Friday 3rd February 2023

Interested in learning more about how to get involved with Scottish Student badminton? Well look no further!

Key Information

 

Badminton is the fastest racquet sport in the World and can be played by two or four players at a time. The game is played on a rectangular court divided by a net and the aim of the game is to get the shuttlecock to land on your opponent’s side of the net. The key skills required for it are fast reflexes and good hand-eye coordination.

 

Contact: scotstubadm@gmail.com

Governing Body: Badminton Scotland

Badminton is becoming increasingly popular among students and the following Universities and Colleges all have a student team for those interested in joining:

 

 

  • Abertay University
  • University of Aberdeen
  • University of St Andrews
  • Heriot Watt University
  • Robert Gordon University
  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of Strathclyde
  • Fife College
  • City of Glasgow College
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Stirling
  • University of Dundee
  • Edinburgh Napier University
  • Queen Margret University

 

Badminton Events

 

  • Conference Finals
  • Badminton Championships
  • College National Finals

 

 

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Monday 6th June 2022

The final SSS Medal Table of the 2021/22 season is here!

The SSS Medal Table is a method for institutions to see how successful their student-athletes have been over the course of the SSS season.

The table includes all events in which medals have been awarded during the 2021/22 season.

All semester 1 and 2 events which took place have been added.

The table defaults to alphabetical but can be sorted by any of the column headings.

 

SSS Medal Table 2021/22

InstitutionGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Abertay University43
411
Ayrshire College112
Borders College11
City of Glasgow College4217
Edinburgh College224
Edinburgh Napier University4217
Fife College1427
Glasgow Caledonian University96318
Heriot Watt University10111334
Queen Margaret University123
Robert Gordon University510722
Scotland's Rural College112
UHI51410
University of Aberdeen23361978
University of Dundee34212075
University of Edinburgh876652205
University of Glasgow466245153
University of St Andrews714138150
University of Stirling433731111
University of Strathclyde32333398
University of the West of Scotland116623
Z-Guest Entries12111538

 

Total Events: 73 (88% of planned activity)

Last Updated: June 2022

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Friday 29th April 2022

Scottish Colleges went head-to-head at Oriam in a spectacular day of competition that included basketball, volleyball, badminton and 7-a-side football!

Men's College Basketball

Scottish Colleges went head-to-head at Oriam in a spectacular day of competition that included basketball, volleyball, badminton and 7-a-side football!

Badminton

The first matches started with City of Glasgow College up against Fife College. Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles were played in the team event and Calum Donaldson did well to win the team in white a point in the Men’s Singles. Glasgow took the win 7-1.

After a short rest Glasgow were back on the court to face Edinburgh College. Robbie Greenan (named Most Valuable Player) inspired the Edinburgh team to claim the win (5-3) after City of Glasgow’s strong start.

Edinburgh turned their attention to Fife and were relentless in their attack, taking the game to 8-0! Fife kept their heads up and it was excellent to see Cara McHale (who hadn’t played since she was 12) rewarded with the Sandy King Salver for her drive to support the team, filling in with the badminton team as well as basketball and volleyball!

Coming off of respective wins, the time came for City of Glasgow College to play Edinburgh College. After the singles matches concluded, things were tied up 2-2. Edinburgh College managed to find success with a brilliant showing in the doubles, beating City of Glasgow 5-3.

Basketball

It was a straight final in the Women’s Basketball between Fife College and City of Glasgow College. Many players were raring to go after the buzz of participating in the Volleyball Final earlier in the day! A back-and-forth game saw scoring from both sides, but Fife College were unable to keep up with City of Glasgow who took an early lead and closed out the game 54-25. Well done to Rebeka Krupnivoka (Glasgow) who was awarded the MVP award by the Basketball Scotland officials.

A round robin between Edinburgh College, Fife College and City of Glasgow College heated up the basketball court in the afternoon. Fife put up a great fight against Glasgow but they couldn’t quite bring it back against the men in purple. Special mention to Maroof Springher and Joel Edzii who took 28 points between them for the team from the West! Final score 16-66 to Glasgow. Edezi also featured in a post-match interview with teammate Faraz Masih which you can check out here.

