BUCS Wednesdays!

Warming up and checking out
 the competition

Wednesday afternoons are traditionally kept free for University sport. BUCS (British Universities & Colleges Sports) is the national governing body for Higher Education sport and have a league in which Universities enter teams for numerous sports. Universities can enter more than one team for each sport and you can find more information about BUCS on there website here: http://www.bucs.org.uk/.

Team Talk Tactics

Most Wednesdays I have a badminton match for the University. We play in the Midlands 2B league and compete against other Universities, playing each twice in the season, once at home and once away. You can search for teams at all institutions and can narrow the search down by gender and sport here: http://m.bucs.org.uk/mSearch.aspx.  

Action Shot!

University is a good time to try new things and joining a sports team could be one of those things! Try some new sports, Ultimate Frisbee, Canoeing and Korfball are among a few I can think of that most people will not have have the opportunity to experience at school. One of my best friends at Uni is a Basketball player who tried Korfball for the first time at Uni and was scouted at an event to go and train with the GB Korfball team! So you may just find the sport for you by trying new things!

Another Action Shot!

Our team has a tradition that we all meet for ‘Brunch’ in town before a home game on a Wednesday. It’s a great opportunity to get to know people, socialise and eat some good food! ‘Away Days’ are notorious for being full of banter, bus games and generally a good laugh. We often have to leave in the morning for afternoon games and will share a coach with another Uni team going to the same venue/nearby venue. Last week we travelled to De Montfort in Leicester with the Men’s Football 3^rd and 4^th teams. There was music, silly games and competitions all the way there and all the way back! It was awesome, the journey went really quickly and we got to meet some new people who I otherwise would probably have never met.

Next Wednesday is VARSITY so I shall be blogging about that! I’ll do my best to get lots of photos from different sports to show you and possibly some video footage! 

The Student Juggling Act...

Here I am setting up the course!
It was freezing and really windy
 - don't let the blue
sky make you think otherwise!

This week I have been balancing working, studying and socialising – and I think I have done pretty well! Uni contact time has reduced from first semester as I have completed 2 modules completely, 1 will be done in March, another in April and then I only have 2 modules left which finish in May. This is quite good for me as I find studying whilst the weather is good really difficult, so the fact that I can get outside and work to make some extra cash is nice!

This week I have been helping to run an orienteering scheme called Xplorers (http://www.xplorer.org.uk/ for more information if you are interested), which has been funded by Central Bedfordshire Council and is free to the public. The summary of my job involves following a map to set up the course in a local park area, inviting people to take part and then handing out certificates to those who complete it. It’s great when it’s busy and the weather is good but not so much fun for me when it’s cold and wet! Here are a couple of photos of me setting up the course.

Good hiding spot!

Socialising and leisure have been balanced nicely; I have played more badminton, sung with my choir and chilled out with friends. I have packed for my cycle this weekend in the Isle of Wight, and it looks like I’ll be away for months with the amount of stuff I’ve packed “just in case”, despite being away for 2 days. The making and eating of pancakes has featured this week – my favourite being strawberries, raspberries, golden syrup and chocolate honeycomb bits – yum! (Sorry no photo – it wasn’t on the plate long enough!) I am not sure how but I have also managed to squeeze in watching the whole first series of Glee (yes, not for everyone but I love the musicality) which I believe totals approx. 16 hours. Not sure h

Another card...

ow I managed that, but nonetheless I’ve had a really productive week of studying too!

I’ve planned two assignments; I’m more than half way through one and will probably finish it next week, I’ve completed my core readings and tasks for the week and begun planning and reading for my dissertation! Very successful week I believe!

My Top Tips for Balancing Student Life:

1.      1. Organisation – Have a diary, either written down or, like me, do it electronically so that it syncs with all your devices. This way you are less likely to double book yourself!

2.       2. Planning – Plan everything! When you’re working, or at Uni, travelling times, when you can do your readings, sports – literally everything. This way you can use your time effectively – for example if I have 10mins spare, when I have travelled more quickly than expected, then I open one of my readings for the week and utilise the time.

3.       3. Sleep – Always make time to sleep! I cannot function with a few hours’ sleep, and the more often you do it the longer it will take to get your body back into a rhythm. Your body needs sleep to recover, physically, mentally and emotionally so don’t scrimp on it!

Work Hard, Play Hard!

Books, Badminton and Bike rides...

This week has been fairly relaxed after the stress of assignments and exams finishing last Friday. The main focus was on thinking about dissertation ideas, doing a bit of reading around and trying to come up with something that I am interested in – well enough to write 10,000 words on! I am due to meet my tutor later today to talk through some ideas, so I'll let you know how that all went at some point!

This is the Alexander Sports Hall (Students call it ASH) where
 the Uni Badminton teams train

Badminton has been a big feature of the week, combining training and matches I have played for at least 2 hours a day. The reason I love to play so much is because it’s a sport that can be played leisurely with friends or at high intensity and speed in competition! The Uni team this year is comprised of people who have not competed in badminton before and so training and matches has really improved their game play and tactical understanding. It’s really good to have people from different sporting backgrounds on the team too because it means training can be mixed up a bit to keep it interesting; people often bring new ideas to the table which means we have a laugh even when we are training hard.

Not even halfway!

Bike rides have been another key theme this week as I am currently training to cycle the circumference of the Isle of Wight for Charity (which is happening next Saturday – ahhh!!) and so I have been out practising for that! It has been a challenge but I feel pretty much ready for it now. I have found that for me the key is in the breathing, which sounds odd but has really helped improve my stamina and power output – especially uphill!

Pause for a Selfie!

As I said previously, it was an unusually quiet week, but plodding along has been a well-deserved rest! Next week is half term (although at Uni we don’t get half term) and I am working on a children’s camp, whilst still attending my sessions at Uni. So the plan for the blog next week will involve balancing life, Uni and Jobs and, hopefully, I’ll have some good stories to share from my Explorer Camp!