Sports & Societies

Hello and Welcome!
My name is Melvin and I am the Vice- President for 2011- 2012. As Vice-President I oversee and look after all of our sports teams and societies here at QMUSU.
Sports

Over the past two years Queen Margaret has enjoyed a range of successes through the hard work and dedication of our students, in a number of different clubs. As a whole our entire sports clubs enjoyed a favourable 2010/2011 season. Particularly we had four teams that finished in the top spot of their league. The four teams were: Men’s Basketball, Women’s Hockey, Men’s Rugby and Netball. This proves that our club members are committed and determined to achieve excellence. This year we are hoping to raise the bar and bring home even more titles and trophies!

Working closely with Scottish Student Sport (SSS), formerly SUS, and British Universities Colleges Sport (BUCS) our competitive teams compete regularly in leagues across Scotland with the chance to progress to knockout stages that could see them competing south of the border. As well as that the remainder of the teams and clubs are regularly going away on trips and other competitive events, including numerous social tours that are also arranged.

Here at QMUSU we are committed to providing you with all the sporting opportunities you need whether you are an advanced player or starting as a novice. Our 14 sports teams compete on a regular basis, both locally and nationally. Hopefully within our 14 clubs you can find what you are looking for, if not please pop into the first floor of the Students’ Union and we will see how we can help you.

With the promise of fantastic sporting provision, development and social networks, spending £15 and becoming a member of Sports and Societies will only add to your experience here at QMU. For those returning members who have already discovered how good it is to be part of a Sports Club, I welcome you back after what I was hope was a great summer and has filled with excitement for another great year at QMUSU.
Societies

Interested in Dance? Interested in Theatre? Interested in Social Change? Why not come out, and join one of our several societies. In my role, I’m in charge of helping all societies at QMUSU, providing them with training, advice and anything else they may need. Currently our societies range covers from dance, music and culture to politics, faith and academic. Have a look at our list of societies to see if there’s something that interests you. If you don’t see something listed why not consider creating your own society? Pop in to the first floor of the Students’ Union and speak to myself to find out more information.

Another important part of my job is to represent student activities in all decision making bodies, such as Board and Trustee Meetings, University Court and Officers Committee, as well as to the University. This means that your student activities are always given a voice!

However we here at QMU Students’ Union don’t believe that it’s all about awards and titles, that’s just a bonus! We feel it’s all about meeting new people, making new friends and generally enjoying yourself through activity. Every team and society endeavours to help you improve or simply gain new skills, rewarding you for your efforts with a long list of benefits! With the purchase of your activities card benefits include: discounts in Maggie’s Bar and cafe and amazing VIP Wednesday nights out with our official club sponsor, group tours and priority entry to the two biggest social events of the year. Who knows you might even end up in the Hall Of Fame.

We really do try to make sure that there is something for everyone, BUT if you don’t see something quite for you, the Students’ Union can help you set up a new club.
If you want to benefit from all the social aspects but aren’t sure if you can commit to a club or society, then that’s not a problem. These guys and girls want and love as much support as they can get, so get down to games, shows or whatever is going on and get involved with them. Every Queen Margaret student is a great one and we’re proud of it!

Make university so much more then just a degree by getting involved in your union and its activities. I’m always here to help so whether its information you need or just a bit of a chat doesn’t hesitate to pop in.

QMUSU love,
Melvin Henley

Volleyball

QMU Volleyball was set up last year and aims to bring players of all abilities together. We also aim to provide and promote volleyball as a sport. To encourage people to have fun while working out. To motivate team working. We would like to ensure that every player will perform at the level that they desire and play fairly and within the spirit of the game.

Everyone is welcome to join.

Training times:

Every Wednesday 17.30 untill 19.00 in the sports hall.

For more information please don’t hesitate to contact:

Ekaterina Dimitrova- 09004013@qmu.ac.uk  (Captain)

Kristin Mason- 10000040@qmu.ac.uk  (Vice captain)

Follow us on facebook under QMU volleyball.

Camogie

Queen Margaret Camogie was started in September 2010.We are Scotland’s first university Camogie team. We train in the meadows Monday evenings at 5 p.m .This year we are competing in the British Championship Seven a side tournament in Birmingham and also have players playing a shinty and camogie international in Inverness . We have people from all different back rounds and of all levels playing together. It a great way to learn a new skill and meet new people.We have plenty of spare hurleys and helemets so if your interested in coming along to see or/and play with us just contact us.

