So you want to join a society? (Introduction & Sports Edition)
Depending on who you ask, what society that person is in and what university you’re at, people will either say joining a society is the best or worst decision you can make. Fortunately, most will say it’s the best (and those that say it’s the worst probably should’ve just joined a different society).
Societies are essentially the social central of university. They're where you're most likely to make friends, and fast, due to basically all being thrown in together and forced to interact with each other (please note, if you're an introvert there are also societies where it's much more relaxed and they don't 'force' you to interact I'm just speaking generally). In my opinion there are many different types of societies, all of which you'll be able to find listed somewhere on your university student's union page but, for now, I'm just going to go through the ones that people know of/speak about the most; sports societies, academic societies, performing arts societies and social awareness societies. Now, before I go into any further detail about each of these, I want to make it clear that you will (almost definitely) be able to find a society that suits you, your degree and the amount of time you're willing to dedicate to being in that society (if you can't - shoot me an email and I'll help you out). In saying that, it's also possible that you get it wrong your first try - which is okay!
During Freshers' Week, university students unions organise a massive society fair where you can go around and have a (very superficial) look at the different societies on offer. My advice is quite simple: sign up. It can be incredibly daunting to put yourself out there and join a society, but the friends you have an opportunity to make and the experiences you get within them are more than worth it. The other advice I offer is to not put too much on your plate. A massive part of first year is finding your feet at university, which will be made far more difficult if you have too much on your plate. Take it from someone who signed up for 2 societies during Freshers' Week and then only gave her attention to 1 - choose wisely (or choose both and then decide in second year to split your attention a little better, it's up to you!) and remember, you can always change your mind.
Today, I'll be discussing sports societies so if you're interested in hearing about other societies as well, keep an eye out in the upcoming weeks for those articles!
Sports societies are the ones you're likely to hear the most about if you run in a remotely sporty circle, and you can hear a lot of different things about them. Certain societies have different reputations (which I'm not going to go into detail about here - you'll hear enough about it at university and maybe I'll include it in a Members article later this month), but regardless of these reputations, if you love sport, a sports society is the place for you. I personally have grown up loving sport and playing lots of different sports, so had a difficult time trying to decide which sports society was the best for me. I (unfortunately) wouldn't recommend trying to take on more than one sports society (unless you're planning on playing IM sports - but that's for another article), purely because even one is quite the time commitment. In my society, we have commitments 2-3 times a week and maybe even 4, depending on what's going on. However, I do know someone who has (somehow) managed to 'balance' playing 2 different sports, but that has come with sacrifices in both and not being able to fully commit to either. Ultimately, the choice is entirely yours and if you love sport more than anything else, then by all means, go for it.
In a university sports society, you'll play in a league known as BUCS (I still don't know what it stands for - you can Google it if you want), which will involve you travelling to other universities in your general (sometimes extended) vicinity to compete over the course of the academic year. Seasons have varied lengths for different sports but will typically run from October to April/May. It's a great opportunity to get to see different parts of England whilst playing a sport you love, and for that reason alone I'd recommend it (although away game travelling can be lengthy).
In a sports society, there are several commitments that you'll make - some of which are actual compulsory commitments and some of which are only labelled as such. In your first year, sports societies can be toxic places as Freshers are at the bottom of the social food chain and as such, can be pressured into taking part in things they either don't want to or are uncomfortable doing. A quick Google would supply you with some of the worst rumours about sports societies, but that isn't my point here. My point is, besides the sport you play, and the commitments related to that sport, nothing is ever truly compulsory. Yes, there are many things that you would be frowned upon for skipping (and then everyone would forget about it the next day), but I would argue that maintaining who you are as a person is more important than fitting into any university clique. In terms of actual commitments, you'll find your schedule filled with different training and fitness sessions and then, there's Wednesdays.
During sports season, every Wednesday is for the sports. All universities will have lectures done by 1pm in order to accommodate for the afternoon of sports that takes place, although sometimes you'll find yourself leaving to travel to a match well before 1pm. Unless your team has a week off, you'll play a match every Wednesday, whether that be home or away, and then, regardless of your win or loss, there are Wednesday night socials. Known to be perhaps the rowdiest night of the week, Wednesday nights are when all of the sports societies hold their weekly socials. You'll find people dressed up in all sorts of various costumes (related to a theme of course) such as farm animals, aliens, princesses, etc. (you get the idea) and completing all manner of challenges, before ending the night out clubbing (or back at home if you've drunk a little too much to be let in).
Personally, I'm not a massive party person, never have been and never will be and despite my best efforts to force myself last year, big social nights just aren't for me. AND THAT'S OKAY. There are no rules that dictate you must show up to every social, so please remember to take care of yourself and do what's best for you. If that's going out every single week and having the time of your life getting wasted then by all means do that, but if it's not that, don't force yourself to be someone you're not. University can be the best few years of your life that you can look back on full of fond memories, or regrets for making decisions you didn't really want to, it's up to you.
The last thing I'll write about today is friendships and gossip in sports societies. I'm not going to go into the super juicy stuff - I'll save that for the members - but I will offer you this: sports societies can be the best place for you to find long-lasting friends that share your interests, have your back and you can have a good time with. They can also be the best place to get backstabbed and socially exiled (harsh, I know). This is not to say that you need to approach them warily, my biggest advice would be to throw yourself in! Find your people, remember that you don't need to find them in the first 5 minutes, it might take you a few weeks, months, or even into second year.
By far, the most important part about sports societies, and societies generally, is to have a good time, as much of the time as you possibly can. Remember to take care of your body through the season (the amount of sport you do can become taxing so try your best to prevent injuries!) and don't forget that you also need to study (remember that degree you're here for?).
Which sports societies are you looking forward to joining this year? Any? Do you have a different interest that you'd like to see discussed in an article? Anything else you think I've missed? Comment below!
Have a good time, all the time, no matter what you're doing. It seems to work pretty well for me. Make sure you eat something before you go out on a Wednesday night, especially if you've played in a match that day. And remember to drink lots of water so you don't have a vicious hangover on a Thursday morning. Oh, and Berocca is your best friend on Thursday mornings, just FYI. And just pray that you don't have a Thursday 9am lecture because I can almost 100% guarantee you won't make it if you've been out late into the early hours of Thursday morning.
Have a great week! See you next Monday for the first of our Freshers' Week specials!!!
Mia
