The Price of Sport

At Exeter we have an exceptionally prominent Athletic Union. Despite the long hill to the rubber crumb, the fact Duckes is miles away, and the distinctly average gym facilities, the AU still manages to attract students in vast numbers, to a wide variety of clubs, from kayaking to korfball.

However, I need to get serious for a bit. In my opinion there is something inherently wrong with the way sport is run at Exeter. The prices to join the AU clubs are simply too high – lacrosse can cost over £300 to join when equipment is factored in, hockey £290, and even rugby union charges around £200.

Tack onto this the price of a gym membership at £225, and staying in bed starts to look a lot more attractive.

Obviously there are costs involved with running an AU team, such as the clothing, transport costs, and day-to-day expenditures. However, dig a little deeper and the main explanation is that the money is ‘for stash…and stuff’; an insufficient justification for around 25% of a student’s termly income.

Of course, the players in 1st and 2nd teams will see most of the benefit of this payment, and it may even work out as good value for money. However, consider a 5th or 6th team player, playing less than ten games a year – the return on their money is pretty minimal.

My problem does not really lie with the clubs themselves. Although the high prices are in some places set by committee greed, in others they really are necessary to provide for an active base of players.

What angers me most about the whole situation is that the University has allowed prices to become this exorbitant. The simple fact of the matter is that a university as well endowed as ours should either be subsiding the AU clubs to a greater extent, or cap the prices the clubs are allowed to charge.

£85 standard membership…but an extra £96 for basic stash?

The monopoly these clubs have over team sport in the university allows them to set such high prices, and the Uuniversity has to find a way to regulate these. The problem is exacerbated with the influx of students paying higher fees. They will have enough debt – at least let them be able to afford a run-around.

In all honesty there is no easy solution, and the bulk of Exeter survives and make do simply because, as a University, we love to play sport. I merely believe that the high prices take advantage of those of us not blessed with natural talent – a serious issue if it is putting students off sport and, more importantly, driving them away from both a physically and mentally healthy activity.