Monday 23-03-2020 - 10:30

The Active Lancaster recreational sport programme will come to an end this term due to delays in the University Sports Review.
 
Lancaster University Students' Union currently delivers a range of sporting provision for students using its funding from the University. These include supporting 39 clubs competing against universities across the country and organising the annual Roses tournament as well delivering a range of college and recreational sporting opportunities.
 
Since 2018 the Union has been a contributor to the University’s Sports Review, a project created to decide future delivery of competitive and recreational sporting opportunities at Lancaster. The University was hoping the review would be completed this academic year. 
 
The Students' Union pledged funds from its reserves to bridge the gap and allow the launch of Active Lancaster in October, pending the conclusion of the Sports Review.

The delay in the outcome of the Sports Review means uncertainty remains over the future of sport at the institution, and the Union is not able to continue providing this service until a sustainable funding model has been put in place. We have investigated funding options for this project both within the union and the university to continue this activity but unfortunately have been unsuccessful in our attempts to secure this.

What will change?
•    All of the Active Lancaster Turn Up and Play sessions will no longer happen: futsal, squash, basketball, badminton, yoga, volleyball
•    There will only be College Leagues in netball and football for A & B teams. Any C teams and teams in the recreational leagues will not continue 
•    The promotion and relegation within college leagues will have to be discontinued.
•    There will be less staff support available for the development of college teams as this moves from a dedicated College and Recreational Coordinator to our main Sports Coordinator
 
More than 1,000 students have participated in Active Lancaster since its launch, and the programme has proved that there is an appetite for recreational sporting opportunities among Lancaster students.

The Students’ Union joins you in your disappointment that this activity must be stopped but without the resource available to continue, we are left with little choice. If you have any unused pre-paid cards, please contact help@lancastersu.co.uk and a refund will be offered to you

The Union hopes that the University will recognise the value of the programme and allocate long-term funding to support this activity when the Sports Review is concluded.
 
The Union still offers hundreds of opportunities to get involved in exercise via our sports clubs and societies - https://lancastersu.co.uk/sport visit our website to discover the range of sports on offer.