After a convincing win against Fife College, Glasgow took on Edinburgh. This was a much tighter match, with Edinburgh taking the early lead. Sizzling action from Edinburgh’s Finlay Steele kept Glasgow at bay with Steele (later named overall basketball tournament MVP) scoring 22 points for his team in the match. The game finished 74-31 to Edinburgh.

Fife College stepped up to play Edinburgh but any hopes of Edinburgh carrying tired legs were quickly dashed as Steele once again showed his class. Fife kept their heads up and fought back, spearheaded by Jamie Saufole who took an impressive 50% of Fife’s total points in the game – with some sensational 3-pointers. Though Edinburgh had the larger score in their 38-123 win, Fife must be mentioned for showing the most spirit.

Volleyball

Spectators couldn’t take their eyes away from the Volleyball court as Glasgow played Fife in a straight final for both Men’s and Women’s teams. In the women’s match, Fife College took an early lead but a series of neck-and-neck plays took the first set to the final point – with Glasgow just taking the set with 25-24. The second set saw Glasgow get into their stride, leading from the off, however the crowd held their breath as Fife had a run of 4 points, bringing the game to a tight 24-20.  In the end, it was a brilliant serving point that claimed the win for Glasgow and Rebeka Krupnivoka was awarded MVP for that sport as well!

In the Men’s Volleyball Final, Fife again took an early lead and seemed to be on track to take the set. However, a run of 5 points charged down the scoreboard to 20-24 with Harry Orr winning the set in spectacular serving fashion. It was another nail biter in the second set as the teams battled it out but Glasgow edged it once more to bring the game to 25-20. Congratulations to Daniel Sime of Fife College who was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award by the officials.

Football

The Men’s 7-a-side football round robin kicked off with Edinburgh College taking on City of Glasgow College and the very even match ended 3-3 at halftime. With both teams vying to take the victory, tensions heated up in the second half. Scores from both sides saw the score finish 5-5 – reflecting the strength and depth of talent on display in both teams.

In the second match, City of Glasgow College faced Fife College. City of Glasgow played valiantly but couldn’t mount an attack against the more experienced Fife College, who went into halftime up 7-0. The second half seemed like the perfect opportunity for City of Glasgow to come back but they appeared to take the foot off the gas as two players from City of Glasgow College were sent off. Fife College dominated the end of the game, winning to the tune of a 12-1 victory.

In the final football match of the day, Edinburgh College returned to try to pick up a win against Fife College. However, the Fife side learned from the previous match and came out more focused against Edinburgh. A competitive and more strategic match was witnessed, with the defenders stepping up to make Edinburgh’s lives difficult. Multiple saves from the Fife College goalkeeper kept them in the match and gave the attackers time to release their talent. Liam Newton in particular put in some brilliant plays and was rewarded as the ultimate MVP of the Men’s football tournament. With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, it was all to play for. Edinburgh hoped to find an advantage and break through Fife’s wall of defence but the next goal came instead from Fife College, and the match ended 2-1 to Fife.

Although the Women’s Football tournament was cancelled, the colleges all enjoyed themselves and the hope is to have a full showing at next year’s, eagerly anticipated, College National Finals.

We’d like to extend our congratulations to the City of Glasgow College for taking overall victory at the College National Finals, a phenomenal effort from students partaking in every discipline.

Thank you to Oriam for hosting, the Officials for their expertise and, of course, the colleges who are doing brilliant work to bring sport to their students. We look forward to seeing more colleges, and more smiling faces, in 2023!

See the full photo album here.

Do you want to help improve Student Sport in Scotland? Have your say in our feedback survey by clicking here.

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Thursday 28th April 2022

It’s Awards Season again!! We are now accepting nominations for the 2021/22 SSS Awards! Read on for more information on the different award categories, the nomination process and where the winners will be crowned.

We are delighted to announce that the SSS 2021/22 Awards are officially open!

With a return to activity, this year the Executive Committee have decided that we should revert back to our usual set of awards. We are really looking forward to receiving all the fantastic nominations.

