Celebrating Sport
Welcome Celebrating Sport Sports Centre Opening Edge Hill Sport through the Years New Sporting Facilities Studying Sport Sports Research Sports Scholarships Sporting Alumni Sporting Honorary
Celebrating Sport
Welcome Welcome to Celebrating Sport, a sereis of events which reflect on how sport at Edge Hill has burgeoned into a multidimensional department and commemorate the opening of our ÂŁ30m sports complex.
The new facilities, which include top of the range 3G soccer pitches, multi courts, hockey and football pitches, a 25m swimming pool, 8-court double sports hall, aerobics studio, 80-station fitness suite, sauna and steam room as well as a new cafĂŠ for socialising, were opened by heptathlete, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and philanthropist Barrie Wells, in September 2015. The new competition standard athletics track was opened by broadcaster and Olympian Steve Cram and these facilities will provide opportunities for staff, students and the community to participate in recreational or competitive sport.
Since the introduction of Sports Studies and PE Degrees in the 1990s, and the opening of Sporting Edge by Mike Atherton (former Lancashire and England cricketer in 1997), sports provision and the academic study of sport and physical activity has flourished on campus. The opening of the new facilities compliments our seven sports-related undergraduate degrees and Masters-level Study. The Department of Sport and Physical Activity produces research which is considered world-leading or internationally excellent, while the Centre for Sports Law Research produces reports and gives expert advice to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the House of Lords. Edge Hill University recognises the attribute of sport to culture and society and aims to offer contributions at every level. We hope you enjoy the programme.
Cover image: Simone Magill, Everton FC and Northern Ireland Footballer Third Year BSc (Hons) Coach Education
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An Evening with Clare Balding Friday 13th November 2015 Faculty of Health and Social Care Join broadcaster, writer and presenter Clare Balding in November as she delivers the 2015 Edge Hill Chancellor’s Lecture. Clare Balding is one of Britain's leading broadcasters, having won numerous awards for her presenting, including the BAFTA Special Award and RTS Presenter of the Year Award for her expert coverage of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since becoming the face of the BBC’s racing output in 1998, Clare has worked on five Olympic Games, four Paralympics and three Winter Olympics. She has also presented The Clare Balding Show on BT Sport and BBC Two, featuring the most famous names in sport. Arrival and Drinks - 5.30pm Lecture followed by Q&A – 6.30pm Refreshments and Networking – 7.45pm Book your place at: ehu.ac.uk/bookevents
"They never told us it could be like this on the course!" Investigating the (micro) political and emotional landscape of sports coaching Tuesday 1st December 2015 Creative Edge While rationalistic conceptualisations of sports coaching have undoubtedly contributed to improvements in practice, they arguably do not adequately reflect the messy and dynamic nature of coaches’ work. Professor Paul Potrac’s lecture will chart the origins and subsequent development of his research journey, which has principally sought to better understand the (micro) political and emotional underbelly of coaches’ working relationships with various stakeholders. His research currently focuses on how coaches, coach educators, performance analysts, and athletes understand their respective working environments and attempt to cope with the multitude of variations that exist within them. Arrival and Drinks - 5.30pm Lecture followed by Q&A – 6.00pm Refreshments and Networking – 7.15pm Book your place at: ehu.ac.uk/bookevents
Celebrating Sport
Richard Parks: Living life to the extreme Sport, achievement, endurance Friday 11th December 2015 Faculty of Health and Social Care Join Richard Parks, the former Wales international rugby union player, turned extreme athlete in an evening of conversation about sport, adventures and how these are a metaphor for life. Richard made history in July 2011 becoming the first ever person to climb the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents and stand on all three poles (The North Pole, The South Pole and the summit of Everest) within seven months.
A revolving door between physical education and exercise science: Reflections on 15 years of children’s school-based physical activity and health research Tuesday 15th December 2015 Creative Edge It is well established that health risk factors develop and start to manifest themselves during childhood. Unfortunately, the majority of children and young people are physically inactive and engage in excessive sedentary behaviours. Efforts to promote physical activity in children and young people are viewed as positive endeavours.
