Concrete 390

Eleanor Radford News Writer

After two resounding ‘yes’ votes on the 24th of October, over 70,000 university administrative staff and academics could soon go on strike imminently.

The ballots were held by the University and College Union (UCU), with its members comprising those working in the higher education sector, such as academics and administrative staff. With more than eight in ten union members voting ‘yes’ to the ballots, it is clear that change is wanted across the board.

The first of the two ballots were over pay and working conditions, with the union demanding a meaningful pay rise to deal with the cost-of-living crisis. This comes after staff were only offered a three per cent pay rise, whilst a third of staff remain on temporary contracts. Eighty-one percent of union members voted yes, with a fifty-eight per cent turnout.

The second ballot was over pensions, with a demand to revoke the thirty-five per cent pension cut the government made earlier this year to the future guaranteed retirement income of an average

member. Eighty-five per cent voted yes and there was a turnout of sixty per cent.

After these results, the union has called on vice chancellors of 150 universities to enter negotiations immediately and make improved offers in order to avoid disruption.

If these demands aren’t met, both academics and university administrative staff will have the option to go on strike, leading to a potential standstill in the higher education sector.

The general secretary for the UCU, Jo Grady stated at the result announcement, “Today history has been made by our members in universities, who in huge numbers have delivered an unprecedented mandate for strike action”. Such outcomes have been much harder to achieve since anti-trade union laws were passed back in 2016.

Unions including the UCU, have been calling for the proposed conditions for over two years. Back in 2020, the New Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (New JNCHES), repeatedly called for a new pay deal after a pay freeze was put in place during the pandemic, contrary to previous pay rise deals that were due to come into effect in August of that year.

At UEA, over three thousand employees continued to live with this freeze throughout 2020.. Thisalongside a voluntary pay reduction scheme and a voluntary reduction in working hours - has angered many working across the higher education sector.

In response, the university stated that, “these are challenging and unprecedented times for everyone and we are working with campus unions to ensure the university can adapt quickly and effectively”. Since then, in 2021 pay rises only went up by 1.5%, despite inflation rising to 4.5%.

Concrete spoke to the UCU chair for UEA, Michael Kyriacou; he told us that teaching would have to be stopped during any possible strike action, however, he added, there would be the possibility of “teachins”. This could involve a series of workshops and seminars discussing the strikes.

Alongside this, Michael emphasised the message that members of the UCU would prefer to come to a mutually agreed upon deal, as this would benefit not only the union members but student’s studies. He also hopes that beside the shortterm goals set out in the ballots, longer term goals such as pay gaps regarding gender, race and disability

and setting up a national framework for employers can be addressed.

Last Thursday - 3rd of November- the UCU’s higher education committee met to determine next steps in negotiations. In a Twitter post, Ms Grady confirmed three days of strike action would go ahead at the end of November - to be annouced this week.

The general secretary emphasised they

planned to "create the biggest picket lines our union has ever seen" and proposing the tag line "the longer our picket - the shorter the dispute".

Concrete will keep readers updated on any developments in the negotiations.

Jamie Bryson News Editor

On Friday 14th of October

UEA hosted Chloe Smith - Conservative MP for Norwich North - for a guest lecture as part of the annual ‘PPL Fest’.

Ms Smith - then Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions - gave a short guest lecture on her personal journey to, and experiences within Westminster politics.

The event took place at a time of significant political upheaval, with the previous Tory administration (under Liz Truss) announcing their now scrapped “mini-budget” just over two weeks beforehand.

Whilst the event proceeded as expected - with some students choosing to peacefully protest against Smith’s government - Concrete has since been made aware of several complaints made by students over a poster erected across campus prior to the event entitled ‘No Tories on Campus’ (pictured top right).

In the interest of open student debate and transparancy, Concrete reached out to one such complainant, Oscar Housego, Treasurer of UEA’s Conservative Association, to discuss why he and his society felt it was wrong that these posters were

allowed to be put up on campus:

When was society first made aware of the poster?

“A society member sent a photo of a poster they had just seen in the Julian Study Centre on the evening of Thursday 13th of October. As soon as we were made aware of the posters, I contacted the SU.”

