Facilities, fixtures and funding: issues to be faced by the next AU President.

With the candidates for next year’s AU presidency beginning their campaigns next week, this column will try to examine the key issues facing the Athletics Union, and focus on the main problems the prospective AU President will have to deal with.

The motion ‘Sport at York’, passed at the recent UGM, is a step in the right direction for the AU, and much credit must be given to current president Jo Carter for proposing it. However, one of the key roles for next year’s President will be to follow through with the motion, to actually make sure that the University devotes some cash to improving the facilities.

It is possible that the plans may be put on hold and slowly forgotten about in the wake of the mounting costs of Heslington East, especially with plans for a brand new sports facility. The new President will have to constantly be bringing up the issue, making sure that it is not swept under the rug.

Money really will the key issue, with new clubs being created every year, desperate for funding because sponsorship is so hard to find. For instance, the newly registered American Football club, in order to compete in BUSA competitions, need to splash out somewhere in the region of £200 each for the pads which are required under the regulations.

Whether this money can be squeezed from the University coffers, or whether it will have to be raised in more creative ways, will be one of the decisions facing the new President, and one can’t help but feel that the candidate that develops a feasible solution for raising significant amounts of money will be among the favourites to succeed in the campaign.

Ultimately though, there is not very much that an AU President can do. Sport is so far down the agenda for the University, and completely off the radar for most of the students at York, that not much attention is paid to these issues. As a result, it is on the smaller accomplishments that the next AU president is going to be judged.

Chief among these is the problem of college sport. Is there too much, too little, or is it just right? The general feeling is that more college sport, and especially new sports such as lacrosse and the return of rugby, will certainly be a good thing - but there is still the view that it is detrimental to University level sport.

After the College footbal refereeing debacle last term, the need for coaching and refereeing courses that are available for students to take is another key issue that needs to be addressed. Once again, the problem will be raising the funds to pay for all this.

In the end, all of these issues will probably be redundant, as the new President will probably end up being judged solely on their success or failure at Roses. This batch of candidates have the pressure of hosting the annual tournament, and a win will be expected. Whether they deliver or not is likely to be how their presidency will be remembered.

Inevitably the issues will not really decide who gains the position. Those who actually care about sport at York probably realise that not a lot can be done at the moment, especially with Hes East on the horizon. Those who aren’t really bothered will vote for their friend, or a friend of a friend, or the fellow member of their club.

It really is about who you know rather than what you promise to do because, in reality, it is unlikely that any of the candidates will accomplish an awful lot in their tenure as President. This is through no fault of their own, it is just the way the university works, and it doesn’t look likely that things will change soon.

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