Richard’s first, critically acclaimed book Beyond the Horizon was published in September 2014 and was named “Rugby Book of the Year” at the 2015 Cross British Sports Book Awards. The adventurer’s TV series; Xtreme Endurance: Race to the Pole debuted on Channel 5 in 2015 has since been distributed across the globe by Sky Vision.
Professor Stuart Fairclough’s inaugural lecture will reflect upon school-based physical activity research from the dual perspectives of a physical educator and an exercise scientist. The lecture will touch on the inter-related research strands of physical activity and will explore the importance of such collaboration to enable impactful applied research.
Arrival and Drinks - 5.30pm Lecture followed by Q&A – 6.00pm Refreshments and Networking – 7.15pm
Arrival and Drinks - 5.30pm Lecture followed by Q&A – 6.00pm Refreshments and Networking – 7.15pm
Book your place at: ehu.ac.uk/bookevents
Book your place at: ehu.ac.uk/bookevents
edgehill.ac.uk/sport
Celebrating Sport
Sports Centre Opening 23rd September 2015 The past and the future of British athletics came together at the opening of our fantastic new £30m Sports Centre, when 22-year-old heptathlete Katarina JohnsonThompson and 50-something (sorry, Steve) middle distance legend Steve Cram arrived on campus. Accustomed to performing on the big stage, Katarina unveiled the commemorative plaque, alongside philanthropist, entrepreneur and Edge Hill honorary doctorate Barrie Wells, in front of an appreciative crowd. The state-of-the-art Sports Centre includes an eight-court sports hall, a 25-metre swimming pool, and an 80-station fitness suite, while the international competition standard outdoor facilities include one of the largest running tracks in Europe. Katarina is a familiar face on campus, providing advice, guidance and inspiration to the next generation of runners, jumpers and throwers: “I’ve been to Edge Hill a number of times, including with a group of schoolchildren and also to see my sponsor Barrie Wells be awarded an Honorary Degree by the University, and it’s fantastic to be back today for the opening of this amazing facility. It’s an honour to be here, and I’d like to thank Edge Hill for having me!” Barrie identified Katarina’s ‘incredible’ talent early, and knew it needed to be carefully nurtured. He says people thought he was mad sponsoring an athlete at 16,
but he recognised the determination and single-minded focus she possessed, something he as a businessman had needed to succeed. He followed his instincts, and the rest is history. Or will be. Steve Cram put a group of schoolchildren through their paces in a rigorous track session, before addressing a crowd who were clearly in thrall to his legendary exploits of the 1980s: World, European and Commonwealth 1500m gold medallist, Olympic 1500m silver medallist (a footstep behind Sebastian Coe in 1984), and 1500m and mile world record holder at various points during his career. Noting that, as Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, he was ‘very jealous’ of our new facilities, he gave us an insight into the secret of his success - a heady mixture of chance and working ‘really hard’. His success wasn’t about having a super talent, but finding something he liked and sticking with it, through the ups and downs that will inevitably impact upon your life. Performance, he said, is about perseverance, being open to learning, not being knocked back when you realise you’re not going to win every time. “Failure is just a staging post on the road to success,” he said. Cram has seen the difference real investment in sport and people can make, with lottery funding enabling many people to harness raw talent to quality coaching and facilities. He said the results are undeniable – from being 36th in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games table, by London 2012 the UK had climbed to 3rd, ahead of serial sporting achievers Russia and Germany. Cram believes ‘talent is everywhere’ (“there’s a Usain Bolt in the UK somewhere – he’s just playing footie, or basketball, or watching telly”), but the missing vital ingredient is the will to work hard. And there’s never been a better time to test yourself:
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“When I was a kid going out in the streets running, people laughed at you. Now it’s much better, everyone wants to have a go,” and he points to the popularity of marathons as evidence. So, we asked Steve, what’s the real secret to winning? At the elite level, with little between athletes, Steve says psychology plays a huge part. It could be the most trivial thing, something which just makes you feel everso-slightly more positive. For example, Kelly Holmes told him that getting her hair braided prior to her 2004 Olympic 800m and 1500m triumphs may – may! – have given her the edge over her rivals. But “the main message I want to give you is…someone playing rugby for England, Mo Farah, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, they all work really, really hard.” And the new Sports Centre is where the next KJ-T or Steve Cram could well be getting their head down, nurturing new gold dreams. Katarina Johnson-Thompson is a patron of the Barrie Wells Trust’s Box4Kids barriewellstrust.org
Barrie Wells has made the dreams of many come true, helping some of the UK’s top athletes achieve their potential – a roster which includes Katarina JohnsonThompson, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Beth Tweddle – as well as motivating the sportspeople of tomorrow after being inspired by a visit to the Olympic Games in Beijing. An Edge Hill honorary doctor, Barrie also provides opportunities for seriously ill and disabled children to enjoy world class sporting and entertainment events through The Barrie Wells Trust’s Box4Kids initiative.
