All the charitable events UCL sports teams have done last term

You might be aware of the great effort UCL sports teams have made for Movember last month, but you may be less informed about the other great work they have been doing this term. Here’s a round up of some of the things the teams have been up to over the past few months.

Inter-club Netball

Joint events have proved to be trendy this term. The inter-club Netball tournament happened on Friday, 26th November with teams going head-to-head to raise money for the charity Solace. It was a good game with a secure win by a joint team of Yoga and Basketball against Netball. Other teams that scored highly in the tournament including Hockey and Tennis, who reached the semi-final.

The triumphant joint team of Yoga and Basketball after their win at Somerstown Community Sports Centre

Joint events might just be the way forward for TeamUCL to raise money for good causes, and Netball alone raised £70 for breast cancer in the Coppafeel event to raise money for Breast Cancer Research, and the total amount raised was £245.

All the girls out for the Coppafeel social at Phineas Bar on UCL main campus

Members were told to bring £2 along to their usual Wednesday night social at Phineas bar on UCL main campus on Wednesday, 2nd November. The event raised awareness for breast cancer by getting female team members from Netball, Lacrosse, and Hockey to paint two hand-prints across their chests.

Rugby

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The prestige of the Movember ’tasche isn’t the only thing going for the club. They have organised a number of charitable events including a gruelling 24-hour run. Members of Rugby were sending videos of themselves through the night to the club Instagram with time stamps as late as 5:27 am on 26th November.

Some of UCL men’s rugby at Hadrian’s wall to raise money for Movember

Some snaps from the 24-hour run

Rugby president Cormac spoke about Movember’s significance to the club as an “engaging way for members to come together and do something positive for a good cause” and “a great opportunity to check in on each other and schedule welfare meetings for any club members that may be struggling, for whatever reason.”

The club are also partnered with the charity Artsforall, and members of the club have been volunteering with them every week. This charity is based in Shoreditch who work to use art therapy to provide support and a place to go for those in need.

Football

It’s another win again for men’s Football in terms of Movember earnings. Ranked above rugby for at least the second year in a row, the club have raised an astonishing £8,082 at the end of November. This wasn’t much of a surprise for the club, as, according to the captain of the 1s, Football “usually beat rugby by about 5k every year.” Ben has gone beyond the demands of the captain this year to individually raise, at last count, £2,375 for the cause. He persuaded friends and family that he would run a half-marathon in a hot-dog costume.

We love a fun costume

Other members have been reported via the Football club’s Instagram to be running 60 kilometres as part of the Movember initiative to represent the 60 men who die of suicide across the world every hour. The club’s president said:

“Mental health and suicide prevention has been a focal point for us ever since we lost our member Louis Carr to suicide in 2018. This is the first year that no one in the club will have met Louis, but it is vital that every year we keep him in our hearts.”

The club are also looking forwards to an involvement with the c4ws homeless project during December. Members will be expected to involve themselves in regular volunteering opportunities such as preparing meals and making beds. Contributions to Movember are still ongoing, and you can show your support for football here.

Netball

Not only did Netball host the ever-popular annual inter-club tournament for Solace, but they also had an extremely busy October. President of the Netball club put Netball’s charitable efforts in context when speaking of the club’s efforts during Black History Month: “It’s integral for sports clubs to be more than just an outlet for fun and socialising. We also hold a responsibility to educate our members on the past, present and future barriers that students face at UCL.”

Last year’s second team after a match. Featuring the current President Sasha (left and bottom of the piggy back), current Treasurer Seyta (centre: GA) and current Welfare Officer Alice (bottom: WA)

Black History month was honoured by two main events, including a pub quiz and a fun run. The pub quiz was meant to take place in October but was halted by a fire at the venue. Though that did not stop the club, as the event was eventually held on 6th November. Winners gained a voucher to a black-owned restaurant worth £50.

President Sasha worked with Students’ Union UCL during October to help recognise the successes and experiences of black athletes at the university. She thought it was necessary for Netball to host Black History Month events as they “create a more accepting environment for our members to connect and speak out about issues they may have experienced during their time at UCL.” Netball raised a total of just over £90 in both events for Stopwatch, a charity committed to preventing the targeting of minority groups by police.

Lacrosse

The ‘chase the chicken’ event was intended to raise money for Movember and involved team members and the committee, where you had to find a committee member and donate to charity. The female President of Lacrosse described the event as “fun, enthusiastic and a great way to get the whole club involved.”

The mixed 2s Lacrosse team from their Instagram page: @team_ucl_lacrosse

By mid-November, the club had already raised £100 more than last year for Movember. But aside from Movember, Lacrosse members are looking forward to finding more ways to get involve with the charity Solidaritee.

Yoga

Yoga, despite being perhaps unconventional as a sports society at UCL, is actually one of the largest. Their combined efforts with Basketball also made them come out victorious at Netball’s inter-club tournament this year.

Annika, the president of Yoga, said: “We couldn’t have done it without the help of our fellow yogis who also happen to be on the Basketball team.” They also thought it was an important event for the society to get involved with since “yoga is a very individual sport, and it can be difficult to meet people.”

The UCL Yoga society joining together for a taster session in October

Yoga is exploring more ways to use their platform as one of the largest societies in UCL to contribute to charitable causes. Though nothing is planned yet, the society is hoping to put on sessions that are wheelchair friendly, with a therapist who specialises in providing chair yoga sessions for those with injuries or disabilities.

Snowsports

Snowsports is looking at putting on a raffle before their infamous annual ski trip. All the proceeds will go to a charity called Protect our Winters, which advocates for the protection of snowy climates to policymakers.

The snow sports team who participated in the High Performance Programme at UCL last year

Hockey

The women’s Hockey team is fore-running in the organisation of the Coppafeel event at the beginning of November. This year, they wanted to extend the event to include other clubs like Netball, Lacrosse, Pole Fitness, Women’s Rugby and Women’s Football. Both the men’s and women’s Hockey teams have actually pledged to raise money for Movember, and they will come together for an annual Christmas Ball, where candy canes are usually sold as fundraisers.

The Hockey team who took part in the charitable Netball tournament for Solace

If you want to find out more about some of the charities UCL sports societies are involved with, please take a look a look at the links and donate!

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