A petition has been set up urging the University of Sheffield to put more funding into its sports facilities, including renovating the 60-year-old Goodwin gym and restoring the previously closed swimming pool.
The ‘Invest in Sport’ petition is part of Sport and Wellbeing Officer, Annie Henderson’s, plans to develop student participation in sport.
The student union officer said that the call for greater funding was aimed at making sports more accessible for students as well as for improving facilities.
She said: “We have such an expanding programme of sports here at Sheffield and it is just not big enough to facilitate everyone, so putting more money into the facilities will allow the sport programme to keep growing at Sheffield.”
As part of her role as Wellbeing Officer for Sheffield Student Union, Miss Henderson also emphasised the importance of sports to mental health.
She said: “Being able to take part in sport is not only great for physical health but mental health as well. It provides a chance to have a break away from studies and try something new.”
As part of this, Miss Henderson also hopes to place an emphasis on mental health services, through potentially using funding to introduce services such as a wellness hub.
One of the petition’s main aims is also to lobby for a new swimming pool, after the university’s previous one was closed in July 2023 due to safety concerns.
In a statement posted on Facebook, when the pool was closed, staff said: “We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by this situation.
“Although this news is disappointing we want to assure you that we are working to develop a plan for the future.”
Since these closures last year, the University of Sheffield has been the only Russell Group University not providing direct access to a swimming pool for its students.
Miss Henderson said: “It is a shame this year that the pool had to be shut down. It’s not only affected our clubs, but it’s affected students here who used it.
“It’s had a massive impact in the local community. We used it to teach other school kids how to swim, so we’ve had to send them elsewhere.”
Katie Oxley, who signed the ‘Invest in Sport’ petition, said: “The closure of the pool has meant that I have to pay a lot more money to swim in Ponds Forge.
“This is not sustainable for me, so it’s reducing the number of months I can swim a year.”
Alongside refurbishing the swimming pool, the campaign also hopes to improve the gym’s other sports facilities, through investing into a bigger gym and sports hall as well as also increasing the number of studios available to members.
Hema Chopra, who also signed the petition, said: “Sheffield needs much more modern and better sports facilities.
“We are a bit shocked at how poor they are compared to other Russell Group Universities.”
The University of Sheffield did not comment at this point on plans to put more funding into their sports facilities.
The petition aims to achieve a thousand signatures, and is currently just below this number.
To sign the petition visit: https://www.change.org/p/invest-in-sports
