Enjoying Essex : sports and societies

The Students' Union (SU) based at the Colchester Campus has over 100 different clubs and societies - social, political, cultural, academic and sporting. They exist to allow all students the opportunity to meet and socialise with other students who have similar interests. Sports and societies are supported by the SU, and most of them frequently organise trips and nights out (both on and off campus).

The best time to join a sports club or society is at the annual Freshers’ Fair, in Freshers’ Week (although you can join them at anytime throughout the year). There’s no restriction when it comes to how many societies you can join, and if there isn’t one that represents your interests, then set one up that does! Don't be mistaken and think you're restricted to more typical and well known sports and hobbies, such as Football and Theatre Arts, the sports and societies here at Essex range from Skydiving to Amnesty International, to the Juggling society!

As a new campus, many clubs and societies have been set up for the students at Southend by the Students’ Union. These include: Football, Rugby, Fencing, Thai-Boxing, Diving and the Creativeonix society, with many more in the process of being set up. If you want to get really involved this will give you loads of options to do so! There's also a minibus service every Wednesday so students from the Southend Campus can come to the Colchester Campus and get involved with all the sport's matches going on there.

When joining up to sports and societies it's best to remember that a lot of the clubs and societies do practice, train and compete on the same days of the week, so you may not be able to do everything! After starting uni you'll soon work out what you have time for and when you can fit different things in. It usually only costs a couple of pounds to join a society, which is then used to help fund any events held throughout the year. Being a member of a sport or society is a great way to meet different people and a lot of fun!