Celebrating Sport
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is from Woolton in Liverpool and a member of Liverpool Harriers. Katarina (22) is a track and field athlete, specialising in the heptathlon, but also competes in the indoor pentathlon and long jump. She represented Great Britain in the 2012 Olympic Games, 2013 and 2015 World Championships and won her first senior gold in the pentathlon at the European Indoor Championships in 2015. Katarina is on course to compete for Great Britain in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Steve Cram CBE is a British retired track and field athlete, one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Cram set world records in the 1500m, 2000m and the mile during a 19-day period in the summer of 1985. He was the first man to run 1500m under 3 minutes and 30 seconds. He won the 1500m gold medal at the 1983 World Championships and the 1500m silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. Steve Cram now works as a television presenter and athletics commentator, motivational speaker and President and coach at Jarrow Hebburn Athletics Club.
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Edge Hill Sport through the years
Sport at Edge Hill University has come a long way since compulsory Thursday nights in the gym, when students endured an hour of Swedish gymnastics in thick blue serge tunics buttoned up to the neck, with long sleeves, bloomers to match, when any hint of an ankle showing was a serious misdemeanour. Over a hundred years later, and the teachers at the original Edge Hill teacher training college for women would no doubt be appalled at the kit worn by men and women getting involved in serious physical exercise. They would definitely be impressed with the new facilities now available, though, and sporting opportunities that far exceed the basic options of tennis, hockey, badminton, croquet and swimming, with new students as likely to try their hand at ultimate Frisbee, dodgeball and trampolining, as well as more traditional activities such as football, cricket and rugby.
Celebrating Sport
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But how did we get to this point? Progress had been slow until the 1930s and the move to Ormskirk, with the development of a new gym, swimming pool, tennis courts and hockey pitches. Edge Hill even provided a competitor at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles – sprinter Ethel Johnson. The Olympic link was resurrected in 2012 when Olympic hopefuls from Micronesia, American Samoa and the Marshall Islands were based on campus prior to the start of the London Games. Senior lecturer Dean Williams was also Chief Field Referee in the capital, revelling in the atmosphere of the stadium on “Super Saturday”, when GB secured three gold medals. But it was during the second half of the 20th century that sport at Edge Hill was really transformed. The introduction of male students in 1959 expanded the portfolio of sports played on campus – “we are already beginning to hear of their successes on the football field,” commented Principal Dr Bain – and teams became ever more organised, with official kits and occasional sponsorships.
Celebrating Sport
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During the 1970s, however, sport was still taking place on the lawn in front of the main building. The introduction of Sports Studies and PE in the 1990s was the catalyst for further expansion, and in 1997 former Lancashire and England cricket captain Mike Atherton opened the £4m Sporting Edge, complete with multi-gym, squash court, floodlit all-weather pitches and a new running track. A far cry from the facilities a century earlier, Sporting Edge was designed to be used by staff, students and the wider community, and was the base for the England Sports Council’s NW regional training unit. From here on in, development went up a gear, as the charge towards full university status gathered momentum. In 2001, the £4.3m Wilson Centre opened on the site of the old Lancashire Halls, where the first men to be admitted to Edge Hill were accommodated. The Centre features labs for sports psychology, physiology and biomechanics, and a dance studio.
