25 Sep 2014
Funding to create more opportunities for students to play sport
Students at Loughborough University will have more chances to play sport thanks to £149,712 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s University Sport Activation Fund.
Loughborough is one of 62 universities to benefit from more than £11 million of funding to help support nearly 195,000 new students playing sport.
During the last three years funding from Sport England’s Active Universities has given Loughborough the opportunity to widen recreational sport activities and increase participation rates amongst students through the award winning My Lifestyle programme.
The latest funding award from Sport England will allow expansion of the My Lifestyle programme and enhance the student sport experience, alongside new initiatives including the development of recreational sports leagues.
The funding will also enable the programme to continue to work closely with Loughborough Students’ Union, who through the use of data and behaviour change techniques will be able to provide a unique insight into students’ engagement with sport and exercise.
Dawn Cooper, My Lifestyle Coordinator at Loughborough University, who will be working on the project, said:
“I am delighted that we will continue to be supported by Sport England, to further develop our programme, that is providing sporting opportunities to over 70 per cent of our students who are currently participating at least once a week in sport and physical activity.
“Not only will the funding enable us to deliver more sporting opportunities, it will also ensure we continue to work in partnership with Loughborough Students’ Union and benefit from their expertise in market segmentation and data insight.”
Steffan Lloyd, Vice President for Sport at Loughborough Students’ Union commented:
“This funding allows us to increase provision and improve the quality of the student sport experience. It also gives us the opportunity to gain a better insight into what motivates students who are currently not engaged in sport, in order to improve our offer and increase participation rates.”