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Sports and society events have been temporarily suspended at Lancaster University

The Students’ Union has suspended student activities as Lancs moves into Tier Three lockdown


As Lancaster is set to move into the “high alert” local lockdown tier, Lancaster University Students’ Union has temporarily suspended the in-person activities of all student groups associated with the Union. This includes sports teams, societies and student media groups.

In an announcement on its website, the Students’ Union said: “Currently, there is little guidance and clarity from both the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and whether existing exemptions will apply. This clarity is being sought by ourselves, other institutions and a number of National Governing Bodies. We are hoping the picture clears over the next few days.

“As a result of this, we believe the safest decision we can take is to temporarily suspend all face to face activity both indoor and outdoor, whether social distancing can be maintained or not, until we can be satisfied that activity can be permitted. This suspension will begin at Midnight tonight the 16th October 2020 and initially, be in place until Friday 23rd October. We are hopeful that much of our activity will be allowable under the new restrictions, we are, however, unable to take this for granted. If it becomes clear before that time that some activity can restart, we will be in touch with those groups directly.

“We appreciate that this is frustrating though we believe this is the best way to ensure that all of our activities and members remain both safe and compliant. We will be holding an open meeting on Monday 19th October at 2pm to answer any questions that you may have.

“This decision impacts all Students’ Union face to face activities.”

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For many, student society events were pivotal in their decision to return to Lancs

This is the latest blow to students in Lancaster – for many of whom student activities were a deciding factor in their return to the city. One student told The Tab Lancaster: “We spent all summer remotely organising our new exec teams and ensuring that we were being consistent with our sport’s governing body’s Covid-secure rules. We were screwed over when sports were removed from the exemption to the ‘Rule of Six’ and then things went up in the air again when the government U-turned on that.

“One of the reasons I even came back to Lancaster, and fought my parents in allowing me to come back, was so that I could continue to train with my club safely and responsibly. The rules for a Tier Three area imply that the current ‘Rule of Six’ exemptions still apply to university sports teams, so we’re being screwed over again! The Students’ Union have been backed into a corner with unclear rules being laid out for the new lockdown areas, but even so we’re all still absolutely devastated at the prospect of them taking away our sports teams.

“They say it’s temporary for now, but I wouldn’t take that as gospel.”

Lancaster University Students’ Union’s full statement can be found here.