AU Edge: With AU President Nik Engineer
On behalf of the Athletic Union, welcome to York. Regardless of whether this will be your first year or your last year, I hope that it is enjoyable and that the AU can play a role in making your time as valuable and rewarding as you wish.
The AU is here to help all students get involved in sport as it is the best way to get to know new and exciting people. Your time here is the single best chance you will have to get involved in something new or further develop you passions, be them sporting or otherwise.
The summer has seen some of the most substantial and exciting sporting developments in the last 20 years take place. Two major projects have taken place at the sports centre – a refurbishment and expansion of the fitness suite and the building of a brand new light weight structure that will accommodate three multi-sport playing areas, each the size of the current major hall.
These two developments come at a time when the demand for space for our 60 clubs and the 120+ societies is at an all time high. The revitalised sports centre will be able to offer more time, more facilities, and more flexibility to clubs than ever before.
As well as these much anticipated facilities, the AU itself is changing. Expected record numbers of affiliated clubs have necessitated a rethink as to how the AU manages both its clubs and its membership. I am extremely proud that the new AU website is up and running at www.au.york.ac.uk, allowing students and staff to join the AU online for the first time ever.
Despite these major improvements attracting significant interest, every aspect of what the AU does has been reviewed. The college sport programme will offer a new netball II’s league on top of the 14 different existing leagues, and after a tense and hard won victory last year, Langwith will have a tough time holding on to their title.
Over the course of the year, myself and this years outstanding AU Executive committee look forward to helping as many of you as possible get involved in what we do. Whether that is competing for the university, playing college sport, helping you qualify as referees and coaches, volunteering in local schools, or just trying to get fit and stay healthy!