What are the society's main points of complaint?

“Posters with a clear message that individuals with a particular political viewpoint are somehow not allowed to even be on campus is completely undemocratic, intolerant and it just stifles debateprinciples that we would expect the SU to counter. I’m all in favour of the right to protest - that’s fine - but any suggestion of ‘de-platforming’ is not acceptable on campus”

Asked about the wording of the publication, Oscar added, “It was the tone and potential implications of the language that was the main cause of concern‘No Tories on Campus’ in big letters was the first thing you saw. Chloe Smith came here to give a talk and take questions; if people want to come and disagree and challenge her."

"I obviously have no problem with thatshe’s an MP, that’s what they’re there for. Saying she shouldn’t have been given a platform and listened to in the first place - that’s a disgrace.”

At the time of going to print (Friday 4th November), Oscar and others have yet to receive a response to their official complaints.

Concrete put these concerns directly to Serene ShibliSexton - the SU’s fulltime Campaign’s and Democracy Officer:

Was the poster authorised by the SU?

“No it wasn't - it was a student poster which is allowed to be put up without authorisation. We were aware something was going to take place. As long as students don’t break the SU’s code of conduct, we can’t control what they’re going to publish”

What’s your response to complaints that the language used in this poster was “undemocratic, intolerant and stifles debate”?

“All official complaints will of course be dealt with through the official process; I can’t comment on ongoing complaints. A disciplinary panel would decide whether any codes of conduct were broken."

"It's not a democracy issue for us specifically that this was done. It is a welfare issue because students were upset by it and therefore we will deal with the fact that they're upset. It would only be a democracy issue if the protestors were going through the SU, which they weren’t”

Asked to reflect on the fact that multiple official complaints had not yet received a response from the SU over two weeks on, Serene said, “If they’ve made an official complaint then that will be dealt with."

"The SU are very busy and are underfunded - if we had more staff to deal with such complaints quicker, I’m sure this would be dealt with quicker, but I believe there is a plan underway to make the process more efficient”.

The SU’s Code of Conduct can be accessed by searching ‘members code of conduct’ on ueasu.org and details of freedom of speech and protest definitions can be found under clause 12.10. If you have any queries about the Code, you can contact Tony Moore, at anthony.moore@uea. ac.uk

Eleanor Radford Home of the Wonderful Writer

On the 25th of October, three exchange students from Melbourne, Australia helped push a broken-down car, with its driver, a mile up the A11 to get the traffic moving again. As the A11 is currently a single carriageway, due to roadworks, once the car broke down there was quickly a massive tailback. The roadworks have been in place on the A11 since October of last year and won’t be completed until May 2022. This is

to resurface the A11 due to safety reasons, as well as making them better to drive on. Katy Jon Went, was about 10 cars behind the Ford Fiesta that broke down, and she walked along the line of stopped cars asking if anyone could help, and the exchange students agreed. Once they got a mile up the road, a roadworker was able to remove a barrier to allow the car to exit the carriageway. The three exchange students, by the names of Axel Blitzman (20), Lachlan Salvador (19) and Ace Lin (23), had arrived in Norfolk in order to

At first, they were told, that due to the one lane section of the roadwork being nine miles long, they might have to push it several miles. However, the students got lucky after

a mile with roadworkers allowing them to use the rescue truck off the lane. Lachlan Salvador said that ‘The whole experience was surreal, but we want to make the most of our time in Norwich and thought ‘why not? We really enjoyed being clapped by the locals, it made us feel welcomed and Norwich seems like a really nice community.’

Lewis Sillett, who is the part of the study abroad team and acting as the Global Programmes officer at the University of East Anglia, said that the exchange students

are usually paired with local businesses, and ‘We don’t normally include pushing cars as part of the programme but the can-do spirit and willingness to muck in from these guys meant they voluntarily added the experience as part of their trip’. UEA also tweeted out their admiration for the three exchange students, saying “Good news Monday. On the weekend, Australian UEA exchange students Lachlan, Axel and Ace saved the day by pushing a broken-down car nearly a mile up the A11 dual carriageway! Even with jetlag!’

