FAQS
Your membership will start from the point of purchase and will expire on the following 31st July. There is an exception for those that have begun their studies in January. Their memberships will start on the purchase date and will expire on the following 31st December.
Yes, you are able to join a sports club if you are not a student. However, only active students of the University of Essex can hold the core exec positions for a sports club. There may be additional membership/training costs (E.g. Additional Essex Sport membership required if the club train in Essex Sport facilities).
If you have any concerns about how a club is being run or wish to make a complaint, please get in touch with us at blades@essex.ac.uk or come and talk to us.
All of our sports club execs are volunteers. We know it can be challenging to balance studies with running a club. We first recommend sending the club exec an email. Their contact information can be found in the ‘contact’ tab of their society page. You may also find details on their club page about social media accounts or WhatsApp groups for the club. Please reach out to them first and allow time for them to respond. If you still haven’t heard back, email blades@essex.ac.uk and we can help out.
Basic membership to all of our Sports Clubs is free; however there may be additional costs that you need to pay depending on your level of membership. If you simply want to be a social member of the club and not play in matches for example, your membership to that club would remain free. However, if you wanted to attend club training, represent a team within that club in BUCS or another competition you may have to pay an additional membership fee. This is to help cover the cost of training, equipment, coaches and competition fees.
To get a refund on your sports related expense, you will need to have an ExpenseIn Account, where you can submit expense claims. For more details, see the Sports Toolkit! Please bear in mind that you will need proof (e.g. receipt). Please ensure that the form is completed with all the details of your expense. Please be minded that once you have submitted an expense claim the finance, approvals will need to be obtained. This process can take 7-14 days.
Excellent! Please email bucs@essex.ac.uk with the details of the competition you would like to enter and your experience in that Sport.
It’s a great way of making new friends, gaining skills and experience, and boosting your wellbeing. It can be listed on your CV, making you more attractive to future employers. If you log your voluntary hours, they will count towards The Big Essex Award - the University’s employability and skills award which aims to help identify all the skills you've developed during your time at Essex.
You log the hours yourself through Gradintel. You need to activate your account using your Essex email address. When you first start at Essex, you should find an email in your inbox which prompts you to activate your Gradintel account.