The Awards 

We are accepting individual nominations in the following five categories:

  • Female Athlete of the Year- Aimed at high performance female student athletes, whether or not they compete for their college or university. This will be awarded to a female individual for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2021-22 season (April 2021 – April 2022) while making a tangible contribution to the institution.
  • Male Athlete of the Year- Aimed at high performance male student athletes, whether or not they compete for their college or university. This will be awarded to a male individual for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2021-22 season (April 2021- April 2022) while making a tangible contribution to the institution.
  • Volunteer of the Year- Aimed at students and non-students who volunteer at a local level. This is not aimed at volunteers primarily in a SSS role (please see Dr Rob Macpherson Award); coaches (see Coach of the Year); paid staff going the extra mile (see Honorary President’s Medal). This will be awarded to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to student sport at a local level during the 2021-22 year. The contribution may be in many forms such as exceptional active or administrative services to a club, college, or university; as a faithful club servant, committee member, leader; official; or purely down to their love of sport. Volunteers purely in a coaching capacity should be nominated for the Coach of the Year award.
  • Coach of the Year- Aimed at those who coach student sport/ student athletes at any level of performance. They may be either volunteer coaches or paid coaches. Not aimed at professional coaches based in Higher Education for whom student athletes are not the main focus. This award will be given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to student sport by coaching during the 2021-22 season. Good quality coaching; innovative ideas; dedication to the sport; and a drive to continually improve their own skills are features of an outstanding coach.
  • Honorary Presidents Medal- Aimed at any individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to/lasting impact on student sport at a local, regional or national level. Nominees should be regarded as wonderful examples/ advocates of student sport and their behaviour should resonate with the above SSS values.

We are accepting group nominations in the following two categories:

  • Club of the Year- Aimed at the all-round best performing Club, on and off the field of play. Not aimed at clubs that have had a successful competition year only. This will be awarded to a club that can demonstrate impact in the 2021-22 season. Increasing memberships, upping participation, innovative projects, developing volunteers, promoting the role of officials; fundraising, community links and involvement in institution activity are just certain elements that would demonstrate excellence.
  • Team of the Year- Aimed at the most successful, high performing student teams in the country, whether within SSS/BUCS competition or further afield. Not aimed at a team that performs to the fullest of its potential in the lower levels of competition e.g. a third team that has a 100% season is still unlikely to win this award. This will be awarded to a team for outstanding sporting achievement at the highest level during the 2021-22 season (April 2021-April 2022). This can include international performances.
  • The final award is the Dr Rob Macpherson Award. This award differs slightly from the rest of our awards – there are no nominations, instead, the winner is selected by the SSS staff team as opposed to the Executive Committee. The award is aimed at any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to volunteering with Scottish Student Sport.

Check out our 2020/21 award winners here! 🏆

The Details

  • Nominations for each category should be a maximum of 500 words.
  • Institutions can nominate in as many categories as they wish, but may only put forward one entry per category.
  • Past winners can receive the same award again.
  • Only member institutions can nominate. All member institutions have been sent login details to the online portal where nominations should be submitted.
  • Nominations close on THURSDAY 12th MAY at 18:00 and the Executive Council will then decide on the winners.
  • Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner on Wednesday 8th June, as part of the SSS Conference.
  • Please contact Totty with any queries.
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Monday 28th March 2022

SSS Badminton Championships were back at Robert Gordon University this year with some amazing performances.

Badminton players high fiving over the net

SSS Badminton Championships (sponsored by Ashaway) were back at Robert Gordon University this year with some amazing performances! Barbara Drozdowska from Scottish Student Badminton sums up the biggest student badminton event in three years.

“On the 11th and 12th of March we witnessed the comeback of SSS Badminton Championships after a three-year break. 152 players from 12 universities competed at Robert Gordon University in a great atmosphere.

From the quarterfinals on we saw some incredibly high-level performances, with many matches going into three intense sets. Special mentions for the most spectacular players of the Championships need to go to Ben Torrance (University of Strathclyde) and Ai Jiang (University of Edinburgh) for making the semi-finals in all three possible events. On top of that, a huge effort was made by Kenneth Cheung (University of Strathclyde) and Ai who managed to advance into two finals, winning one and both of them respectively!

