The Student’s Union held a “Pep Rally” on Wednesday night at the university’s Sports Centre. It was an opportunity for the various sports societies to showcase their talents, such as cheerleading, rowing, and lacrosse.
Emily Gough, a part-time SU officer, explained that it was aimed at first-year students and people new to the societies, to help them make friends and discover what the other societies do.
Whilst painting the faces of spectators with yellow and blue colours, she explained that the event was held to “raise community spirit and get all the sports teams and societies involved with each other.”
The event began with a speech by Robin Wright, the director of sport at the university, who said “Lincoln is starting to take sport seriously” as there has been a lot of funding recently put into facilities, such as the £1.9 million Human Performance Centre.
Robin Wright told The Linc: “I think [the Pep Rally] is important for all the students to bring them all together.
“Sport is really important for the student experience. It helps students to make friends and to feel like part of the university.”
He stressed that sport is not only important for socialising, as it also teaches valuable skills like “volunteering, leadership, and organisation” which are important for life and “you can’t teach them in a classroom”.
After the event people could make donations to the RAG week charities. Free hotdogs were also provided for the Pep Rally attendants at the Tower Bar.
Chris Charnley, the Student Union’s president who was also on the winning side of the tug of war challenge, said that the night had been a success “for bringing the outer reaches of sport and the societies together.” He was also optimistic about the year ahead saying: “Get ready, it’s going to be an exciting year.”