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The Campaign for a University Sports Centre in Cambridge |
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800 Years With No Sports Centre |
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Campaign Publicity |
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Reading recent editions of The Hawk evokes conflicting emotions. First, pride. It serves as a fine reminder of the excellent sporting tradition of Cambridge University. From the famous names who continue to compete at the highest level, to the thousands of students, coaches and volunteers to ensure that quality sport is played every day at University, College and recreational level in Cambridge.
Nevertheless, as readers of this magazine, you will be more than familiar with the urgent need for a University Sports Centre. Indeed, it is probably a source of great disappointment, as for several years you will have seen this noble ambition met with false starts and broken promises. After all, land and planning permission (which has since been renewed) were acquired in West Cambridge back in 1999. Fully-costed designs and specifications along with a budget for the running costs (the sports centre can be self funding) already exist. Some of you may even recall the McCrum report of 1973, which originally highlighted the need for centralised University sports facilities. In fact, further research has shown that even our Victorian predecessors had identified their necessity as is shown in an article in the Cambridge Review of 1892.
However, time has not proved to be a great healer. The absolute necessity of a University sports centre has not diminished over the years. Instead, it continues to grow. It grows each year with the rising cost of pool hire, now so great that the Swimming and Water Polo Club cannot afford a coach. It grows as annual subs spiral into the hundreds of pounds, deterring more and more talented students from committing to University sport. It grows as our captains and secretaries fight against a rising tide of admin to secure pitch space, hall hire and transport to (home) match venues. While dust gathers on the architectural model of the proposed sports centre in Fenner’s Gym, our University seems content in allowing this ridiculous situation to continue.
Yet, 2009 really ought to be the year that things change. In its 800th year, the University of Cambridge aims to celebrate its remarkable history and raise £1 billion to help secure Cambridge’s edge in excellence for the future. The campaign has attracted support from alumni and friends everywhere and has so far raised over £800 million. At a time when the University is attracting so many donors and so much publicity for a wide range of projects, covering all aspects of University life and heritage, one would expect to see considerable progress towards the building of the University Sports Centre. Unfortunately, the commitment to “investing in state-of-the-art facilities that will reinforce Cambridge's premier position for all-round excellence and opportunity” appears to be worth very little in the case of sport. There has been no major fundraising drive from the University to raise the £50 million required, despite similar campaigns for all manner of schemes and events both academic and non-academic to improve University life.
What has emerged in 2009, is a renewed determination on the part of students to do something about this. For the first time CUSU, The Hawks, Ospreys and University sports clubs have come together, launching a high profile campaign to get to University to commit to fundraising for and building the sports centre. There is widespread student support for this campaign, as the sports centre will have a number of benefits for students and the wider community. Not only will sports clubs including swimming, water polo, basketball, netball, tennis, squash, volleyball, fives, fencing and gymnastics be able to compete and train for the first time in their own high quality facilities, but the centre and gym will be open to use by all students and members of the public. It will go some way to making up for the huge variation, in quality and availability, of College facilities (especially as Colleges continue to sell off playing fields) as well as making sport in general more accessible for University students. At a time when London 2012 and efforts to improve the nation’s health have pushed sport up the political agenda, the importance of this cannot be understated.
As next year’s CUSU President and a former University sportsman, I am determined to put pressure on the University to address this issue. However, the campaign requires the full weight of student and alumni support to really succeed. Hawks can play a leading role in making our vision a reality: 1. Visit www.800yearswithnosportscentre.org and sign the online petition. 2. Buy a red campaign t-shirt for only £5 from www.800yearswithnosportscentre.org. 3. Donate to the campaign to help with our expenses. Email facilities@cusu.cam.ac.uk. A few high profile activities in Lent Term have already succeeded in forcing the University to at last allow donors to donate to “Cambridge University Sport” on their 800 Campaign website. However, we cannot stop with this small victory. Your support is crucial to the success of this campaign. For the first time we are witnessing mass student mobilisation on this issue, so let’s seize this opportunity and help bring Cambridge’s sports facilities up to the standard expected for one of the world’s greatest universities. |
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Cambridge University Students’ Union Old Examinations Hall Free School Lane Cambridge CB2 3RF
(01223) 333 313 |
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