Local projects
Sport support programme
The main aim of this project is to make the sports centre facilities more accessible to all students at the University of St Andrews. This will be done by pairing any student, whether they are just nervous first time sports centre users or have a disability, with a volunteer who is familiar with the sports centre and everything it has to offer.
The sport support programme is run through student services (working alongside the Department of Sport and Exercise) and is free of charge for the first six weeks of support and thereafter, if the programme is benefitting the individual, it can be continued through a sports centre membership. The type of physical activity that is carried out is flexible and support will be focussed entirely around the individual’s wants and needs.
This programme will be incorporated into our volunteering pathway. Those who donate their time will receive free access to the facilities during their hours of support on the programme. This project is the one of the starting points on our volunteering pathway which will enable those involved to progress onto local, national and international sports volunteering projects.
Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
The Healthy Body, Healthy Mind award is an new initiative from the National Union of Students (Scotland) and Scottish Universities Sport. The aim is to recognise the importance of sport and exercise to student mental wellbeing and be awarded for the hard work sports unions do in this area.
This year, the sports union will be organising events, exercise activities and providing you with vital information about how you can stay mentally healthy through sport. We are looking for a team of 10 students to work in pairs to organise campaigns and events to raise awareness on the following areas: stress and exercise, depression and exercise, self esteem and team sports, man and mental health and mental health and St Andrews.
Coaching opportunities
We have a number of kids' coaching programmes that are based within the university and out in the local community. From football to shinty and pre-school to secondary school, we can find a project that suits your specific sporting skills and coaching ability level.
From beginners shadowing to lead coaching, we have a number of programmes for our students to gain valuable coaching experience. We can also contribute towards coaching qualifications for our coaches that are active on the kids programmes.
There are also opportunities to gain coaching experience with our 62 student sports clubs at the University.
For more information on any of these projects outlined above please contact Pete Burgon at volunteer@saints-sport.com.