Put simply, the role of the Athletic Union Officer involves the organising and managing of the university’s many sports clubs, therefore, a background in sport or more or less a necessity to truly understand how the role impacts the lives of Newcastle’s student athletes. Fortunately, Hannah was more than qualified in this regard.
“I’ve played sport my whole life,” said Hannah as she highlighted her commitment to figure skating from a young age. She played hockey and netball as well, both within school and outside of it. When Hannah came to university in 2019 to study geography, an advert for the university’s ice hockey club caught her eye. “I’ll never play ice hockey, it’s an awful sport,” joked Hannah as she recounted her initial thoughts towards the sport that would ultimately define her university experience. Despite playing some intramural netball, ice hockey would prove to be Hannah’s main love, going on to hold committee positions in her second and third year, including President. Hannah also sat on the Athletic Union Executive Committee in her third year.
“Sport was always just a big part of uni for me,” said Hannah, “I very much found a lot of friends through sport, even friends that weren’t in the same club as me.” Hannah discovered a community through sport at university, she was surrounded by people who shared “very similar outlooks on life” with “very similar motivations.” This community would go on to provide a lifeline for Hannah as her university experience was disrupted by the Covid-19 Pandemic: “it was really what got me through” she said.
With her university experience shaped so thoroughly by her involvement with sport, it was almost inevitable that Hannah would end up vying for the role of Athletic Union officer. Inspired by words of encouragement from her predecessor and a desire to continue her involvement with sport at Newcastle, Hannah entered into a hotly contested run for the position.
In a close-fought campaign against two other hopefuls, one coming from Volleyball, the other from Kayaking, Hannah remembered how you “lose most of your sanity and most of your dignity” in the scramble for every last vote. When putting together her manifesto, Hannah looked to find a middle-ground, “where students could get something from it, but it wasn’t going to annoy all the staff” with unrealistic and expensive promises.
Like all Sabbatical Officer positions within the Student Union, the AU Officer is voted in by students. Admitting that it’s a “funny system,” Hannah went on to emphasise the importance of students having the vote as, ultimately, the Sabbatical Officers are representatives of the student voice. However, Hannah noted that it is “not a process to go into lightly.” At Newcastle, “the Sabbatical Officers have a lot of responsibility” as they represent students at the highest levels. Sabbs are given a lot of authority to make changes and influence decisions, something Hannah jested made going to any other job difficult, as the step down was quite the adjustment. Hannah was also keen to voice that much of the salient work Sabbatical Officers do is often overlooked. They sit on Vice Chancellor meetings and “bring up student voice and […] student representation,” highlighting issues that directly impact students’ lives. It’s not quite as ostentatious as dealing with “funding and disciplinaries,” but it’s important work nonetheless, it can just prove challenging trying to make students aware of this aspect of the role.
One of the main challenges Hannah faced during her time in the role was just how short it was. Implementing real, sustainable change in such a relatively small period of time proved difficult, but not impossible. One of the changes Hannah was eager to bring in was more funding for refereeing and coaching qualifications, something her predecessor, Fergus, set her up well for. By “securing funding right at the end of his year for qualifications,” Hannah was able to roll out her plans almost immediately. As a lot of clubs can’t afford professional coaching, funding qualifications was massive in “improving the performance of clubs.” “Trying to get students upskilled” by qualifying them as coaches was also important, as it would “help them go on and do other work around that in their future.”
Speaking of her time in the role, Hannah acknowledged the importance of a “reactive approach as well as a proactive one,” as you never know what challenges will be thrown your way throughout the year. Hannah praised the SU and university teams for their help through some of her tenure’s tougher moments: “the teams are incredible; they are experts in what they do.” Remembering why she took on the position in the first place similarly offered Hannah some solace: “representing students was always at the core of everything we did.” The role of a Sabb can be quite isolating at times, as it’s an experience only a handful of people can relate to. Fortunately, Hannah always felt she had the full backing and support of everyone around her, especially her fellow Sabbatical Officers, something which proved vital throughout her time as she navigated the highs and lows of the job.
After her time as AU Officer came to an end, Hannah went travelling around South America for four months, something she described as an “absolute joy.” Upon returning from her travels – “after running out of money” – Hannah began working as a Widening Participations officer in two further education colleges. “I work with students who are in underrepresented groups, who may not typically go into higher education,” said Hannah. She looks at the barriers young people face when considering university. For example, “if you’re in the care system, you don’t have a guarantor, so you’ve not got uni accommodation.” Hannah’s experience as AU Officer has helped her in her new job, as it gave her “a much broader understanding of universities.” The experience of handling budgets and working with students of different backgrounds also “helped going into this job as a knew [she] couldn’t approach two students the same [way]” as “you don’t fully understand someone’s circumstances until you do.” Hannah also noted that her “love for education started in the AU role,” and it’s somewhere she’ll stay for a long time as it’s where she can help provide opportunities for those less fortunate: “I think there’s a way of connecting education, sport, and widening access.”
Calling it “the most fun job I’ve ever had,” Hannah implored anyone interested in the role of AU Officer to just go for it. “You’ve got equal chance as everyone else” she said, but she also warned that “it’s a hard process and be prepared for that.” She continued, “have your support networks around you from the start, because it’s tiring, and you need to recruit as many people you can to help you out because you can’t do it on your own.” Conversely, Hannah added “definitely enjoy it, because it’s a unique process.” “If you have good policies, and you know what you’re talking about, and you’re a nice person, people don’t see through that […] students aren’t silly.” “If you’re a genuine person, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