We’d like to extend a big congratulations to the finalists. In singles, Michael McGuire (Glasgow Caledonian University) took the win against Kenneth Cheung in, while Anett Karsai (University of Stirling) claimed the gold after Lindsey Ireland’s (University of Glasgow) retirement due to injury. In men’s and women’s doubles, Kenneth Cheung/Glen Lewington (University of Strathclyde) and Ai Jiang/Grace Choi (University of Edinburgh) were better than Calum Atterbury/Peter Sawkins (University of Edinburgh) and Emma Donald/Jennifer Lafferty. Following that, the last match of Saturday featured an all-Edinburgh final with Ai Jiang/Calum Atterbury confidently dominating Emily Harrison/Derek Zhao in two sets.

We would like to thank Badminton Scotland for their support leading up to and during the Championships, as well as our sponsor Ashaway who provided an excellent stringing service, prizes for the winners and shuttles during all our matches. We are looking forward to working with them again in the future!

Full results can be found here.  Photos from the event can be found HERE”

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Thursday 3rd March 2022

An exciting partnership has been agreed between Scottish Student Sport and World-Class Badminton Supplier Ashaway!

Ashaway Badminton Writing

SSS and Scottish Student Badminton Development Group are happy to announce the beginning of a new partnership with Ashaway. Ashaway offered to sponsor Scottish Student Badminton Championships for the duration of 3 years, with our first event happening on the 11th-13th March 2022!

Scottish Student Badminton Championships are an annual competition where over the course of 3 days Scottish students compete individually in all five badminton categories: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. This year’s Championships are scheduled for 11th-13th March 2022 at Robert Gordon University.

Most importantly, Ashaway will supply the Championships with A-boards and 25 dozen Ashaway International 500 shuttles. They will also sponsor the prizes for winners in each category and provide an Ashaway merchandise shop, with stringing service, during the competition. This is very valuable input that will allow the event to run smoothly and ensure the competitors have motivating prizes to look forward to that acknowledge their effort.

Moreover, the partnership is an exciting move towards giving Scottish students a full badminton experience after two consecutive years of restrictions, during which the Championships were not allowed to take place.

 

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Tuesday 1st February 2022

To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, we are shining a spotlight on student clubs that would like to share their work.

Rebecca, from the University of Edinburgh’s Badminton Club, reached out to our Inclusion & Culture Coordinator Eilidh, to highlight the work EUBC is doing to ensure current and future LGBTQ+ members know they are welcome.

 

Hello Rebecca, thank you for reaching out to SSS. How has the start of the semester been for the club?

Hi there, the semester has started off really well! We’ve just reached a milestone of 300 members – I believe our highest number to date – and we’ve seen the restart of ‘Lothian League’ after a long covid-hiatus which means more match opportunities for our team players. Lots ahead!

Can you tell us what steps the club is taking to make badminton more welcoming to and inclusive of LGBTIQ+ students?

EUBC is trying to make it clear that ALL athletes are welcome in the badminton community and we have a zero-tolerance policy in our club for members who discriminate. We do our utmost to facilitate members joining the competitive team which best reflects their gender identity. We ensure there is no ‘policing’ – people aren’t asked if they are in the ‘right’ group, or if they are using the ‘right’ changing rooms/toilets at our sessions.

AT EUBC, we’ve recently changed the language we use when describing teams. Now, instead of “men” or “women”, we use the terms “men’s team players” and “women’s team players”. This small change will hopefully make our sessions more inclusive. We encourage our members to introduce themselves with their pronouns and to call people by their names until they know what to use. Our current goal is to develop our stance in regard to players who may not conform to the gender division of competitive play. We’ve engaged in communication with the institutions who organise these matches, such as BUCS, to see what we can achieve together. 

“You are absolutely welcome regardless of your sexual or gender identity and you’ll see members wearing rainbow shoelaces for support.”

