Faye Dickson and Mark Farrin discuss the cost of playing sport in Southampton: The infamously low bank-balance of the student has always been a hot-topic for discussion when it comes to university lifestyle, and seemingly it is now limiting our participation in sport as clubs are demanding more and more financial commitment from their members.

In the last couple of issues of the Wessex Scene we have been emphasising the idea that not getting involved in sport at university means missing out, yet it seems the financial obligations that joining a team entails are preventing many students from reaping the benefits of being part of the Athletic Union.

Never again in your life will you be confronted with the vast array of clubs and societies that university has to offer, and it is the ideal opportunity to take up something new and meet people along the way. Southampton University’s Athletic Union consists of 70 clubs, incorporating team, individual, water, racket and extreme sports.

However many students feel they are forced to make huge financial commitments very early on when they are still unsure whether to join a certain club or not, and are forced to either take the risk and invest or are put off before they have given the sport a chance. It also makes it almost impossible to try out more than one sport, so while there may be an abundance of opportunities on offer, there are actually firm limitations on how experimental you can be.

While many students cope financially at university by taking on holiday-jobs during vacation periods, some find themselves having to balance their degrees with part-time employment to keep their heads above water during term-time, distracting them from their degrees and limiting their participation in university life. These students may well be athletically gifted, yet they are forced to miss out because they cannot afford to get involved, and the clubs are losing out on their potential talent.

For example, a year as a member of the university boat club puts you under the following obligations: £60 annual membership fee, £80 Sportrec/ AU membership (necessary for land based training in the gym), around £150 on kit when you first join; a £300 bill. On top of this racing costs about £20 each time with transport, and training camps and tours can cost anything between £50 and £400.

Similarly, joining the hockey club sets you back £150 for your membership fee, AU membership and kit, plus a weekly match fee of £2.50 per fixture, with the additional financial consequences of transport, tour and socials.

Therefore a student can find themselves easily spending a thousand pounds on their clubs in a year, which for many is almost a third of their annual student loan.

The price tag does of course differ from club to club; you can join the athletics club on their jogs completely free of charge, and the University Snowsports club offers bargain holidays for a fraction of the price you’d be charged if you organised your own trip.

In general though, the effect being in a team can have on your bank balance is enough to put many people off getting involved with sport and is something that needs to be addressed if Southampton University is to excel at sport.

The Athletic Union provides generous financial aid to its clubs, but the distribution of their funding is a complex matter as a diverse range of demands have to be met depending on the nature of the sport. AU funding is intended mainly to cover coaching, equipment and facilities to whatever extent it can, but obviously some clubs are far more capital-dependent than others; the equipment required for sports like Ultimate Frisbee is on a totally different level to something like sailing.

Clubs have the opportunity to venture outside of the University and seek sponsorship from local businesses and organisations, and most organise their own fundraisers through club nights and sponsored challenges.

Yet it is despite these assistances that students are being stripped of vast quantities of cash to participate in sport, and as the introduction of Top Up Fees burdens the graduate with further debt, it looks likely that more and more students will become dissuaded from joining clubs. Sport is supposed to enrich our university lives, not impoverish them; how much longer can our bank balances take the strain?
Fay Dickson

Now, although some of the best things in life are free, playing sport is not one of them. How many students are actually priced out of the AU? With over 6000 students in the Athletic Union, playing week in, week out, they appear to do so with very little complaint, probably because they are doing the activities they love.

As a sportsman or woman when you are doing something you enjoy you would be naïve to disregard that it comes with a price, yet to draw up a cost to benefit analysis, the perks would rocket off the scale. In cold hard cash what is a £2.50 match fee for 90 minutes of pleasure. Nothing to my mind in Bevois Valley could satisfy you at that rate, and I don’t just mean a quad-vod.

There is a concern that the athletically gifted maybe priced out, almost forced out, but statistics from AU administration prove that participation levels are certainly not falling and the University has a sports bursary system for the most talented students to survive their courses and compete at the highest levels.

If you were to plunge wallet-first into every sport at the Bunfight you would find yourself sweaty, red and in the red but that certainly doesn’t rule out being experimental. There is a fund called, quite aptly: "Try it you might like it"; any club can apply for up to £500 to get Freshers involved in their sports.

There are certain financial demands placed on clubs by their BUSA membership. Names and details need to be in by late October, but clubs are recommended not to take membership until as late as possible allowing new faces to decide on which sports they wish to pursue. If we want our Freshers to compete this situation is unavoidable.

On the topic of student finance, participation and academic failure, yes you may have to take a job somewhere to keep you going, but work has social benefits too. Even club involvement provides CV boosting opportunities in leadership and co-ordination. Maybe I’ve been here too long but I’ve seen a succession of years of sporting students get involved and survive; taking on part-time jobs, voluntary work and even joining other clubs and societies.

The costs have been highlighted, but broken down what are you actually getting for you money?

At £80, though price has gone up in recent years, the SportRec card is terrific value for money. Apart from plainly just allowing you to play sport, it insures, enables you to take part in a broad range of activities and lets you do them in superb facilities at the Jubilee Sports Centre and Wide Lane. It is not unusual to hear the jealous mutterings of visiting sports teams. When you put that against the cost of a local gym per month, see what else you get for your money.

The boat club example is an anomaly, the equipment they need requires significant financial support from the AU. The nature of rowing is just very expensive, comparatively very few other clubs have those expenses. Also consider that AU membership is a life membership, and that most of your kit you purchase is versatile and durable clothing, gives you a sense of identity and is not just disposable purchase; you can see and feel the benefits of it.

The AU revolves around the balance of increasing participation and performance, but rather than limited participation being a hindrance to AU, in truth it would be a benefit. If we wanted to achieve true excellence, the Union, in fund allocation, would focus on certain successful sports and concentrate solely on making them more successful, to the detriment of lower participating clubs and lower achieving teams.

Thankfully the AU believes in broad participation, remarks at the regional BUSA conferences highlight the high range of clubs we offer. If we had less than the 71, a higher proportion of students would be missing out. Finally, ponder this: the AU has a budget over £200,000, if it did not subsidise anything, think of the cost to students then.
Mark Farrin

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