Clubs Day, held at the centre of UNSA’s Clubs Week for Semester 1, provided an opportunity to showcase a selection of the huge variety of clubs on offer at UON, including several new groups! Clubs are at the heart of student life so it’s fantastic to see them back up and running after two tough years due to COVID-19.
We were lucky to score a sunny day at Park on the Hill, where over 500 students joined us to meet a handful of our wonderful clubs. A popular addition to UNSA’s free weekly sausage sizzle held on the day was a free gelato stand – delicious even in autumn! Red Bull were also there giving us wiiings.
Because everything is better with live music, and as one of our super-active clubs on campus, there were three awesome acts from UON Musos. They kept us entertained with tunes ranging from a chilled-out acoustic solo through to some rock. Check out their socials to see where you can catch the student musos next, and keep an eye out for their second musical production coming up later this year!
There was a wide variety of interests and skills on display at the expo, from arm-wrestling to PPE races (BOBSS). As one of the newest clubs on campus, the nature-loving Wilderness Society, made the most of Clubs Day to engage with students and grow their membership. Krystal Chislett, Vice President of the Society, said that “clubs day was a good opportunity to meet new people who have similar interests to our club and to introduce other students to a new perspective. It was overall a great day.”
A special thanks from UNSA’s Clubs Team to all these clubs for participating on the day:
- Adventist Students on Campus (ASOC)
- UoN Musos
- Bachelor of Biomedical Science Society (BoBss)
- UON Wilderness Society
- Newcastle University Armwrestling Club
- Newcastle University Women in Engineering club (NUWiE)
- Newcastle University Psychology Society
- UoN Writers’ Club
- Latin American dance society
- International Youth and Students for Social Equality
- Sign Language Club
- UoN Chess Club
The day was a huge success, with clubs gaining members and interest from students.
UNSA’s Clubs Manager, Jess Schuhmacher, said that “…it was fabulous to see so many students interested in new clubs.”
Ethan Andrews, UNSA’s Clubs Officer, commented on how “…people come to university to start something new and they want to find a community – clubs are a really great way to do that.”
“You can really see that students are crying out for a community after COVID-19.”
Jess and Ethan, as the UNSA clubs team, are hoping to affiliate 100 clubs in total by the end of the year. They will also be hosting a workshop in Week 1 of Semester 2 on how to run an end of year ball for clubs (more details to come). As ball season approaches they will be anxiously waiting by the phone for their invites 😉
If you missed out on Clubs Day this time around, never fear, as UNSA will be holding the Semester 2 Clubs Week Festival in Week 10, sure to feature even more fun events, free food, and activities from clubs.
Did you know that there are currently over 80 clubs affiliated with UNSA? You can check them out and reach out to them via the UNSA website:https://www.unsa.org.au/clubs/search or catch some of them on campus at Semester 2 O Week in July. Signing up to a club (or several!) is a great way to join a community of like minded people, expand your interests and learn new things outside of class. It’s also one of the best ways to meet new people and make friends at uni, which will make your time here that much more enjoyable.
If you don’t see a club that takes your fancy, or have an idea for a new group, you only need 10 students to start your own! Check out the UNSA website for details. There are great leadership and training opportunities available with getting involved as a club executive/committee member too.
So what are you waiting for? JOIN A CLUB TODAY!!