The Glasgow University Sports Association (GUSA) is a pretty big deal when it comes to the University of Glasgow. Boasting 48 clubs, two sports complexes, and competitive and recreational leagues inviting people of every skill level to join, it encourages more people to take up a sport or improve upon their general fitness. The recent drive to focus on the health and welfare of students across campus has meant there has never been a better time to get involved.
GUSA, headed up by the newly elected President Stuart Law, is a student-elected body of keen sports men and women, with a twelve strong council ensuring that every sporting year at Glasgow University surpasses the previous one. But what does GUSA mean to new and prospective students?
The 48 clubs, ranging from the more competitive rugby and hockey clubs, to the more recreational clubs such as surfing and skydiving, give students a unique and diverse range of opportunities to get into a different sport, make new friends and have the best university experience possible. The clubs not only offer the chance to train and compete alongside their peers, but to also meet new people through socials and inter-university events hosted by organisations such as British Universities and College Sports (BUCS).
And speaking of BUCS, the University of Glasgow was recently awarded the prestigious ‘Most Improved University’ at the annual Awards Dinner held at Loughborough University. The university’s performance during 2012-2013 ensured that they dominated rivals at the University of Derby and Nottingham Trent University. This alone is indicative of how far the university as a whole, and GUSA as an entity, has progressed and can better itself within a short space of time. The University of Glasgow is rapidly becoming a sporting power to be reckoned with.
But GUSA doesn’t just deal with competitive sports; the gym facilities on campus at the Stevenson Building, affectionately known as the Stevie, as well as at the Garscube Complex mean that students and staff alike can improve their health and fitness at classes including BoxFit and Stretch2Harmony. Plus, provided you buy gym membership, you can take advantage of the variety of cardio suites, the swimming pool and the sauna/steam rooms. The new Hive-Stevenson joint project, currently being built ion University Avenue, demonstrates GUSA’s commitment to improving sporting life on campus.
Alongside GUSA’s drive to deliver students with the best sporting service, the association has had a recent push to look after the student community’s mental health. The addition of a Welfare Convenor to the GUSA Council, as well as the Sport and Wellbeing week and Buddy System, show that GUSA strives to provide a bright and healthy future for students of the University of Glasgow. GUSA is also proud to support the FairPlay initiative, which targets the barriers and forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people in sport.
GUSA is an entity synonymous with sport. It is without a doubt a major institution at the University of Glasgow, with over 15 000 members getting involved in sport at both a recreational and competitive level. With the sea of black and gold attire scattered over University Avenue and the surrounding campus, it is without a doubt that GUSA is set to get bigger and better over the coming year.
