Ted says: “get involved in sport!”
“If I thought my pledges were unrealistic, I wouldn’t have put them down.” Ted Crowson talks a good game, but making a success of his year as Warwick’s Sports Officer won’t be as straightforward as he suggests.
The Boar’s end of year #RateMySaabs review for 2015/2016 reported that last year’s Sports Officer, Alex Roberts, had completed just four of his 16 pledges by late June – though ten were still in progress. If evidence of the difficulties of making concrete changes to Warwick’s sporting landscape were needed, this is it.
Crowson doesn’t dwell too much on this, saying that “Alex’s pledges are all very worthy of being completed”, before moving swiftly on to his own aims for the year. Could this set the tone for his time in office? He’ll have his work cut out delivering on his ambitious manifesto promises, such as improving the accountability of sports clubs’ kit suppliers and increasing awareness of disability sport on campus.
Crowson has been preparing for the year ahead since being elected in March, despite only officially starting his term on 1 August. He narrowly triumphed over his opponent, Cecilia Jastrzembska, winning with 50.9% of first round votes.
A Chemistry graduate this summer, Crowson was heavily involved in Men’s rugby throughout his time as a Warwick undergraduate. As UWRFC chairman and captain of the 3rd XV last year, he was a key figure at the club, but will have to extend his influence throughout the Warwick sporting community, from football to frisbee, over the next 10 months.
Read our exclusive interview here:
Firstly, what are your main pledges for the year?
I’ve actually already achieved one of the pledges I thought would take the entire year to push through; preseason accommodation for incoming students. Hopefully this will help to put our clubs on more of a level footing with the universities who start their terms, and training, so much earlier than we do.
Another is to increase the awareness and presence of all sport at Warwick, so that everyone is behind #TeamWarwick each Wednesday and especially when we once again face our fierce rivals Coventry at Varsity. These are just a few of my pledges. The rest can be seen on my manifesto and I plan to achieve the vast majority of them; if I thought they were unrealistic, I wouldn’t have put them down.
For students, particularly those interested in playing a popular sport, a local team could provide the coaching and support that student needs.
In your manifesto you said that you want to improve links with local clubs to help create “a more active Warwick”. How easy do you think this will be?
I don’t think it’s going to be entirely straightforward to achieve, but if we get it right, it could prove very beneficial. For clubs, a strong relationship with a local team could help to alleviate the struggle for their specific facility requirements. For students, particularly those interested in playing a popular sport, like men’s football, a local team could provide the coaching and support that student needs, whether that be learning to play from scratch or taking part in first team matches.
I think it’s important to establish links with not just any local club, but to spend time identifying those which have the resources, enthusiasm and overall suitability to work alongside the SU to adequately support our students.
Some students may be put off by the overall fees of joining a sports club at Warwick. Is this investment value for money?
It may seem a large investment at the start of term, particularly when you’re already paying for so much. However, the experiences you have from being part of the sporting community at Warwick are priceless – you really can’t afford to miss out! Considering how much you’ll end up spending during fresher’s week alone, £98 in total (+£6 per extra club) to join is the best value purchase you’ll make this year. If you’re still undecided, ask anyone involved in a club – they’ll tell you it’s the best thing they ever did!
Getting Wednesday afternoons free for co-curricular activities is an issue all students are passionate about.
How are you going to help increase participation in smaller, more niche sports?
Awareness around particular sports is one of the fundamental reasons behind participation numbers; if someone doesn’t even know the sport exists or how great being involved in it can be, how will they ever become interested enough to find out about how to join?
We have already agreed with Warwick Sport to make sure any registered trial or taster session is put on by the club free of charge. Hopefully this will whet the appetite of students and encourage them to stay involved for the rest of the year. This, coupled with plans to bring back ‘Sports person’, ‘Team of’, and ‘Game of’ the week features will help to raise awareness and recognise the fantastic feats all sports clubs on campus are achieving on a weekly basis.
I also plan to push for creating the provision of disabled sports at Warwick. We currently don’t have a disabled sports programme, team, or even sports wheelchairs available for those wanting to play casually on a court. Through working with our Disabled Student’s Officer, Jenny Wheeler, I’m hoping we will be able to organise a disabled sports showcase and fundraise so our students are given this opportunity.
In June, the Boar’s #RateMySabbs review highlighted that ten of Alex Roberts’ pledges as Sports Officer are still in progress. Are you planning to try to complete all of these?
Alex’s pledges are all very worthy of being completed, however getting Wednesday afternoons free for co-curricular activities is an issue all students are passionate about. I’ll be working tirelessly to raise awareness of this with the university and academic departments so students don’t have to make a choice between representing the university in sporting, societal, volunteering, or other commitments which are vital to personal enrichment.
I’m throwing down the gauntlet to all our clubs here – invite me to your club’s session and be thoroughly entertained!
On a similar note, Alex Roberts continued to be involved with the men’s football team while he was Sports Officer. As former chairman of men’s rugby, will you do the same with UWRFC?
Of course, I think one of the most important aspects of my role is to remain as active as possible in the sporting community. However, I’m here to support every club at Warwick, so my time with rugby will significantly decrease from the commitment I had as chairman. I’m looking to go along to as many different clubs’ training sessions and matches as I can over the next year, to understand the issues they face and promote their activity in a potential sports vlog. So, I’m throwing down the gauntlet to all our clubs here – invite me to your club’s session and be thoroughly entertained while I try your sport for the first time.
Finally, what is the one piece of advice you would give freshers about sport at Warwick, having been an active member yourself for three years?
The only advice I can give is to get involved. Try out every sport which takes your fancy and commit as much time as possible to sport here. The more time you put in, the more you get out of it. Clubs are where you’ll find lifelong friends and create those nostalgic memories you’ll reminisce over at your alumni events when you’re old and weary from working in the city.
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