a year of success

The University scored a number of successes in individual and team sports.

Eight students competed in the prestigious World Student Games in Beijing in soccer and Judo, and Tom Stark was an official with the Irish team. The Jordanstown soccer and gaelic football teams won the Collingwood and Sigerson Cups and in a first for the University, Andrew Coulter, student on the BSc Hons Applied Biochemical Sciences won national and international awards for trampolining. Andrew is in the British senior squad and his ambition is to compete in the Athens Olympics.

The University’s Guinness Sport bursars scheme provides welcome financial support to elite athletes and 20 students awarded sports scholarships. In addition the University had eight Royal and Ancient Golf bursars. The total value of these schemes is £37,500 each years, underlining the University’s commitment to supporting its student sportsmen and women. Guinness (Northern Ireland) and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club have provided over £70,000 since 1996 in support of these schemes. The University Sport and Recreation Development Fund has contributed a further £40,000.

A significant development was the introduction of the Elite athlete schemes whereby top performing athletes applying to the University can have their athletic record taken into account as part of their applications profile.

The University sporting infrastructure and facilities provide invaluable support for students. Many external sporting organisations avail of the University facilities and total usage of indoor sports facilities has increased in the period 1995-2000. Usage of University sports facilities has increased in all membership categories. In order to provide a better service for its range of customers, Sport and Recreation conducted a strategic review of its functions during 1999. It concluded that priority would be given to the management and development of sports facilities; supporting student, staff and community participation in sport and physical recreation and encouraging sporting excellence. Progress was made in each in each of these areas during 2000/2001.

Progress towards the completion of the sports facilities development plan has continued with recent projects providing refurbishment, replacement and additional facilities including Fitness suite refurbishment at Jordanstown and Coleraine and erection of floodlights for the grass training pitch at Jordanstown. These developments were partly financed through the Sport Development Fund.

The Quality of the University’s staff and facilities for Sport and Recreation were recognised through the award of QUEST accreditation in July 2001 Magee College. QUEST is the British Quality Foundation Model for the delivery of sports facility management services. QUEST is based on the principles of the European Foundation Quality Model including self-assessment, benchmarking, informed customer visits, and external inspection. The University of Ulster is the first university in the UK to achieve QUEST.

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