June 12, 2017, by Hannah Webber
Get involved with Welfare in Sport
Welfare in Sport was established as a Student Union campaign group at the start of this academic year. The aim of the group has been to work with sports clubs to raise their awareness of mental health illness and support them in developing more inclusive environments for students.
Matt Wildman who is the Chair for the group – has successfully driven forward this campaign and has written about his experiences below;
As I come to the end of my time at the University of Nottingham, I find myself looking back over my time and what was achieved, what was changed and what was gained across the three years. No matter who asks me ‘what are the best things you did in your time at University?’ I will always give the same three answers. President of a sports team, volunteer for the Leadership program and the Chair of the Welfare in Sports committee.
I am going to just focus in on Welfare in Sports because it encapsulates everything I aimed to do at my time at University. The betterment of students, staff and general public’s exposure and time involved with sports was always at the heart of the campaign and my roles throughout University. Creating an environment at the University where everyone felt that both physical health and mental health were both being looked after and catered for.
With one of the largest student bodies and one of the most influential and wide spread sports department in the country. The importance of having a team and an ideology that cared for the wellbeing of every single person who had exposure to the department was a goal I strived towards. Being part of the committee however provided more than just the ability to work towards bettering mental health. It also introduced me to the many passionate people, groups and campaigns that the University already has in place. It provided me with a platform to talk about my passion and be a voice for those who feel that they perhaps cannot speak up.
Being part of the Sports Department and being able to get involved as heavily as I did in sport, from playing for my team to multiple committee roles, I managed to get far more out of University experience than just my degree. It is the extra miles I went through sport, the people and opportunities that I pursued that allowed me to walk out of University having made a positive change to both my own life and hopefully that of the masses of students.
If I was going to give one piece of advice for anyone, in any year at University. Get involved in something more than your degree. The University community will reward any small positive contribution is enormous ways.
Welfare in Sport are currently looking for more students to be involved with their committee in the new academic year. If you’d like to make a difference and be a part of this campaign group, please contact the Disability Sport Officer – Hannah Webber – by the 16th June 2017, to express your interest.
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