Issue 274 Monday 24th March 2014 www.epigram.org.uk University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
Issue 274 Monday 24th March 2014 www.epigram.org.uk
Sport at Bristol: ‘an absolute rip-off’
• 82% students believe UoB sports policy is elitist • UoB sports passes 3rd most expensive in poll • 90% believe Bristol sport is poor value for money Alex Bradbrook Deputy Editor
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Bristol
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Cost of an unrestricted gym membership £0 £60 £90 £102 £104 £110 £115 £130 £135 £135 £160 £160 £162 £165 £170 £170 £180 £182.50 £183.60 £191 £195 £197 £199 £205 £210 £219 £220 £240 £250
£250
£252 £269
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Epigram can exclusively reveal that the University of Bristol is one of the most expensive universities in the country for sport, coming 30th out the 32 elite UK institutions surveyed in terms of affordability. A survey, run in conjunction with the investigation into the cost of sport, also revealed huge dissatisfaction with the sports offering provided by the university. In a poll of 240 students, 90% of respondents believed that the £150 off-peak and £250 peak dual sports pass system was poor value for money, with 82% students stating that the facilities provided by the university do not justify fees far higher than the majority of Bristol’s competitor universities. Perhaps more significantly, just 8% of respondents agreed with the statement that ‘sport at Bristol is accessible to everyone regardless of financial background’, with 82% disagreeing. Many of the comments received by Epigram also served to validate this: one student wrote, ‘I had to quit basketball when I came here because I could not afford to play’. Given the large amount of work undertaken by the university over the past decade aiming to dispel its elitist reputation, this is arguably a sad indictment on the institution in its failure to ensure fair access for all to every aspect of the student experience. One respondent wrote: ‘[The cost of sport] is yet another example of Bristol Uni catering to the large upper-class privately-educated portion of its students’. A major point of contention is the requirement of focus sport club members to purchase a £250 peak sports pass. Focus sports clubs are clubs that receive additional funding to provide supplementary coaching and facilities, and include 20 sports teams. Many students taking the survey claimed that this requirement prevented them from being able to pursue their favourite sports at university: indeed, one student stated, ‘I would have loved to commit to a major sport this year, but with no parental or governmental support I was unable to pay the £250 fee upfront’. Many more comments of this nature were also expressed: ‘I would have liked to try sports such as rowing but have been unable to do so’; ‘I wanted to play in the Uni Football team, but this involves buying the sport membership, something I can’t afford, therefore depriving me of the opportunity to play sport for my university’. When presented with the results of
Epigram’s survey, Simon Hinks, the director of Sport, Exercise and Health at the university seemed unsurprised. On the issue of focus sports being obliged to pay for a peak sports pass, he responded, ‘We believe that given the amount of investment that Sport, Exercise & Health put into focus sports, we don’t see it as unreasonable that club members pay for the £250 sports pass’. When challenged that many students from poorer backgrounds are unable to pay such a large sum up-front, on top of club membership, match fees and sports kit, he responded that ‘everything has a price’ and pointed out the efforts SEH and UBU have made in recent years to promote programs such as UBU: Active, which permit students to take part in sports on a more casual, cheaper basis. A sports consultation led by Hannah Pollak , VP Sport & Health in 2012 similarly revealed a high level of dissatisfaction with sporting provision at Bristol: in her consulation, which can be found online on the UBU website, over 50% of students said that the price of sport had prevented them from taking part. Seeing as this figure has now surpassed 70% in Epigram’s survey, it seems that this problem is worsening. Worryingly, it seems that the university is doing little to rectify this situation. The survey revealed an extensive lack of confidence in university sports policy-making, with 60% of students believing that student feedback was ignored by those in charge. Several other Russell Group universities have taken proactive efforts to promote inclusivity; for example, the University of Glasgow’s peak, fully-comprehensive sports pass costs just £60 per year (76% less than Bristol). They told Epigram via Twitter: ‘we want to promote participation in sport, and keep costs low to ensure that. With nearly 12,000 student members, it must be working!’. When this statistic and quote was put to Simon Hinks, his reaction was one of amusement: ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘but who wants to go to university in Glasgow?!’. Epigram’s survey has shown that sport at Bristol is a highly divisive and contentious issue that highlights the perpetuating class divides at this university. It remains to be seen whether or not the university will act to address this issue, which threatens to further divide the student body into those who can afford extracurricular activities, and those who are prevented from doing so due to affordability. See the full range of facts, figures and quotes obtained in this investigation on page 3.