Celebrating Sport
Since then the Department of Sport and Physical Activity has flourished, from a base of 150 undergraduates in 2004/5, 2015 saw 430 students studying for sports-related qualifications. It appointed its first Professor in 2012, and almost half of the research produced by the department is now considered world-leading or internationally excellent. Some of the department’s many alumni include: Natalie Walker, an international women’s football referee, who officiated at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada; former England women’s football international and TV commentator Sue Smith, one of our first sports graduates; Joe Rawcliffe, a multiple winner of national and international karate competitions; and Sarah Hutchinson, recipient of a Sporting Excellence scholarship from the University in order to pursue her international ice hockey ambitions. The opening of the new sports complex takes the student sporting experience to another level, as well as providing exceptional new resources for the wider community to have a go at badminton, basketball, dodgeball, 5-a-side, futsal, handball, netball, rounders, self-defence, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, touch rugby, trampolining, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball and walking football amongst other activities. There’s even a relaxation deck with loungers and mini-golf. I think the phrase is ‘game on’.
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Sports Facilities The ÂŁ30 million invested in sport on-campus has created a fantastic playing environment, complemented with high quality, well-equipped indoor facilities. -
Grass pitches for rugby and football 3G Astroturf pitch for rugby and football Astroturf hockey pitch 8-lane competition standard synthetic athletics track Outdoor hard court tennis courts Outdoor hard court netball courts Sports halls 2 sprung floor gymnasiums 100 station fitness suite 25m 6 lane swimming pool Sauna and steam rooms Fitness and conditioning trail with outdoor fitness stations Sports injury clinic
Celebrating Sport
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Studying sport at Edge Hill University
The Department of Sport and Physical Activity offers a wide range of undergraduate degrees and Masters awards, designed to provide a gateway to an extensive choice of potential careers in sport and physical activity and other sectors. From teaching in schools to coaching elite athletes, and sports development to sports therapy, our facilities, practical work and workbased learning opportunities allow you to develop the skills to succeed.
Undergraduate Courses
Postgraduate Courses
BA (Hons) Physical Education and School Sport
MSc Football Rehabilitation
BSc (Hons) Sports and Exercise Psychology BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science BA (Hons) Sports Coaching and Development BA (Hons) Sports Development and Management BA (Hons) Sports Management and Coaching BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy
MSc Sport, Physical Activity and Mental Health MRes Coach Education MRes Physical Education and School Sport MRes Sport and Exercise MRes Sports Development MRes Sports Studies MRes Sports Therapy
Celebrating Sport
Research at Edge Hill University
Our academics cover a variety of research areas, both applied and theoretical in nature, which seek to advance knowledge and solve practical everyday problems in the areas of: the Social Science of Sport, Physical Activity and Health and Sports Performance. We also have a dedicated research centre, The Centre for Sports Law Research which has been highly influential in shaping UK and EU sports law and policy through the provision of expert advice and research services.
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Protecting young athletes
key stakeholders are in the safeguarding and child protection agenda. The results provide an evidence-based analysis that can help the RFL, and the wider rugby league community, further develop its approach to safeguarding and child welfare. Edge Hill is also involved in an international project to empower young people to understand abuse and keep themselves safe.
Over the past decade, Edge Hill University has been at the forefront of research into child protection and safeguarding in sport, conducting pioneering studies that help to raise awareness, shape policy and protect young people. Child protection experts at Edge Hill edited Safeguarding, Child Protection and Abuse in Sport: International Perspectives in Research, Policy and Practice, the first book to comprehensively review global contemporary developments in this sensitive and often controversial area. Researchers also work with national sports bodies on studies that have the potential to change sports policy. A study into the potential harm that intensive training can have on the health and wellbeing of young athletes suggested a minimum age of 18 for elite athletes. The research, which highlighted problems such as eating disorders, issues with body image, and growth and development delay, as well as the increased risk of physical injury, was presented to the British Rugby Union Safeguarding Managers’ Annual Conference and at the Fifth International Conference on Sport and Society in Brazil. A long-standing partnership with the Rugby Football League (RFL) has had a major impact on the sport’s safeguarding and child protection policy. Researchers recently conducted a study for the RFL, the third since the policy was implemented in 2003, to assess how active or engaged
The #STOP1in5 campaign, part of the EU-funded project Sport Respects Your Rights, aims to develop capacity among young Europeans to combat sexualised violence and gender-based harassment through youth-led campaigns and local cross-sector networks in six European countries, within the context of sport. Youth volunteers have developed campaigns (including the #STOP1in5 social media campaign, initiated at Edge Hill) and delivered presentations to other students as well as national level organisations. EU funding has now finished but the project continues through collaborations with the RFL, Survivors Manchester and Street Games, and is embedded within the Department of Sport and Physical Activity’s curriculum.
