Friday 14-09-2018 - 09:00

Bristol SU has a number of societies which have been accredited with gold status on the Balloon Accreditation Scheme. We caught up with the Spartans Basketball Club to find out more about their student group.

What do we do?

In short, we play Basketball, however that is not all we do. With five teams all competing in BUCS there is always something happening in the basketball world, each team trains at least twice a week and some partake in additional weights training or circuits. We are lucky to have 4 coaches who help the top 4 teams. Wednesday is game day, whether it be somewhere in the country or a home game with cheering fans. Wednesdays always end in socials with a different theme every week in the hopes to integrate the teams. We also participate in a tournament in Paris yearly, this year we managed to enter 3 teams!

Basketball at Bristol does not stop with the competitive teams; the Spartans also have P2P sessions where people who have either never played, or have little experience learn and gain important skills.  There are midseason trials where P2P players have the opportunity to try out for the competitive teams.

Where do we do it?

Our favourite spot to shoot some hoops is the infamous SEH (the Uni Sports hall). We have also trained in Cotham school and other places around Bristol. We have also been able to connect with other teams in the community with friendly matches as well as joint training sessions.

What have we achieved and how have we met the standards of the Gold award?

With the women’s 1st team placing second in the cup final and taking home the win at varsity; the women’s and men’s 2nd teams both placing 3rd in their leagues; and, the men’s 1st team placing 4th in their league; we’d say that it was a successful season.

The Spartans are also incredibly inclusive. 80% of the club call the club their family away from home. Every year we welcome new students, exchange students and existing students to join the club and they almost instantly are integrated. The P2P program also allows those who may not have basketball experience or the desire to compete in BUCS join the Spartans as well.

Anything different we’re planning for next year?

We are always looking for ways to improve the club. However, we have established our 3 main goals for the year. We are hoping to make students more aware of the coaching opportunities available to them, and if they carry it out, provide a supportive environment. We would also like to improve on the integration of teams, currently it is good, but we know it will get better. Lastly, we would like to make strength and conditioning available to more team members. At current the first teams have the feature available and we see the positive changes it has had on the performance and behaviour of the members.

 

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More Information:

Find out more about Societies and Clubs

Find out more about the Balloon Accreditation Scheme