The-Role-of-Sports-in-the-UK-University-Life
Sports are a vital part of the university. They provide students with a perfect opportunity to gain confidence and recognition. Apart from that, sports in university life contribute to students’ well-being, social integration, academic performance, and future opportunities.
They help students build social bonds and enhance their physical as well as mental health. The university also values students who take part in sports, because such students are also a source of pride to the university’s name. Richie Wilson was also interested in sports. His life is the perfect depiction of how sports affect university life.
A Role in Communication and Social Bonds
Richie was an Australian student who came to study in the UK through cricket scholarships. When he first came to college, he was nervous about leaving his home and settling down somewhere far away from it. The one thing he was mostly nervous about was his academic performance, even though it gave him a chance for sports in university life.
The team welcomed him warmly, especially after watching his performance on the field. Within a few weeks, he settled into his student life with great ease due to a sense of belonging and strong peer support, who were even ready to help him in his studies when he wasn’t aware of how the UK formatting system worked, and asked, “Can you do my assignment for me?”
A Role in Mental Health and Well-Being
According to Richie, cricket had saved his life. When he left Australia and came to the UK to pursue his dream career, his father was against his decision. The stress of settling into a new place, having an education in the unfamiliar style and format, and the anxiety of performing well in studies, all of it was draining his optimism.
Every time his teammates called him to drink the night away or have a smoke, he would decline and play the game instead. This helped him take his mind off his stress and anxiety without using substances that were a threat to his stamina, which he very much needed for his best performance on the field.
A Role in Physical Fitness and a Healthy Lifestyle
For Richie, cricket was the best physical activity that one could do. He called cricket his way to work out. He commented, “It covers the leg day (pitch run) and the arms day (bowling and batting), and don’t get me started on cardio.”
Cricket kept Richie active and fresh when he would be locked in his room all day to write his assignments. He would always find online ways, through assignment help UK, to complete his work quickly and professionally. “Being stuck in the room and sitting all day in the library makes your limbs rust. I couldn’t afford that.”
A Role in Academic Performance and Time Management
One might say that sports don’t give students enough time to study properly, but Richie proved that stereotype wrong as well. He was very conscious about his studies because that was the issue behind his conflict with his father, and he didn’t want to prove his father right by ignoring his studies.
However, education in the UK is not that easy. Even though he was a good student, Richie still found it difficult to study properly. It was challenging until he made a schedule according to his classes and practices. This way, he learned to give balanced time to his game and his studies.
A Role in Career Development and Leadership
The first three years went by in constant struggle to balance the game and studies. In the third year, when his captain got injured during the final match, the coach selected him as the next one. Richie mentioned, “It was the same pressure when I had to choose the right option during MCQs in my exam room.”
Talking about exams, Richie was selected as a captain because of his leadership skills and decision-making power. During the finals, he came across the most difficult situation when he had to prepare for his final match, where he had a chance to be seen by a sponsor. He had a dissertation to complete as well. Instead of working hard, he worked smart and didn’t hesitate to seek assistance from dissertation help UK for a quick and referenced dissertation.
A Role in Inclusion and Diversity
When Richie became a captain, even after being an international student, he knew how big a responsibility he was handed. There was a Chinese student, Chen Hao, whom Richie used to mock with his other teammates regarding COVID. But sometime later, the coach put Chen Hao’s name forward as the team’s new wicket keeper.
The whole team was trying to convince Richie to talk to the coach and stop his decision. Nobody wanted a “bat-eater” in their team. Since Richie understood talent mattered more than nation, he decided against his team and welcomed Chen Hao as a new team member to make him feel included.
A Role in Events and University Pride
The most difficult time in his whole university experience was preparing for his final match while preparing for his final exams. In the beginning, he thought he’d make it work by cutting some time off from the practice. But there were going to be cricket professionals who could give him a chance to play in the official national team, and he didn’t want to take a risk on that chance.
He was aware that exams were also important. So, by seeking online exam help, he prepared for his exam quickly and efficiently through their provided schedule and important guess papers and mock tests, which gave him an idea of what to expect in exams. This helped him focus on his game as well, which, in the end, he won and brought pride to the university by being selected for the national team.
The Role in Final Decisions
By listening to the story of Richie, we can glimpse the significant and apparent role that sports play in university life. From being a source of scholarship to shaping the whole university experience, sports in university life provide students with a whole new perspective on their university life.
If you are reading this and have a sportsman/sportswoman hidden somewhere deep within you, then it’s time to let it out. Yes, studies are important, but so is your physical and mental health, which sports can fix up for you on their own.