Why do you think it is important to celebrate awareness dates such as LGBTQ+ History Month?

It’s absolutely paramount to celebrate these dates as a sports community because it acts as a strong statement of our values. It’s an opportunity to remind queer people that they are welcome, celebrated, and to combat heterosexist normality and internal prejudices.

 

What would you say to an LGBTIQ+ student who would like to join your club but is worried about how they may be received?

We’re one of the largest badminton clubs in the country and there’s a community of our members who are also LGBTIQ+. We look after each other and would love to have you! If you have any worries, we have an active and friendly committee that would help you settle in and make friends!

“As a queer member of EUBC, I’ve always felt accepted at club sessions, socials, training, and as a team captain. You are absolutely welcome regardless of your sexual or gender identity and you’ll see members wearing rainbow shoelaces for support. On top of that, the recent steps towards increasing inclusion of trans and non-binary people are a great example of EUBC’s development and make me feel seen and respected.” – Barbara, 2nds team captain.

“I’ve found the badminton club a very queer-friendly group and have never heard of any contrary experiences. Plus, there is a great representation of LGBT+ in our leadership which helps us protect and promote these issues!” – Yiling, Vice-President.

Thank you to EUBC for sharing their development journey with us and we look forward to sharing other stories over LGBTQ+ History Month.

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Wednesday 26th May 2021

We are now accepting nominations for the 2020/21 SSS Awards! This year we have revamped our awards line-up with six brand new awards up for grabs! Find out more here.

We are delighted to announce that the SSS 2020/21 Awards are officially open!

This year we are doing things a little bit differently. As opposed to our usual individual and club awards, this year our awards will be based on the SSS values! Given the unusual and challenging year that everyone has faced, we wanted to recognise the incredible work and many success stories across our sector and celebrate the amazing people involved in student sport in Scotland.

The awards will therefore be based on the SSS values and we are looking for nominations for the following categories: Ambitious, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative, Responsive, Sustainable, Honorary President’s Medal. An additional eight award, the Dr Rob Macpherson SSS Volunteer of the year award, will be selected by the SSS staff.

The Awards 

We are accepting nominations in the following categories:

  • Ambitious – Who is this aimed at? Unsung heroes – juggling multiple projects/things at once.
  • Collaborative – Who is this aimed at? Best online learning resource/best practice sharing, coaching and officiating,  Zoom webinars.
  • Inclusive – Who is it aimed at? An inclusion champion – someone who has made their sport more accessible and available to all.
  • Innovative – Who is it aimed at? Those who have been exceptionally innovative and creative – i.e using Zoom workouts, creating new podcasts, performance athlete finding new ways to train.
  • Responsive – Who is it aimed at? Examples of best practice in adapting to COVID, new ways of working and flexibility.
  • Sustainable – Who is it aimed at? Sustainability champions – people/groups that have incorporated sustainability into their clubs/work.

The above awards can be won by individuals or groups, so please feel free to submit nominations for both outstanding individuals and student sports clubs!

  • Honorary Presidents Medal – This award is for any individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to/lasting impact on student sport at a local, regional or national level. Nominees should be regarded as wonderful examples/ advocates of student sport and their behaviour should resonate with the above SSS values.
  • The final award is the Dr Rob Macpherson Award. This award differs slightly from the rest of our awards – there are no nominations, instead, the winner is selected by the SSS staff team as opposed to the Executive Committee. The award is aimed at any individual who has made an outstanding contribution to volunteering with Scottish Student Sport.

Check out our 2019/20 award winners here! 🏆

The Details

  • Nominations for each category should be a maximum of 500 words.
  • Institutions can nominate as many groups or individuals in any category as they like.
  • Only member institutions can nominate. All member institutions have been sent login details to the online portal where nominations should be submitted.
  • Nominations close on MONDAY 7th JUNE at 18:00 and winners will be announced in July as part of the SSS Month of Celebration.
  • Please contact Totty with any queries.
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Wednesday 16th December 2020

Inspiration, innovation and collaboration at every corner. These were some of the key themes that emerged from the SSS 2020 Festive Gathering. Over 70 members tuned into the virtual gathering and were treated to thought-provoking discussion, high-quality guest speakers and plenty of Festive Fun! Read all about it here!

