Following a successful year of Intramural sport in 2022/23 the IM programme grows for 2023/24, increasing opportunities for University of Edinburgh students to stay active and participate in sport at whilst at university. With an additional 23 additional teams and the introduction of 2 new sports (Table Tennis and Volleyball) this year there will be 164 teams competition across 9 sports in the 2023/24 IM programme, with activity taking place every day of the week across Pleasance Sports Complex & Gym, Peffermill and St Leonards Land. The recruitment of a Sport Participation Activator at Edinburgh University Sports Union has supported the growth of the IM program where the SU endeavours to engage the wider University of Edinburgh community through sport and physical activity. The physical, mental, and social benefits connected to sport and physical activity are fundamental to improving a student’s experience at the University of Edinburgh and have been a major factor in the engagement seen this year. Image Schools The resource of the Sport Participation Activator role has also led to an increase in collaboration with University academic schools. A number of schools have established voluntary School Sports Coordinators in student support and experience teams, leading to Intramural sport teams being embedded into school structures with schools further supporting team captains to access funding and leadership opportunities. The success of this work is seen with 52 Intramural school-associated teams entering this year, an increase of 37% from the previous academic year, these schools teams include; Biomedical Sciences, Business School, School of Divinity, School of Economics, School of Informatics, School of Physics & Astronomy, School of Social & Political Science. Halls Introduced for the 2023/24 season has been a collaboration with ResLife, the Sports Union has been able to create new teams under the 4 ResLife communities: Osprey, Puffin, Thistle, and Unicorn Halls. With 6 teams being formed for 2023/24, students have had the opportunity to represent and play with others from their Halls of Residence as well as other groups of students across the University. This lays a foundation for establishing social sport within each Hall of Residence in the future, facilitating student’s sense of belonging. Image Intramural entries are now closed for the 2023/24 academic year. If your school or halls are interested in more information and getting involved for 2024/25 please contract Callum.Ball@ed.ac.uk Related Information Intramural Sport (ed.ac.uk) (External Link) This article was published on 2024-05-13