New members are always welcome,feel free to contact:

Aine 07531664889 or Niamh 07920061627

Last Saturday five of our Camogie players took part in the British University Annual Shinty v. Camogie match in Newcastle. Players from all University Camogie teams in Britain were selected at the British Championships, played in Birmingham in November. We were lucky enough to have 5 of our players selected; Bronagh Heggarty, Niamh Donnelly, Danielle Fegan, Elaine Tully, and Áine Donovan. This is a great achievement for all of these players and also great for the club to have 5 selected in our first year.
We went into the match eager to leave with a victory as the Shinty team has been victorious for the last 10 years. The First half was very close with both back lines holding their own and no goals were scored until just before the break when the Shinty team went one goal ahead.
We came back fighting in the second half but had some very unlucky shots, with several wides and one ball cleared literally off the line. We put up a good fight in this half but unfortunately it was not enough and Shinty added 3 more goals to their tally leaving the final score at 4-0.
After the match there was a presentation dinner in the Stadium of Light football stadium where there were a few speeches and the medals were presented. We would like to thank the Club for their hospitality and food.
All in all a great weekend was had by all and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the British Universities GAA for organising this event and all other events throughout the year.

Running

QMU Running club was set up last year and aims to bring runners of all abilities studying at QMU together. We are a friendly group who meet up three times a week for training and a bit of a laugh. Our runs vary in length and we’re open to suggestions for new routes and training ideas. At present we run for 30minutes to an hour either in Musselburgh or in Edinburgh which is a great way to explore if you are new to the area. We also do interval training to build on speed and have fart lek sessions to build on stamina.

All our hard training meant that last year we had 6 members running in the snow at BUPA’s Great Winter Run, a relay team running in the Edinburgh Marathon and two runners running the full marathon.

Running as part of a club is great fun, a good way to stay fit and the support of fellow runners can be so encouraging so why not come along and join in. Whether you are an experienced runner or new to it all it would be great to have you along.

Training times:

Training has finished for the summer but will restart again in September, for more information contact Georgie Winson by email on 09003916@qmu.ac.uk

S.O.T.A.

Established in June 2008, the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) is a society which is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students studying Occupational Therapy at QMU.

As a society we aim to promote the profession of Occupational Therapy within the university but also the wider community. We also offer a platform for integration between all levels, for example through social events and meetings, a forum and a student-led ‘buddy’ scheme.

We hope that members will also be able to share placement experiences online. Any money that we raise can be put back into the university, for example funding for Occupational Therapy library books, or for guest lectures or workshops.

My name’s Peter Bowen, and I’m the current President of SOTA. Last year was a bit of a shaky year for us as we tried to build our foundations and get ourselves off the ground. However, this year we plan on including all OT students in a number of events, some OT-related, others more social. We would love all Occupational Therapy students to be involved.

If you have any enquiries or would like to find out more about getting involved then please email me.

Take care,

Peter – 08002240@qmu.ac.uk

Snow Sports

After the quiet but highly successful year for QMU Snow, this year we’re hoping to get a bigger and better club out there in the Scottish and British Uni scene. With some big sponsors already lined up, and the Xmas Inter-semmester holiday booked up, this year is going to be messy.

For those beginners out there, we’re hoping to be able to subsidise lessons to make it cheaper, because everyone knows snowsports isn’t the cheapest sport to get into.

For those who are interested in competing, we will be riding in the Scottish and British Dryslope championships at our very own Hillend, the British Indoor Champs in Glasgow and Leeds, and the BUSC Main event in France!!!! With two podium finishes in freestyle at BUDS and SUDS, and a 4th at BUISC, we’r hoping to do even better this year!

And for those who just want a piss up with the best crowd on a night out, we will be organising our own hefty nights out, with additional events with other Snow Clubs around Scotland.

If all goes to plan, we will be riding once a week at a Scottish dryslope, once a month at X-Scape Braehead, with weekly drinks starting at the Union or in town, and finishing up in a club!

So, if you want to be part of the biggest University sports scene, play your part in some of the biggest nights out, and ride along some of the best riders you will see around, gimme a holler. These are your university years, so make the most of them!!!

Check out our Facebook page here

El Presidente – Ben Venn
Vice President – Kamilla Sosnowska
Treasurer – Katie MacGregor
Social Secretary – George Hegarty

Women’s Rugby

QMU Women’s Rugby is a brand spanking new club for 2009/10 and we are already super excited about the coming year.

