Beginning of the end for the Sheffield Uni Judo club?
Yes, that's a bold headline for this post. I sincerely hope that's not the case but we'll see.
A number of years back, Sheffield university/union split off their sports centre to its own business. A model a lot of universities are following.
Entirely predictably, room allocations for university clubs get squeezed as public sessions can raise more money.
So it's coming to a head. In the 15 years or so I've been involved with Sheffield University Judo club, we've almost every year had 2 x 2 hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. While the time weren't ideal for me (I coach here) it is workable.
At the end of the summer term, the student sports body did their usual thing of asking clubs to request relevant sessions. We asked for the same we've had for....ever. Tuesday and Thursday.
We were told shortly after, yes, we have our usual slots.
Turns out another club (who also use the mats) have kicked up a fuss because they don't want to train on Sundays, understandably.
So now we are being told we have Thursdays still, but Tuesdays we have to alternate with the other club. One week on Tuesday, next week Sunday.
Yeah, that's not going to confuse anyone. I can see numbers dropping of VERY quickly this year as students lose track of whether it's a Judo on Tuesday or Sunday week.
Now given none of our coaches can make Sundays with any certainty (due to things like taking club to comps, reffing, examining, area duties etc on the weekend) we are effectively reduced to 1 session a week on Thursdays with alternate Tuesdays.
No doubt at that point the other club will find a way to keep their Sunday sessions going, oh we can't train then? They may as well have them all. I'll put money on them not relinquishing Tuesdays again.
The next problem? Thursday sessions, the one we can keep as a regular session, is in the hall used for exams. So now we end up with half a session each week through exam periods instead of 1 (the Tuesday session is in a room not used for exams).
So, thanks to the other club arguing about not wanting Sundays (understandably), the Sheffield sports body have gone back on the allocations and only think to tell us now. Clearly they've "forgotten" we said weekends simply wouldn't work.
We struggle to get enough decent training in as it is, now I wonder if it will be possible to train for comps on 3 hours a week (minus mat moving time)?
I will find it very hard to keep coaching a club where we're going to struggle to be competitive and just turn into a belt factory. Although it seems sometimes that's all the students want.
Maybe the time has come to move on.... which may mean the end of the club and so the end of our Kyu grade event and the famous student international team event (USIST) which has just passed the 20 years mark.
Sad times, not just for Student Judo in Sheffield but within the student Judo community with the potential loss of what I believe is the biggest student team event in the country and also the wider Judo community with the potential loss of an event aimed squarely at adult low grades.
I'll update when I hear more, hopefully we'll get it resolved in a meaningful way.
In the mean time seeing the Sport Sheffield Facebook pages posting about how they work hard to make sure student sport is well catered for is more than a little galling.
I really hope I'm wrong about where this is heading.
A number of years back, Sheffield university/union split off their sports centre to its own business. A model a lot of universities are following.
Entirely predictably, room allocations for university clubs get squeezed as public sessions can raise more money.
So it's coming to a head. In the 15 years or so I've been involved with Sheffield University Judo club, we've almost every year had 2 x 2 hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. While the time weren't ideal for me (I coach here) it is workable.
At the end of the summer term, the student sports body did their usual thing of asking clubs to request relevant sessions. We asked for the same we've had for....ever. Tuesday and Thursday.
We were told shortly after, yes, we have our usual slots.
Turns out another club (who also use the mats) have kicked up a fuss because they don't want to train on Sundays, understandably.
So now we are being told we have Thursdays still, but Tuesdays we have to alternate with the other club. One week on Tuesday, next week Sunday.
Yeah, that's not going to confuse anyone. I can see numbers dropping of VERY quickly this year as students lose track of whether it's a Judo on Tuesday or Sunday week.
Now given none of our coaches can make Sundays with any certainty (due to things like taking club to comps, reffing, examining, area duties etc on the weekend) we are effectively reduced to 1 session a week on Thursdays with alternate Tuesdays.
No doubt at that point the other club will find a way to keep their Sunday sessions going, oh we can't train then? They may as well have them all. I'll put money on them not relinquishing Tuesdays again.
The next problem? Thursday sessions, the one we can keep as a regular session, is in the hall used for exams. So now we end up with half a session each week through exam periods instead of 1 (the Tuesday session is in a room not used for exams).
So, thanks to the other club arguing about not wanting Sundays (understandably), the Sheffield sports body have gone back on the allocations and only think to tell us now. Clearly they've "forgotten" we said weekends simply wouldn't work.
We struggle to get enough decent training in as it is, now I wonder if it will be possible to train for comps on 3 hours a week (minus mat moving time)?
I will find it very hard to keep coaching a club where we're going to struggle to be competitive and just turn into a belt factory. Although it seems sometimes that's all the students want.
Maybe the time has come to move on.... which may mean the end of the club and so the end of our Kyu grade event and the famous student international team event (USIST) which has just passed the 20 years mark.
Sad times, not just for Student Judo in Sheffield but within the student Judo community with the potential loss of what I believe is the biggest student team event in the country and also the wider Judo community with the potential loss of an event aimed squarely at adult low grades.
I'll update when I hear more, hopefully we'll get it resolved in a meaningful way.
In the mean time seeing the Sport Sheffield Facebook pages posting about how they work hard to make sure student sport is well catered for is more than a little galling.
I really hope I'm wrong about where this is heading.
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