Sporting bodies UCS and BUSA set for merger
University sport will be played under a new organisation from 2008, if the merger is approved.HIGHER EDUCATION’S two main sporting bodies, BUSA and UCS, are expected to confirm their merger into a single new organisation next month in an attempt to improve Britain’s chances in the 2012 London Olympics.
The British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) is the governing body for University sport in the UK and as such provides the most popular inter-university championships across 49 sports from Athletics to Windsurfing. University and College Sport (UCS) provides support for elite athletes within higher education and is in a strong financial position.
The merger, which has been discussed for three years, was finally approved by both BUSA and UCS members in January this year and will await the vote of the jointly-held Annual General Meeting on June 14 at Greenwich University.
Although the proposal has been rejected by both BUSA and UCS memberships in the past, the possibility of having one united body provides both financial and operational incentives that neither could achieve individually. Bristol University AU chair Tom Noble is part of the consultation committee that has been formed to oversee the merger.
“A merger would provide higher dducation sport with a single voice, allowing it to reach a new level of competition, which would benefit the elite level of sport as a whole,” he said. “It may even mean we progress in the tables and win more medals in the 2012 Olympics in London.”
Vince Mayne, chair of UCS, contributed to the positive comments, saying: “Our hope is that this [merger] will enable us to take a major step in the quality of sports delivery to student sport and put higher education at the heart of the UK sporting landscape”.
BUSA chair Phil Atwell was similarly upbeat. “We are delighted with the almost unanimous level of support from the Options Appraisal Group and this is no doubt the result of hard work from our student directors,”?he said.
However, although the January vote saw only eight members from either body against the proposal, concerns have been raised by other stakeholders regarding how the new organisation will effect Athletic Unions nationwide.
Currently, students have the majority voice in how operations are carried out within university sport, but new plans will see staff and students having an equal say. University of York Athletic Union President Tom Moore voiced similar concerns, adding: “The staff of the new body need to realise the importance of students. Students have a great say in BUSA at the moment, but UCS is much more elite.” Such sentiment was backed up by Noble, who suggested that students may be overruled by staff and may face the prospect of having no say in how sport is managed.