Celebrating Sport
Setting goals for health A partnership with Everton in the Community is using sports research to address health inequalities and improve the physical and mental wellbeing of people from disadvantaged communities across Merseyside. Researchers from the Department of Sport and Physical Activity developed Active Blues, a programme to encourage inactive men aged 35-50 in economically deprived areas to become physically active. As well as helping to combat men’s health issues like Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and poor mental health, the programme gives Edge Hill the opportunity to undertake original research on the health and wellbeing of inactive men living in some of the most deprived areas in the country. The collaboration has also delivered a programme for young people aged 8-14 who are experiencing, or are at risk of developing, mental health problems. Commissioned by NHS Southport and Formby, and NHS South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups, Tackling the Blues uses sports-based activities, educational workshops and peer mentoring to raise awareness of healthy lifestyles and help young people understand and manage their own mental and emotional wellbeing.
The partnership with Everton in the Community, the official charity of Everton Football Club, is one of the many ways that Edge Hill University is making a positive contribution to Sport England’s national agenda of encouraging more people to become physically active through sport. * The Faculty has recently launched the UK’s first interdisciplinary MSc in Sport, Physical Education and Mental Health, designed in collaboration with Everton in the Community
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Shaping the future of European sport The Centre for Sports Law Research has played a leading role in the development and implementation of European sports policy and legislation. Researchers at the Centre have carried out some of the most influential sports studies commissioned by the European Commission and the European Parliament, including the 2013 study into UEFA’s controversial home-grown player rule, which highlighted the rule’s potentially negative effect on the free movement of players throughout the EU. Academics from the Centre also provide professional advice and expert testimony to key policymakers and advise national governments and sports bodies on EU law as it applies to sport. This includes sitting on the European Commission’s Group of Independent Sports Experts, acting as Special Advisors to the UK House of Lords inquiry into grassroots sport and the European Union, and co-authoring the European Parliament study, The Lisbon Treaty and EU Sports Policy.
This research and expertise has helped define EU policy priorities for sport, shaped the content of sports related legislation and informed the dialogue between the European Commission and sports stakeholders and Member States.
Laura Houghton, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Sport and Physical Activity “My PhD focuses on the role that family background plays on physical activity, and the impact this has on health. I was very lucky because the area I wanted to study fitted perfectly with Everton in the Community’s objectives and Edge Hill’s research priorities. I’m now researching the impact of the People’s Family Project, a joint initiative between Everton in the Community and Edge Hill University. Through a number of fun days we were able to gather data from families living within a mile of Goodison Park, which is quite a deprived area of Liverpool, to help us fully understand the challenges that local families may experience when adopting a healthy lifestyle. The idea is then for Everton in the Community to use this data to inform future initiatives and build strong relationships with local families. Having studied Sports Science at undergraduate level and doing a Masters in Sports Psychology, the emphasis is often on elite sport. It’s very rewarding to be able to bring together everything I’ve learned and apply it to a community project that offers tangible benefits for local people.”
Celebrating Sport
Sports Scholarships Students can apply for these Scholarships either pre-entry to the University or as a current student. The Sports Scholarships recognise students who are talented at sport, participate at a competitive level and demonstrate the ability and ambition to improve in their sport during their time at Edge Hill University. This is a competitive scheme and all applications are considered by a Scholarship Selection Committee which comprises a panel with academic expertise in sport who determine the most impressive applicants to receive the Scholarship in either Bronze, Silver or Gold categories. The Chancellor’s Scholarship is awarded to current students who help raise the profile of Edge Hill in a positive way through their exceptional contribution to the University.
