Election Address 

Hi there!  

I’m Abd and I’m running for Vice President Intramural. I’m studying engineering and apart from making Excel spreadsheets for 18 hours every day I’m usually (trying) to get in some exercise or cooking. 

I’ve been involved with IM sport since starting university and have captained the Engineering Hockey team for the past two years.  

My role in managing the ‘EngHockey’ team involves encouraging people to come for a game – new and experienced players - organising inclusive socials so everyone is comfortable, organising kits, partnerships with companies and liaising with the university/schools for advertising etc..  

My primary focus has always been on making a friendly and inviting environment for everyone, as well as constantly improving myself, my skills (especially leadership) and the team.  

As such, I’m keener than ever to take on more responsibility to further IM sport across the university with the skills I’ve developed thus far! 

Manifesto 

Having been involved in Intramural Sport (IMS) since starting University I’ve gained experience as both a player and captain within the IMS hockey league. As captain, I’ve endeavoured to make a warm and inviting environment to make players feel comfortable. I want to use my experience in managing a team to further Intramural Sport throughout the university and increase communication across IMS – to better cater to the needs of the IMS community. 

I want to increase participation and remove barriers to entry, making IMS more inclusive 

I plan to draw upon my experience both from working within the Widening Participation group at the university, and from managing a diverse team for the past two years. I plan to work alongside the Widening Participation group to promote sport and raise awareness of IMS, as a structured, accessible and social approach to sport.  

Additionally, I’ve had the task of making the Engineering For Change society more inclusive in its events and projects for the past two years. I’ve also co-founded a society and have had experience in starting programs, as such, I’m well equipped to make this change within IMS.  

Improving the online presence of IMS teams to increase recruitment and promote participation  

In managing a team within IMS, I’ve found that prospective players can find it difficult to find a team they may be interested in joining – and may be put off when they don’t see a team in their area of study. 

As such, I’d incorporate brief summaries of teams within a league and links to groups/pages for teams on the IMS section of the SU website. Furthermore, I would implement fortnightly “highlights” of different IMS teams and/or leagues on social media to advertise them. This is something we’ve been working on to good response in engineering hockey the past two years. 

I plan to introduce more events for IMS members to meet as a community and develop  

Among other events, the IMS league currently has the ‘All Stars’ games and the SU ball for players to socialise. I plan to introduce further events for members to meet and network across different IMS leagues, making a more cohesive IMS community and expanding peer groups. This would also provide the opportunity for captains to meet each other on a more informal basis to share advice and experience helpful to new captains, as well as encourage professional development within IMS.  

It will also give the opportunity for the IMS committee to meet and communicate more regularly with the players – to better understand what actions need to be taken for the benefit of IMS members.