Fitness Funding! UEA receives £300,000 to make students more active

UEA is set to offer its students more sports to play after receiving funding of almost £300,000 from Sport England’s University Sport Activation Fund.

UEA is one of 54 universities to benefit from a new bonus that aims to get students playing sport.

The uni will be focusing on creating new sports in a bid to appeal to different tastes and abilities. The Department of Sport and the Student Union will work on promoting and engaging students in sport both on and off campus using this major boost in funds.

Phil Steele, Director of Sport at UEA, said: “It will allow us to improve and deliver an extended student sport programme building on our existing strong provision for UEA students.”

Around 52% of students currently partake in sport at least once a week, and the project will focus on those not included and tackle the problem of young people giving up sport during their late teens and early twenties.

Activities and Opportunities Officer Yinbo Yu said: “I am thrilled that our team at the Union have helped deliver this exciting new funding. Students tell me that they want more opportunities to play sport, keep fit and have fun as an alternative to the tired image of students as lazy. This work will help deliver it.”

A third year English Literature student who wished to remain anonymous said: “The importance of sport participation at university couldn’t be greater. With the incoming stress of exams and prospective job searches, finding time to partake in sport is, for many, the most efficient way to relieve stress.

“The financial investment in sports at university will not only better the quality of activity, but will allow more students to take part in sports that were otherwise underfunded or simply unable to run due to lack of funds. Being one of the 54 universities to receive such an amount of funding can only put a bigger emphasis on student well-being and get students to try something that they wouldn’t usually do”.