Jay Pennels

I've been at the heart of a club since I've been at uni, I know all the pressures that a club has to face. I arrived before covid, and have been at the centre of committee and club organisation since then as a captain, a president and a secretary. Whether it comes to manoeuvring BUCS, dealing with welfare or just the everyday maintenance I’ve been there.

A part of me also having “been there, done that” comes with a knowledge of what clubs need. It’ll come as no surprise that sometimes having to deal with SUSU can be a headache and that sometimes the decision-making process of SUSU’s internals can seem mystifying. This is something I want to help change. I want to increase the level of transparency within the Union by not only telling students what is happening but making a concerted effort to explaining why. The point here being that in justifying why certain decisions are being made it creates more opportunities for open discourse with the student body. When we have to tell others why it means either they’ll understand, we’ll realise we were wrong to begin with, or the others can tell us why we’re wrong if we are. It’s a Student’s Union after all, more opportunities to hear from students will always be good.

Whenever a problem rears its head pragmatic solutions are required, and the fact that I have not only got a background in maths, philosophy and 3 years’ experience of solving sports related problems I see as making me someone perfectly suited for representing students as VP Sports.

I want to apply this skillset to some other areas of sports at uni, mainly to do with how accessible sports are for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and those with disabilities that prevent them from engaging in sport where they otherwise might. This would range from investigating how to lower the barrier of entry on the money side to providing clubs themselves more support from an administrative point of view about how to incorporate members of frequently overlooked groups.

Something else I’d like to achieve is a way to give more focus on intramural sports, given that so many people choose to avoid the competitiveness of BUCS which have the chance of leaving people dejected and uninterested in pursuing their sport I think it’s really important to make sure that intramural sports get all the help they need to bring as many people to sport as possible. It’s also important to remember that all the things I’ve spoken are intricately linked, if we can alleviate an issue found in one it will necessarily bring change in others.

The systems we create quickly become so complex that all our solutions must be holistic to be truly effective. I’m good with systems, analysing and diagnosing them. Which is why I care so much about transparency, the more transparent the system the easier the diagnosis. That’s what I want to effect, to leave behind for others.