Louise Collins Home of the Wonderful Writer

You’ve been in dorms for two months now, and, if you’re anything like I was, you’ll be eager to get out. The shared kitchen of ten has gotten old and waking up to the cleaner knocking on your bedroom door has become less of a privilege. You’ll have bonded with some of your housemates or someone on your course. But don’t succumb to pressure.

Whilst the temptation is there to find a house now with the first group of friends you’ve made, stay calm. There are plenty of amazing houses in Norwich, and most landlords don’t start advertising their space until after Christmas – so don’t move too soon!

The last thing you want to do is get tied up with a group you don’t actually know.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t start thinking about the best places to look. I’m in my MA year now, so I’ve had three years of searching for accommodation. I fell into the trap of jumping at the first place I could find, and I ended up in a far-too expensive place where I couldn’t even live (with my second year being completely taken over by Covid).

So, where is the best place to look?

If you want to be confident that you won’t be taken advantage of by your landlord, I can’t recommend Homerun enough. The landlords on this site are properly vetted by the SU

Advice and Housing desk, meaning the properties online are advertised as accurately as possible.

Finding a house couldn’t be easier with this site – you can filter whether you’re student, staff, whether you’re a smoker or whether you have disabilities. It means you can find a place that’s truly compatible with you. Alongside this you can find a single room, or a house for you and your friends – so you don’t have to worry if you haven’t found your people yet! There are options to edit your max rent, and your ‘available from’ date.

So, if you’re not wanting to break your bank, or if you’re wanting to go home for the summer without spending money on a room you’re not going to live in, don’t worry.

Emma Darlington Global Writer

“FIFA is committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and shall strive to promote the protection of these rights”. Yet according to Amnesty International, 6,500 migrant workers died during the construction of the World Cup stadium - where was their protection? Who is taking responsibility for this atrocity? Migrant workers are among the most vulnerable groups on the international stage and are therefore easily exploited by employers. With families relying on them for remittances for a variety of reasons including education, healthcare, rent and basic survival they are often left with no choice but to accept a very low pay and dangerous working conditions.

The World Cup will kick off later this month with billions of people across the world coming together to support their national sides. Qatar has a large population of migrant workers, consisting around 80% of the total population.

The World Cup is estimated to cost around $200 billion for the range of sporting facilities and infrastructure required (Thani, 2021) including 8 new stadiums and the 1.5 million migrant workers to make it a reality.

There has been furious discussion since Qatar was awarded the World Cup back in 2010. Not only does it possess extreme

Globaltemperatures and a surface area smaller than the county of Yorkshire, but it also

has a very poor record on upholding human rights.

Low-wage migrant workers have routinely been exploited under the Kafala system in which employers are granted almost full control over the lives of their workers sharing similarities with modern slavery practices of forced labour according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Up until 2015, the Kafala system was dominant within Qatar. One may argue that the World Cup has permitted Qatar to reform its existing system, where basic human rights were barely

considered. Despite many reforms, why have migrant workers still not been paid

for their labour? Why have conditions still not improved? Why are they still dying?

“Sports washing” refers to the use of sports to improve reputations tarnished by malpractice. Many countries want to take part in hosting major sporting events to deter attention from the issues at stake within their country, to leverage their soft power through creating a positive legacy for themselves. While this may have been Qatar’s initial aim they are now heading in the opposite direction, with global attention diverted towards the human right violations

of low-skilled workers. With many NGOs, naming and shaming Qatar, its international reputation is at stake. With signs of corruption already prior to Qatar being elected to host the World Cup, one may wonder how truly equitable FIFA is. There are claims that the former FIFA vice president Mohammed Bin Hammam distributed more than 5 million dollars in cash to African officials to win over votes.

The protection of migrant workers is a major challenge, not only for governments hosting them, but their country of origin and the multinational companies which are employing them.

There is a strong argument that it is Qatar who holds the brunt and responsibility of providing humane working conditions for their workers. While legally companies have a set of guiding principles that they must follow to ensure human rights are being respected, the means of enforcing their principals is left to the national government to decide (Nolan & Farbenblum, 2014).

