SU Summer Elections 2025 – VP Sports Interviews: Sharla Peters
As part of the Warwick Students’ Union (SU) Summer Elections, The Boar offered all candidates for the Vice President for Sports election an opportunity to answer questions outlining their manifesto, experiences, and aims for the role.
Sharla Peters, one of the six candidates for the position, discussed her manifesto and aims with The Boar’s News and Sport teams. In particular, Peters focused on her aims to make student sport more financially accessible, to increase club performance through SU funding, and to increase the presence of sport on campus.
What are your key manifesto pledges?
My manifesto is built on three core values: access, support, and inclusion. I’m campaigning to:
- Make sport more financially accessible by pushing for tiered or means-tested Sports Pass options, increased hardship funding, and sponsorship support for national and international tours.
- Support club success and sustainability through improved transparency around SU funding, better transport and facilities, and reducing the admin load on club execs.
- Bring sport into the heart of campus life, from Fusion-hosted events to all-club showcases that celebrate BUCS and non-BUCS clubs equally, whether competitive, recreational, or social.
I come from a background that isn’t traditionally visible in SU spaces, and I’m proud to bring a perspective that reflects the experiences of students who are often overlooked, but never lacking in voice.
An investigation by The Boar earlier this year found that 91% of students find the cost of a Warwick Sports Pass too high. How do you plan to decrease the price of sport at Warwick and make it more accessible to students?
Cost should never be a barrier to participation. I would campaign for a review of the current Sports Pass pricing model in partnership with Warwick Sport and the SU, with the aim of introducing tiered or needs-based pricing. I would also push for:
- Ring-fenced hardship funding specifically for sports access
- Flexible payment plans to ease financial strain
- More support for clubs to cover costs of kit, competitions, and travel
As someone who balances postgrad study with part-time work and sport, I know how difficult it can be to afford full participation. The execs in my clubs do their best to include everyone, but the structural barriers lie above them. If Warwick is serious about being a sporting university, that title must be earned, not just in trophies, but in access.
How would you seek to support and improve sports clubs performance in both BUCS tournaments and non-BUCS competitions in the year ahead?
Performance starts with support. I’d prioritise:
- Better communication and access to resources so club execs can focus on athletes, not admin
- Fairer and clearer facility bookings to ensure consistent training
- Improved transport support, including a dedicated minibus scheme for BUCS fixtures
- Greater recognition of non-BUCS achievements, giving all clubs the visibility they deserve
My aim is to make sure that every club, competitive or casual, has the tools, respect, and institutional backing to grow and succeed.
One conversation currently being had across campus is about transgender rights and inclusion policies. How would you ensure that trans students continue to be included in sports at Warwick, particularly in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling? And how do you plan to promote diversity and accessibility in sport more widely too?
The recent Supreme Court ruling does not justify trans exclusion. We, as a student community, must actively champion trans students’ right to participate. Sport is for everyone. As VP, I would:
- Defend inclusive policies and ensure the SU takes a clear, public stance supporting trans participation
- Ensure execs and Warwick Sport staff receive training on trans inclusion, safeguarding, and respectful practice
- Promote non-gendered entry points into sport, including mixed teams, rec sessions, and open leagues
Wider diversity also means funding cultural events, supporting students with disabilities, and ensuring mature, international, and postgraduate students feel genuinely included in sport spaces. As current president of the Postgraduate Society, I’ve seen how easily those groups can be left out. That won’t happen on my watch.
Sports clubs at Warwick have often been the focus of criticism and scrutiny for dangerous and non-inclusive socials, including circling and ‘initiations’ (adoptions). An investigation for the upcoming Boar print found that 40% of students felt pressured to take part in sports socials, and only 50% had to sign an agreement form before adoptions. How would you ensure that execs create a safe environment for their club members at these events?
Some of my favourite Warwick memories come from adoptions with Thai Boxing and the Warwick Devils. When done well, these events can be fun bonding experiences for both new and returning members. But safety and inclusion must be at the centre.
I would:
- Mandate social responsibility training for all execs, not just social secs
- Introduce a standardised adoption agreement, with clear safety guidelines and opt-out clauses
- Work with the SU to ensure anonymous reporting systems are visible and enforced
- Encourage a culture shift, from pressure-based traditions to genuinely inclusive, community-focused socials
We can preserve the spirit of club traditions while ensuring they’re welcoming to everyone.
Communication between the VP Sports and sports clubs and their members is key to ensuring an open and transparent dialogue. How do you plan on ensuring students have a sufficient way of voicing their opinions and problems with you?
You can’t represent people if you’re not listening to them. I will create:
- Monthly open forums or drop-ins open to all students, not just execs
- A clear and accessible feedback system hosted through the SU site, with regular updates on action taken
- Frequent communication through email and social media, to explain decisions, funding updates, and progress on manifesto goals
- A shift in culture: the Sports Officer should feel like a teammate, not a distant figure
But beyond the structures, I bring something different to this role: I understand what it’s like to move through spaces where your voice isn’t always expected, let alone heard. That’s why creating safe, approachable channels for feedback matters to me so deeply. I won’t just wait for people to come to me; I’ll be present, visible, and listening all year round.
For me, leadership is about making people feel like they belong, in clubs, at socials, on committees, and in the conversations that shape them.
During the Spring Elections, the sole candidate for the VP Sports position was criticised for having a so-called ‘joke candidacy’. What can you say to the Warwick student community to show your candidacy isn’t a ‘joke’ one, and that you have what it takes to become the next VP Sports?
When nominations opened earlier this year, the Sports Officer role was left wide open, despite how vital it is to student life. The only candidate at the time was running as a joke – that spoke volumes. I decided to step up, not for a title, but because sport at Warwick deserves better than being treated as an afterthought.
Even when I previously ran for DDO, I pledged to work alongside the Sports Officer to make sport more affordable and inclusive. That wasn’t just campaign talk, that was a genuine commitment to students, and that commitment hasn’t wavered. With six years of Muay Thai experience, I’ve lived the barriers, illness, finances, academic pressures, and I’ve still shown up.
This isn’t a placeholder campaign or a backup plan. This is about bringing real, student-led energy to Warwick sport.
This is serious. This is personal. This is for all of us.
You can read Peters’ manifesto here. Voting in the SU Summer Elections opened on Monday 26 May, and will remain open until 12pm midday on Friday 30 May, with results published shortly after.
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