusing on tactical, technical, physical and mental skills, before competing in school sports day favourites such as the sack race, the egg and spoon and everyone’s favourite, the space hopper!
Once the competition was concluded, the participants moved inside to watch the Olympics on the big screen and refuel before the keenly awaited medal presentations. Despite points being accumulated throughout the day, scores were only added up at the end, meaning no one knew who was chasing the medals. In the end the bronze medallists were the Student Union, the silver went to Heebie GB’s, while gold went to Action Potential, representing Psychology, who excelled in the relays, winning four of five events.
The feedback on the event has been extremely positive so far, so role on the 2013 games!
For more information on Nu2 Sport and Any-Body Club visit www.nottingham.ac.uk/sport, or follow us on Twitter, @nu2sportUoN and @uonsport_dso.
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