Dear Britdisc
To add to the student voice on these matters, here's my two cents:
I agree with Manchester and Stange Blue that student players who are
unsubsidised do end up paying a lot (for students) to play ultimate
throughout the year. It will be pretty difficult to get people to pay club
subscriptions (to allow the club to run and assist with tournament fees
etc.) and have to cough up for the new association. This obviously isn't a
problem for the new players, but I would not be surprised to see a marked
drop in applications from 2nd and 3rd teams for Student Indoor regionals and
Outdoor Nationals. The proposal is unclear about whether all student
competitions will require membership.
But having a much more organised association is something that we
*definitely* want and if we have to pay a bit then so be it. I would much
rather know when the student tournaments will be more than a month in
advance! It will do an enormous amount for the game when this proposal has
gone through and we're all for it.
A final point for thought, but one which doesn't require an immediate
answer: I have just received word from my student sports body that all
coaches (anyone acting in a 'coaching' role, official or not) must be
affiliated to the national body for that sport, have had adequate training,
follow official guidelines and have the appropriate legal insurance. This
is after a club was sued for a substantial amount after an injury during
training. This could be a problem when we have previously had great help
from non-student players around Oxford. I believe more and more sports
bodies are requiring this sort of cover. Maybe something that will have to
be thought about by the new association in the future?
Bring on the Freshers!!
Ed Brooke
OW!
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