My experience joining a society - current Kingston student

Hi everyone,

For those of you who have just started and thinking of joining a society or sports club, I thought I would share my experience to give you an idea of what to expect.

Firstly, to find out all the options that are available go to the student union website. Most of the societies and sports club have an Instagram page or social media account, where they usually post information about how to join or any upcoming events. You can find their account names on the student union website or by looking at the accounts the student union Instagram is following (@kingstonstudents).

I had a look and decided I was interested in Cheerleading and followed their Instagram account. I then visited the freshers fair, which I would really recommend as all the societies and sports clubs are there, so you can see what kind of things they do and meet the people who run them or are a part of them. They will also let you know how to join.

If you can’t find the society you want you can always create your own, I have a friend that created a speed stacking society!

For cheerleading and I believe all the sports clubs no experience is needed, so it is a perfect way to try something new. I attended the two cheerleading taster sessions to learn the dance and have a go at the stunts and jumps before the try-outs which ran very similar to the taster sessions doing the same things so it was nothing to be nervous about.

Then once on the team I went to training once a week in first year and twice in second year which is a really fun, a good way to exercise and make friends. We often had training sessions with themes like Christmas pyjamas, camo and cowboy. We train for competitions which are great days out on the weekend, usually 2 or 3 a year. Then after the competitions we have more fun sessions, learning skills the next level up and bring a friend to cheer. Plus, varsity day where we do a few skills on the sidelines and make signs to cheer on the teams.

Every week there is a social on a Wednesday. All the other sports clubs also have a social on the same day so there are often joint socials, again another way to make friends. The local student bar, The Mill, sponsors many of the sports teams so the socials are often held there and Wednesday is a student night where the drinks are very cheap. Some of my favourite socials have been bowling, jungle juice, themed nights at the pub and Christmas Dinner.

That is pretty mush a quick overview of my experience on the cheerleading team, I would really recommend a society/sports club as it is a great way to make friends outside of your halls and course and a good way to keep busy and try new things.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask 😊

-Grace (Kingston Rep)