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Chancellor’s Scholarship Luke Pomfret A third year trainee teacher has been awarded a prestigious Chancellor’s Scholarship in recognition of his efforts to involve young people in Lancashire with cricket. Luke Pomfret spent most of his childhood on a cricket pitch. What started as fun for an energetic three-year-old has grown into a lifelong passion and a commitment to making it accessible for as many people as possible. Luke has been involved with East Lancashire Cricket Club since he was young, playing for the junior teams and volunteering behind the scenes. But it wasn’t until his younger sister took up the game five years ago that he realised he could use his love of the sport to help others. “I’d realised by then that I wasn’t going to be a professional cricketer,” smiles Luke, who is in the third year of a Primary Education degree, “but I knew I could help younger players reach their potential. The girls weren’t able to play competitively after a certain age because they weren’t allowed in the boys’ teams, so I took a coaching course and helped develop the club’s first girls’ team.” As well as being a volunteer coach for the girls’ team, Luke has been team manager and head coach for several mixed teams. Luke has also worked with children with autism, adapting his coaching techniques to address the children’s individual needs and allowing them to participate competitively.
Since he began his degree, Luke has juggled his studies with his coaching commitments. He has continued to widen access to cricket during his degree, running after school clubs for boys and girls as part of his school placements. He has also helped to reintroduce cricket to Edge Hill’s sporty students, co-running the University’s fledgling cricket club and becoming vice-captain of the men’s 1st team. Luke is also a keen fundraiser for East Lancashire Cricket Club, raising vital money which helps the club reduce costs for participation and ensure children in challenging economic circumstances can still access sport. “Receiving the Chancellor’s Scholarship makes all the hard work worthwhile. I don’t volunteer for the recognition, but it’s nice if people notice you’re doing a good job. It’s also a high accolade and will make my CV stand out; it shows leadership and a willingness to get involved which will hopefully go down well with the schools I apply to in the future.”
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Sports Scholarship Millie Forest A love of sport and a determination to succeed against the odds earned Paralympic hopeful Millie Forrest a sports scholarship. The second year Coach Education student is currently ranked second in the country, and ninth in the world, in the F37 discus category. Despite having cerebral palsy, which affects the left side of her body, Millie has always played sport to the best of her ability. Now her skill with the discus has marked her out as a potential future Paralympic champion. “I’ve never let my disability get in my way,” says Millie, who threw a personal best of 21.3m at last year’s England Athletics Championships. “I was the only girl in the football team at primary school and I was in the girls’ football and netball teams at high school. “My disability affects my grip and my ability to walk long distances but I’ve always been encouraged to play to my strengths by being in goal or in positions that don’t require too much running about.” Millie discovered her talent for throwing during a school sports event at Sport City in Manchester. A disabled sport specialist from Wigan Harriers was impressed by her co-ordination and strength and invited her to train with the club. “Through school I tried to compete in team events as much as my disability would allow but, for obvious reasons, I was unable to keep up with the improving standard of the other players,” says Millie.
“When I was spotted for my throwing ability, it gave me an opportunity to compete on my own terms on a more level playing field.” Millie started competing in 2012 and within two years was representing Team GB at the World Junior Games, where she won gold in the shot put and silver in the discus. She is now part of the British Athletics Parallel Success Academy Squad, which nurtures the next generation of sporting champions, and has been awarded a Sportsaid award to support her through the critical early years of her career. As well as training six days a week and juggling her academic work, Millie also finds time to volunteer at her local community gym, where she encourages able-bodied and disabled young people to get into sport. “Sport has had such a positive impact on my life,” she says. “Playing sport not only built up my confidence and helped me fit in by being part of a team, it also improved my general mobility and balance. I want to share that experience with other young people to show them the power of sport.”
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Chancellor’s Scholarship Katie Munday An Edge Hill student who has taught swimming since age 16 and made it her mission to make the sport accessible and safe for children across the world has been awarded a Chancellor’s Scholarship by the University. “I grew up by the sea so I’ve always been aware of the importance of water safety,” says Katie Munday, a 2nd year Nutrition and Health student. “I developed a real passion for swimming and wanted to help promote it as an essential life skill.”
Since starting at Edge Hill Katie has managed to juggle academic studies with working and volunteering, teaching children to swim at Edge Hill’s swimming pool, and teaching baby swimming lessons at Park Pool, Ormskirk. She also does swim photography and teaches lifeguard skills to children.