However, with globalisation at its peak the ability to outsource consumer goods and labour at a cheap price has increased exponentially. With both private actors and organizations profiting from this, they are not exempt from taking responsibility. This is not the first-time sports tournaments have continued in countries that do not respect human rights for example the 1978 world cup in Argentina, during a military coup and then 2018 in Russia. In all these cases FIFA should of used its power to ensure host countries act in accordance with human rights standards, and prohibited the sporting tournaments from occurring within their boundaries.

To summarise, not enough is being done. Changes have been made on paper but not on the ground. Abuses are stil ongoing; migrant workers are still dying. Pressure it being pushed from countries such as Germany, Denmark, France, and Australia. For example, various cities in France have decided not to promote the world cup in order protest against Qatar human rights violations. Several players such as Riku Riski from Finland refused to participate in the qualifiers out of principle. With FIFA not taking enough responsibility, there may be only way for football players and supporters to use their collective weight to prevent the worst excesses of FIFA in the future – a boycott.

Jess Blissitt Features Writer

Autumn is the most perfect of all the months,

filled with cinnamon sticks and Halloween! The coldness leaves us a perfect excuse to grab warm blankets, hot cocoa and start rewatching Harry Potter or Twilight for the umpteenth time. Yet, with the nights getting darker, colder, and unpredictable weather, do we really look forward to being drawn into darkness and the inevitable doom of the winter to follow?

My first day back to UEA was a difficult one, crammed with a billion emotions. On the one hand, I regained order in my life, and re-connected with my brain was incredibly comforting. I had been working non-stop over the summer, so having my days split up into education gave me a sense of familiarity, of order in my life. As an

anxious person, this definitely helped, but when I saw the campus, busier and filled up in a way I hadn’t seen before, it flew me into a real panic, of the uncertainties that lay within a world outside of COVID at UEA. What would this mean for me? Would I be made painfully aware of all the social activity I’d missed out on in my first years due to the global pandemic? Would the gentle quiet and mellow ‘liveliness’ that I had enjoyed about campus be overturned by rowdy freshers charging towards their sports nights? Would the one year, that I needed to knuckle down and work hard, I be presented with all the opportunities I’d missed? This filled me with such dread for the year, that I ended up leaving early.

At parts, I was right. I met many freshers who held an entirely different experience to myself, who found people who shared their interests automatically instead of being forced to create serious friendships with their flatmates like I did. This, it seems, had some scary complications down the line. I myself, in second year, noticed I had created seemingly loyal and committed friendships with people who held very little of the same passions as myself. This only became more evident

as societies took away our time until they were only an awkward housemate again, as though I were living in Ziggs again, pettily whispering about mouldy dishes instead of being close enough to simply tell them. I know I am not alone, as a third year who formed their first impression of Norwich and UEA within a snow globe of epidemic exclusion.

Yet, I was also entirely wrong. This vibrant opening of campus also made the part month one of the busiest and most exciting period of my time at UEA. Since this Autumn semester started, I’ve been able to write four articles for Concrete, not including this one, I’ve joined the choir and seen my friends perform in so many shows at The Drama Studio it’s really brightened up these darker evenings. Also, my seminars have been a lot more social, going to the pub and socializing outside of classes, felt like the world for students had just let out an exhilarating gaspAfter holding their breath for the better part of two years. I’ll be able to celebrate Halloween without the looming threat of the pandemic in my mind, and it certainly does provide enough hope and promise

that I can dismiss all my other nerves into post-graduate fears, but that’s for another article.

Recently, my lecturers asked us to pinpoint when attendance drops in the autumn semester, and none of us knew. However, on the first Monday back from reading week, only half of the regulars attended my class. I felt low, especially watching my lecturer wait a couple minutes longer, hoping a flood of students would run through the door if he just waited a couple more minutes. I suppose you might argue this is where seasonal depression sprouts up in students (and hangovers). It’s at this point, we may realise all the promises we made to ourselves at the beginning of term have ultimately fallen through, leaving us with feeling like hopeless failures.

Well of course we’ll feel like we failed - We set ourselves up for it. Even small things, like buying new stationary that we think grants us an entirely new mindset, one that will motivate us to start summatives several weeks in advance, and what not. However, creating ridiculous goals in September, should not be upheld in the darker months of October and November. They’re unrealistic. In just that small amount of time, we will change, and the

real truth is - we will succeed, just in smaller, more significant ways.

