Campaigns and Issues

 Students at the University of Portsmouth are being urged to give sport another go after the university secured £139,072 in National Lottery funding from Sport England.

Along with 40 other projects, Intramural and Participation Programme is being backed by Sport England's £10 million Active Universities fund to get more university students playing sport, as part of the mass participation legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The project aims to get at least 2,200 students involved in sport sessions. An intramural varsity for four sports will be developed to compete against Southampton University and aims to increase sustainability and competitive opportunities. 

Research found students are interested in playing sport but a number of barriers, including time, cost, limited availability and limited choice, stop this. This project aims to address all of those areas and increase not only engagement levels but also the variety of students involved with specific focus on females, first year and international students.

University of Portsmouth Head of Sport, Paul Tilley, said:

"We are absolutely delighted at being successful in this bidding process. This funding will now enable us to forge ahead with expanding and developing our participation programmes and meet the demand that we know exists."

Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South said "I am absolutely thrilled that the University of Portsmouth has had its bid accepted and I am sure the money will go a long way to persuade more local students to play sports. Clearly the money is aimed at removing the restrictions that currently prevent students from participating such as time and money, and I am particularly excited about the proposed intramural varsity competition against Southampton University."

The Active Universities projects will give tens of thousands of students across the country the chance to try out a new sport, or get back into one they've tried before.

Boosting student participation will have a lasting impact on grassroots sport because research shows that students who do play sport at university are far more likely to continue participating throughout their lives. It will also help tackle the issue of drop-off in sports participation that sees many young people giving up sport in their late teens and early twenties.

Sport England's Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said:

"Young adults who are still playing sport when they leave university are likely to stick with it for life, so this is a good investment in the future. These projects have been chosen because they really listened to what students wanted, so we are confident they will succeed in increasing participation."

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