Northumbria Target BUCS Awards Double

Northumbria University Sport could top another fantastic year with a brace of prizes at the prestigious 2017 BUCS Awards Dinner.

The annual celebration of student sport brings together the very best athletes, coaching staff and volunteers from across Britain’s universities.

And following a record 246 nominations across nine categories, Northumbria are in the mix for two leading awards.

July’s star-studded dinner at the University of Hertfordshire will see Claire Harper contest the BUCS Student Volunteer of the Year award.

And Northumbria’s groundbreaking student development programme is one of three schemes nominated in the BUCS Workforce Programme of the Year category.

“Almost 250 students are engaged internally through Northumbria Sport supporting 27 unique roles within performance, participation, facility management, operations, marketing and communications and our charity, the Northumbria Sport Foundation,” said Student and Staff Development Manager Kate Hansbury.
“In addition 51 students are engaged externally through 11 roles within our community outreach programmes, schools and national governing bodies.
“Students have contributed 8,884 hours which would equate to £80,488 if employed within Northumbria Sport at an entry level graduate role.
“This year we launched the Northumbria Sport Leadership Bursary and awarded £2,323 to support 24 students to gain qualifications, with an additional 102 club volunteers gaining core training related to their roles.
“In partnership with the Northmbria Careers Service we developed a workshop programme to enhance students’ employability skills. These workshops have enabled 12 previous volunteers to gain employment within Northumbria University.”

Harper is a familiar face on the Sport Central scene and established a brand new wheelchair basketball programme at Northumnbria in 2016.

Studying for a Masters in International Sport Management, the talented basketball player and coach doubles up as Women’s Basketball President.

And she proved to be a key member of the Northumbria Sport Student Management Group - volunteering to drive campaigns including the successful This Girl Can programme.

Harper has contributed more than 200 volunteer hours this year and Hansbury added: “At this year’s Northumbria Sports Ball Claire was awarded the prestigious Commitment to Sport Award and she was the unanimous choice for both staff and students.

“The legacy she has created, through pioneering participation programmes and performance pathways at Northumbria University, will continue this summer as she heads out to Zambia through our international volunteering project to change the lives of young people through sport and education.

“Claire is a true credit to Northumbria University and we believe she deserves to be nationally recognised as the BUCS Student Volunteer of the Year.”

The winners of this year’s BUCS Awards will be announced on July 13 at the University of Hertfordshire.

A panel was created for each award and nominations were marked against criteria to determine the shortlist.

The BUCS Awards recognise the achievements and successes of athletes and teams as well as acknowledging the contribution from volunteers, club officials and coaches who support and develop university sport.