Club volunteers

With over 70% of the student body regularly active, St Andrews is one of the leading institutions in the UK for participation in sport and physical activity.

Sports Clubs form an integral part of University life at St Andrews and the vast majority are student led and student-run, with many of our club coaches and match officials coming from within the student body

We seek to empower students to take responsibility for delivering large elements of the overall student sport experience and look to nurture and support a team of over 500 volunteers who are committed to delivering student sport activity within their clubs for more than 4,000 students throughout the academic term.

• Club committees

  Through our club committees, students have the opportunity to gain valuable work experience across a variety of different roles within sport;

  • finance
  • marketing and communications
  • graphic design
  • media and publicity
  • photography
  • videography
  • alumni relations
  • sponsorship and fundraising
  • event management
  • volunteering
  • sports development

  In addition to their day-to-day tasks, each student involved with our sports club committees is offered a comprehensive development training programme over the course of the academic year – Saints Leaders – which focuses on key topics such as leadership, time management, delegation, team building, conflict resolution, and employability skills.

  How to get involved

  Sports club committees are elected each year at an annual general meeting (AGM) of a club’s members. All students who are a member of a club, and who are not graduating, are eligible to be nominated onto the committee for the following academic year.

  Committee structures vary depending on the requirements and size of the club, but there are common areas of responsibility that are required to be covered by every sports club committee:

  • Club Captain/President
  • Treasurer
  • Secretary
  • Wellbeing
  • Health and Safety

  For more information on the roles available in a specific committee, please visit the club’s website or contact the club.

  If you are not currently a member of a sports club but would like to get involved, please contact the club directly and they will talk to you about the voluntary roles available within their club.

• Student coaches, referees and umpires

  Our ever-expanding workforce of student volunteer coaches, referees and umpires is vital for supporting the scale and variety of activity that makes sport a central part of the unique student experience at St Andrews.

  How to get involved

  If you are currently coaching or officiating in your club or interested in finding out how to get involved, please contact the Student Sport Volunteering team who will direct you to the most appropriate course, or sign post you to a range of sessions on offer through Saints Sport and/or Scottish Governing Bodies.

  Qualifications

  Through the Saints Coaching programme Saints Sport actively encourages and supports students to gain coaching and officiating qualifications during their time at St Andrews.

  All of our students coaches, volunteers and officials who seek to develop their skills are offered a considerable subsidy towards their course fees.

  More information can be found on the Course Subsidies page.

  Remember

  You don’t need a formal qualification to assist another coach in a club session so don’t let that stop you getting involved.

• Saints Peer Support

  The Saints Sport Peer Support Network is a one-to-one meet-up service open to any students looking to make friends and get a little bit of guidance from the wider sports community.

  How to get involved

  Peer supporters are student volunteers who have offered their time to help other students. If you are interested in becoming a Saints Sport Peer Supporter applications to join the network as a volunteer open in September each year.

  More information can be found on the Saints Wellbeing section of the website.

  Training

  All of our peer supporters are caring and friendly people who have gone through an application process and undergone training with Student Services to become volunteers.

  As a peer supporter your role will be to listen, help with the problems your peer maybe facing or accompany them to events. You won’t have all of the answers all of the time, but you’ll be able to point people in the right direction if they need advice.