As the dust settles on the 2025 Student Elections, we can take the opportunity to look back on one of the most hotly contested Sabbatical positions: the role of ‘Sports Officer.’ An evolution of the AU Officer role, the Sports Officer is responsible for overseeing all sport at Newcastle. From BUCS teams to intramural leagues, it is the duty of the Sports Officer to promote and protect the best interests of any student involved in sport at the university. With over 60 affiliated sports clubs and dozens more intramural and social teams to look after, taking on the expanded role is no easy feat. So who better to shepherd the university through such a transition than someone with an experienced pair of hands; someone who has faced the trials and tribulations of being a Sabbatical Officer before; someone like Alex Duggan.
“I’ve been playing sport all my life” exclaims Alex as she details what lead her to the role of AU Officer in the first place. Growing up playing team sports like Netball and Rugby, Alex’s passion followed her to university, where she became involved with Newcastle’s Women’s Rugby Club. In her time with the club, Alex held the committee positions of Social Secretary and then President. Alex also saw the club grow from having just enough members for one Rugby Union team, to being able to field three squads. Alex helps coach the third team, which acts as more of a development squad for players coming over from other sports. Alongside her roles within Women’s Rugby, Alex also sat on the AU Exec Committee, something which gave her a useful insight into the responsibilities of the AU Officer.
Alex had a keen understanding of the importance of sport in the lives of many students
Explaining that “sport was [her] whole world at university,” Alex had a keen understanding of the importance of sport in the lives of many students. Sport not only gave Alex a “full friendship group,” but it also provided her with “a sense of belonging to the University,” something she didn’t feel as though she’d be able to achieve without it. Alex’s decision to run for AU Officer also stemmed from her desire to promote and advocate for women in sport. She felt as though there was a “lack of representation” for women in sport, both at a high performing level and at university level.
In a new amendment to the Students’ Union’s constitution, incumbent Sabbatical Officer were now allowed to run for a second term. Despite tough competition, Alex claimed victory by a substantial margin. “I love them” admits Alex as she laments on being the only returning Sabbatical Officer from the 24/25 team. Nevertheless, as the last ever AU Officer and the first ever Sports Officer, Alex’s familiarity with the role as well as her experience as a Sabb will help guide the new officers through what can often be a testing first few months in the role. Something Alex knows all too well.
Describing the ascent to AU Officer, Alex explained that it was “such a steep learning curve.” Whether it was sitting in on meetings with senior members of university staff or dealing with a query from a student, it took Alex a couple of months to settle in and feel comfortable in the role. However, over time, Alex’s confidence grew and the knowledge and experience she attained meant that both her and her work can be “so much more impactful for students” going into a second term.
A second term also means that Alex can better oversee long-term initiatives
A second term also means that Alex can better oversee long-term initiatives and plan ahead more effectively. One of the main issues that Alex is re-examining is how committee training works, a pledge she acknowledges she probably wouldn’t have thought about putting forward when she was running last year. Currently, committee training is run in Freshers Week, just before students start their courses. It can be difficult for committee members to absorb all of the information being delivered in the intense training sessions, some of which run for hours at a time. “The feedback we get every year is that it's too long [and] too exhaustive,” says Alex. “It’s really hard for you to pick up the information properly,” something which often causes issues later on in the year. To assuage this, Alex plans on delivering the committee training, in part, before summer, whilst having the training in September act as more of a refresher for committee members.
In another pledge, Alex spoke about how she planned on “breaking down financial barriers” to make sport more accessible for students. She aims to achieve this by changing the way grants are allocated, something she started this year. Alex explained that there are three components to a grant; the first two are fixed as they are dependent upon the number of students in a club as well as performance points that are decided by NCL Sport. The third, however, is a support fund that was previously decided by the AU Officer. Initially, Alex wanted to distribute this support fund equally between all 64 sports clubs, but realised that this wasn’t proportional or reflective of the requirements of each club. For example, a larger, equipment heavy club like American Football naturally requires more funding. Alex instead plans to implement a “tiered funding” system to ensure that the distribution of grants is as fair as she can make it.
Understanding that “there isn’t much visibility for a lot of the smaller clubs that don’t have the backing from the performance budget,” Alex pledges to “broaden club exposure on social media.” Taking a collaborative approach with the sports centre and the university, Alex wants to highlight the achievements of some of Newcastle’s more overlooked sports. To achieve this, she plans on creating a new position – possibly an internship role – dedicated to “club promotion and sports advocacy.” Something Alex believes will not only increase exposure for clubs, but also help introduce different sports to new students.
She is a testament to getting involved with every aspect of university
“It’s a privilege,” says Alex, as she looks ahead to another year spearheading sport at Newcastle, acknowledging how fortuitous she is to find herself in such a momentous position once again. Alex is mindful of the role sport plays in the lives of students, whether it’s an opportunity to socialise, a break from studying, or a way to work off all those pints at the weekend. Alex has the best interest of every student athlete at heart, and she is a testament to getting involved with every aspect of university. For Alex, it’s not simply your course that matters, “it’s what you do with your time at university that makes way more of an impact.”