In a change to tradition and a fitting tribute to 2020, the SSS Festive Gathering was delivered virtually this year with over 70  members across the tribe tuning in to hear from a panel of world-class athletes and leaders in sport.

Whilst the virtual gathering was a first of its kind, the longstanding tradition of participants wearing festive jumpers remained true – with some fantastic outfits on show throughout the afternoon. None more so than panelist Robyn Love (pictured below) in what is undoubtedly a candidate for the most festive photo of the year.

After an energising welcome from SSS Chair Pete Burgon, a brief review of the year gone by and finances approved – our attendees were met by two equally inspiring and thought-provoking discussions from our special guests.

First up, the Road to Tokyo panel, where SSS Head of Competitions Chris Purdie, was joined by three athletes whose experiences through student sport had helped shape their career path and their journey to next year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Neah Evans (Cycling), Megan Gaffney (Rugby) and Robyn Love (Wheelchair Basketball) discussed how their positive student sport experiences helped them reach where they are today. From balancing the workload of their studies with the pressure of performing in their sport and also trying to keep up a social life in the process, the panelists spoke honestly and fondly of their student days.

All three touched upon the huge sacrifices required to make it at the top level and acknowledged the vital support they received from their institutions and staff during their time at University. This support has been vital to them and many other young athletes looking to achieve their potential while also studying and preparing for their future.

The panel discussed the importance of resilience and “bounce-back ability” that the challenges of Coronavirus and lockdown caused before previewing what promises to be a jam-packed and exciting year of sport in 2021.

All three have very real and promising hopes of competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games and everyone at SSS wishes Megan, Robyn and Neah every success for 2021 and beyond.

Following this inspirational panel, the next section was packed full of ambition, innovation and collaboration at every corner: An Audience with Jan Paterson.

Jan is currently Managing Director Sport for Neom, delivering a bold new vision of future living. Neom is being designed as a global city for global citizens and Jan’s role is to engrain sport and physical activity in the lives of residents. In the future city, citizens will never be more than 8 minutes from a sports facility and physical activity will be an integral part of the curriculum.

Jan herself is a pioneer and her experiences in leadership roles were a great learning opportunity for our audience. She spoke of the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, and the significance of bottom-up team building. We also heard some great stories of her times at the World University Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

To round off the day and in true 2020 style, the SSS Tribe were treated to a Zoom Quiz of the Year courtesy of Pete Burgon. This gave everyone a chance to show off their best Christmas jumpers, share some “funny” Christmas jokes and engage in some much needed festive cheer.

We would like to wish everyone a restful festive break and we look forward to seeing you all in 2021.

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Wednesday 9th September 2020

Check out the highlights from our first-ever virtual Chair Development Day and meet your new and returning SSS Sports Chairs!

Last Sunday (6th September 2020) Scottish Student Sport hosted the first-ever virtual Chair Development Day! A total of 35 volunteers across 28 of our sports engaged in a zoom-based training day designed to equip them with all the necessary tools to tackle the upcoming 2020/21 season.

Throughout the day, the eager volunteers were treated to a series of different workshops delivered by the SSS staff touching upon a little bit of everything and anything. Including; introductions to the staff team, planning the return to play for student sport, how to encourage growth and participation levels within their sport, student mental health, all things social media and communications,  and engaging discussion surrounding where student sport fits in the wider student landscape.

In another first, the workshop was opened up to include not only sports chairs themselves but also other members of each sports development committees. This enabled vice-chairs and other officers to learn, engage and contribute to the conversation around planning for the next 12 months and beyond!

Despite not being able to meet in person, in true SSS fashion, everyone on the call grasped the opportunity to get to know each other, collaborate with one another and share best practice. We can’t wait to see some of your fantastic ideas in action. We hope all our volunteers found the day beneficial and are feel better prepared to grasp their unique opportunity and tackle season 2020/21!

Meet your sports chairs and find out what they made of the day!  🎥👇

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