This year we are teaming up with the lovely Lismore WRFU Ladies in order to give as many opportunities for you to play and gain experience in this wonderful game. You can play weekly alongside Lismore or if you are just wanting to keep up with the more social side of things QMU will be playing friendlies when they come our way throughout the year!!! Anything you hope to gain from your experience here, together we can find a way to achieve it.

We want to get the word out and about that Rugby is an awesome way to get fit, build confidence, learn new skills and meet new people; you don’t have to be a beast or have played before – it doesn’t even matter if you don’t even know what a Rugby ball looks like (although it helps) come along to training and see for yourself how much fun you can have.

As QMU will be playing as a social team the social side will be pretty important – we wouldn’t want to let the side down now, would we? From post training drinking to team building nights out and fundraisers, its important we have fun on and off the pitch.

We have three wonderful, not to mention a little bit fit, coaches to help us along the way and training is every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:45 at Inch Park next to Cameron Toll. So come along and see that rugby isn’t just for the lads and that anyone can give it a go.

If you need anymore info don’t be scared to get in touch with Shannon on 07792250868 or 08006979@qmu.ac.uk.

I am here for you guys! Hope to see you soon!

Men’s Rugby

Famous for being the most handsome Rugby team in the Lothians.

The Men’s Rugby team has long been the refuge of the hard working student. Training and games are specifically designed to be manageable whilst excelling in the academic field also, after all, we are students first and foremost.

We have all arrived in the desolate landscape that the campus provides in Musselburgh, where such things as vegetation and primary colours don’t exist. Friends are made quickly, those made within the Rugby team last throughout your time here, I can surely testify to this. We have long endeavoured to make Rugby the focus of our Rugby team, rather than humiliating traditions and copious amounts of alcohol. However, even with the best wishes, I cannot promise that either will not feature.

Playing for QM has been a unique experience for me. Initially frustrating when wins were sparse, I actually felt the camaraderie develop over this first year, witnessing traditional ethics of playing hard mattering more than the outcome, was touching. Now however, we have had the fortune of a further brace of players and hope to continue an unbeaten run. Our closest match last season was 45 – 19, thus earning the first promotion in QM Rugby history. With the players that I know are available, combined, hopefully, with new first years I am confident in our ability to dominate this league.

Anyone is welcome to join our club, irrespective of race, creed or even any previous Rugby ability/experience. Arriving at University seems specifically designed to be as daunting and scary as possible, however I do urge you to join one of the teams…..especially Rugby.

Looking forward to meeting you all,

Jamie Wilson – final year Physiotherapy + Captain.

Women’s Netball

Whether you’ve never played Netball in your life, used to play at school and want to get back into it or played for a top level team…Queen Margaret University Netball Club welcomes girls of all abilities.

If you would like to improve your Netball skills, attend fun weekly training sessions, play with us in our Scottish University League and make loads of new friends…then come along and meet us at the Fresher’s Fair on Monday 20th September to find out more!

Captain: Sarah O’Brien 09006534@qmu.ac.uk
Vice Captain: Laura Jane Percy 08004516@qmu.ac.uk

Podiatry Society

Established this year, the QMU Podiatry Society is
a society which is open to all undergraduate and postgraduate students,
especially Healthcare students and those with interest in Podiatry and its
related fields.

The aim of the society is to
promote the profession of Podiatry, as well as the services it can offer… we
don’t just cut your nails!, within the university but also the wider community.
We also offer a platform for integration between all levels, through social
events and meetings.

All money that we raise is put
back into the university, providing funding for course related library books,
social events, guest speakers/workshops or even trips to conferences around the
country.

My name is Matthew Francis, and I’m
the current President of the
QMU Podiatry Society. Although this is our first year, we have
really hit the ground running. We already have a fast growing list of large
companies that are eager to build ties with ourselves and the University, as
well as offering to come and host guest speaker lectures and promote the
products that they offer… all at a discounted price to all Society members.

Members of the society are also added to our exclusive QMU Podiatry Society facebook group where each week we
trawl the web for interesting, funny and useful articles and topics for our
members to look at.

As the number of members in the society continues to grow, so too does the
influence and strength of the society… this allows us to strive for better and
better deals for our members, be it for tools and equipment, to training days
and workshops, saving our members even more money and allowing them to gain
some great product knowledge as well as fantastic new skills, all of which will
help you get that dream job when it comes time to graduate.

If you have any questions or
would like to find out more about getting involved then please email me or give
me a call/text.

Take care,

Matt – 10006060@qmu.ac.uk
07910 669250

LGBT