Katie’s first job as a volunteer swimming teacher was with a group of children with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to autism.
Katie has also thrown herself into University life, supporting students as course rep and acting as Vice-President for the University’s first Nutrition Society.
After her A Levels, Katie decided to travel to China to teach swimming. She got a job at a swimming centre in Beijing where she began to develop her ideas for using swimming as a tool to teach English to Chinese children. By the end of her placement, she was team co-ordinator for several schools, kindergartens and swimming centres in Beijing, had written a curriculum for using swimming to teach English and had delivered part of the teacher training manual.
It is this willingness to give up her time for others that earned her a nomination for the coveted Chancellor’s Scholarship.
“I really believe that travel is the best education,” says Katie. “I’ve visited 28 countries in three years, and taught swimming in the UK, China and Egypt. I’ve learned so much that I can bring to my teaching and my own education back home.”
“It was a privilege to be nominated,” said Katie. “It can get a bit overwhelming to juggle everything so it makes a real difference to know that my efforts have been noticed. Katie has recently returned from India where she qualified as a yoga instructor, and plans to use her scholarship money to fund more educational trips abroad. “I’m hoping to eventually do a Masters and then work abroad for a charity that supports underprivileged children,” says Katie. “It’s a great feeling to think that my actions can have a positive impact on people’s lives.”
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Sporting Alumni
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Our Sporting Alumni 2015 has been a fantastic year for football referee Natalie Walker. Not only was the Edge Hill University graduate an Assistant Referee at the Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley, she’s also spent five weeks in Canada as part of the British officials’ team for the Women’s World Cup, where she was the only English match official. “Walking out at Wembley, your national stadium, is a dream come true,” says Natalie. “I was so fortunate to be involved – and we actually made history in the process. “I’d been Assistant Referee in 2004, Referee in 2012 and the fourth official in 2013 and there was a rule that you can only referee the FA Cup once. But this year the FA changed the rules so the country’s top female officials could all do it again this year so we had the opportunity to officiate at Wembley within the Women’s game. “It was fantastic, something I never thought I would experience.” Natalie’s no stranger to the pitch, though she only played football at primary and high school. Her dad was a referee at a local level and she joined him as an official aged just 14. She then went on to referee at matches throughout her teens, and during her time at Edge Hill – when she wasn’t playing netball. She’s been in charge at both mens’ and women’s football matches and has been an international Assistant Referee since 2007.
The 2015 Womens’ World Cup was her second senior international competition – but the success of the England team meant that she didn’t get the chance to progress to the latter stages of the tournament because officials cannot take part in matches involving their home teams. Natalie adds: “The difference in the quality of the women’s game now is amazing. Because England did so well I couldn’t get on the pitch, but it was really good to see them do so well.” Natalie graduated from Edge Hill University with a degree in Sports Studies in 2002. She then went travelling in Australia before returning to complete her PGCE course, which is when she started mentoring students at Preston College. She’s now programme team leader for the sporting excellence courses. “I’m now writing references for my students who want to go to Edge Hill,” she says. “I loved my time on campus. It was great, and I hope they enjoy their three years there as much as me.”
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Rugby League Professional Graduates Rugby league professional Declan Sephton-Hulme, who plays for Workington and works for Widnes Vikings in the Community graduated with BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science from Edge Hill. During his studies Declan, from St Helens, was the recipient of the University’s first ever Adam Bell Scholarship, chosen for his ‘honesty, resilience, hard work and commitment’ to his studies. Declan has shown tremendous courage in the face of adversity. In April 2006 he suffered a brain haemorrhage and an eleven-day coma as a result of a genetic brain condition called Arterio Venous Malformation (AVM), which threatened his dream of becoming a professional rugby league player. When asked whether he would play rugby league again, his father was told that if he came out of the coma Declan would be likely to experience paralysis, cerebral palsies and be unable to walk or talk. Amazingly these residual symptoms did not appear and Declan, although left with memory and speech problems, returned home after two months in hospital. He returned to rugby in 2007, and with great success.
After gaining a place on the Warrington Wolves Scholarship Programme he went on to play rugby for Widnes Vikings and was invited to attend the England Academy. Declan now plays for Championship side Workington and delivers programmes in schools in his role with Vikings in the Community. Declan said: “Juggling studying at Edge Hill and my training with the first team has been tough but it’s all worth it, both on and off the pitch. It’s been a really enjoyable three years at Edge Hill and it’s great to have this qualification behind me.” He is now considering a Masters in Sports and Conditioning as well as aiming to return to Super League rugby.
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“I think the key message I’d like graduates to take away from today is to not just take the world as you find it, but make the world how you want it to be,” said Sue.
Honorary Doctorate A campaigner who has worked tirelessly to change women’s sport policy, promote investment and encourage more girls to take part in physical exercise has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Edge Hill University. In 2014, Sue Tibballs, former Chief Executive of the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), a charity built for the purpose of encouraging women into sport and physical activity, celebrating sporting success and working with policy makers to drive change in how the government supports women’s sport and fitness, became an Honorary Doctor of Science. Under Sue’s leadership, the WSFF led a number of high profile campaigns which have made an outstanding impact across the UK and world. The charity was behind the campaign to include women’s boxing in the 2012 London Olympics, leading to Leeds-born Nicola Adams becoming the first ever woman to win an Olympic boxing title. The WSFF also led calls against the Saudi Arabian government’s refusal to send sportswomen to the Olympics, resulting in the country’s decision to send two female athletes to compete in the 2012 Games for the first time in the nation’s history. And next year, for the first time, the women’s Boat Race will be held on the same day as the men’s, thanks to Sue helping to persuade the organisers that the races should have equal importance.
“Women’s sport has changed enormously in the last seven to eight years, I think WSFF prepared a lot of the ground work but London 2012 played a big part in pushing the debate to a much higher platform, and there has been a big shift in the attitude towards women’s elite sport. “There has been a drive amongst the media to be the women’s sport champions, you’ve got the BBC covering women’s football, Clare Balding with her own show on BT Sport and women cricketers being paid. But there is much more to be done in terms of sports funding. For example, I’m a patron of Crystal Palace’s ladies’ football club, but it doesn’t receive any funding, so every girl has to pay to play football.” She added that there is also the issue of sexism in sport. “Just as I started at WSFF, Mike Newell who was manager at Luton lost a match and put the blame on the female assistant referee. He later apologised, but it meant a sudden awareness and huge surge of interest in the fact that women were doing these roles, so I thought it would be a good idea to present him with a huge bunch of flowers. At the time my children were small, so I went up to the ground with my buggy and the bunch of flowers – and ended up escorted away!” Sue has also been instrumental in improving girls’ participation in sport while still in school, through not only changing school policy but also challenging traditional attitudes.
The WSFF published Changing the Game for Girls, the biggest ever report on what stops girls engaging in physical activity. As a result, policy makers and schools were told about the barriers that girls face to participating in sport, and providing a toolkit for how to best deal with these
Celebrating Sport
issues. She also secured funding from the Department of Health to improve school’s attitudes towards girls sport across the UK. In addition, she was also responsible for the ground-breaking Creating a Nation of Active Women strategy, which included the innovative Sweat in the City programme which resulted in 72 percent of women who completed it becoming more active than they were before. She was recognised by the Queen and awarded the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year’s Honours list. Sue added: “Getting involved when I did in sport was great because the interest in women’s sport has grown enormously. “I think one of the main things that has happened is the debate moving away from
fanbase, getting more women active, it’s a huge opportunity. “I didn’t work in sport before joining the WSFF, I’d previously worked with The Body Shop where we did a lot of work about body image and self-esteem. That was nice as there was the obvious link with the role of physical activity and girls’ experience of their body. “But In a time of issues around obesity we need to do more to get girls moving, rather than simply celebrating all body shapes and sizes. “Whether it’s dance, rugby, whatever, we want girls to be radical and do something to change how they see their physical self, and not to be constantly thinking they have to look a certain way.”
equality and towards the opportunity it presents. It’s always difficult to have the conversation about equality, people don’t know what to say and don’t want to say the wrong thing so just seize up. But there is huge market potential in growing the
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Celebrating Sport
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