Obviously those that struggle with seasonal depression can’t always narrow it down to one reason they feel down, maybe some people are homesick, or stressing about what to do after graduation for example. I guess, perhaps the reason we’re so split in half with our opinions of these darker months, is because to a student, October really resembles a time of change, and not just for the trees. Whether we like it or not, the autumn breeze will sweep through our sleepy summer lethargy, leaving us scattered and uncertain. So, whether you hate autumn or love it, do not put pressure on yourself and try to find the beauty in the small things like the crunching of fallen leaves, or lighting the new pumpkin-scented candle you bought. Try to relax without feeling bad about it!

Eve Attwood Comments Editor

It has become almost second nature to hear that the NHS is suffering yet another jobs crisis. So much so, that it is as if we no longer know what it’s like to experience an NHS which is not struggling under enormous amounts of pressure. Recent figures from a report by MPs shows that the NHS requires 62, 000 medical professionals to fill vacancies across the UK. The overwhelming reasons for many leaving the NHS are unsurprising: low pay, insufficient working conditions and feeling under enormous pressure everyday. But there’s another strand of this discussion that has been repeatedly ignored: how is the current or ongoing NHS staffing

crisis affecting nursing students, and what are universities doing to support them?

I spoke to a second-year Child Nursing student at UEA who despite having a stressful start to the course, talks enthusiastically about her time on placement and how much she has learnt. Her overwhelming words of praise were for NHS staff who helped facilitate her learning, and her PA who she phoned regularly for words of encouragement during taxing times. She did however detail to me the “lack of support’” received in her first placement from the university, and said this was largely down to “having been given a community placement” which “lacked structure, especially during the height of Covid”. She

talks of there having been “no hospital accommodation” for her to access whilst on this placement, and how when she enquired about accommodation, UEA respondents recommended “Airbnb or Booking. com.” As a result, she had little choice but to live in a caravan alone for three weeks since the placement was in Suffolk and therefore a twohour drive away.

The effects of the current staffing crisis have not gone unnoticed by nursing students, and have a direct impact on the quality of teaching they are receiving. The NHS is suffering delays in emergency departments as well as being unable to move patients to other wards or allowing them to go home on time. Such pressure all around often leaves nurses with no option

but to provide less quality care as there is simply not enough time or resources to go around for every patient. The student I spoke with argued that much of the reason NHS staff are exhausted and burnt out is because they are completing the work alone that should be covered by a team instead. She spoke of people often being unsympathetic to nurses’ complaints, with people responding that nurses choose to go into this line of work, as if this justifies the lack of support from the Government or the rise in NHS staff suffering with their mental health.

A point she made which resonated with me was that nurses are so often overlooked in comparison to doctors. She spoke of nurses being fundamental to the paediatric wards, interacting with patients

and their families far more than the doctors. The perception is often that nurses do nothing but change beds and take people’s temperature all day, but there is far more to the job than is appreciated. It is a role which requires huge amounts of resilience and passion. The student I spoke to emphasised how her knowledge was not spoon-fed, she had to stick to the nurse she shadowed ‘like glue’ in order to competently learn the clinical skills required.

The impact of Covid and a staffing crisis has undoubtedly affected the experiences of student nurses. But despite this, student nurses continue striving to learn and achieve more, even if the Government doesn’t applaud them for it.

Barsted Science Editor

Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister of the UK, has declared a U-turn after previously saying he won’t be attending the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. This comes as news to the international community in fighting the climate crisis with Tory Minister Thérèse Coffey, previously describing the event as just “a gathering of people in Egypt”. Climate experts were largely upset at these actions, feeling that the new government had failed to grasp the scale of catastrophe facing them.

The event hopes to build on the movement made previously in Glasgow at COP26. UN reports say the last 12 months of climate action have been “woefully inadequate”. Initially, it was hoped that the COP27 summit in Cairo could help chart a new course in the battle for the planet. This seems increasingly unlikely as the government seems intent on navel-gazing infighting as a crisis unfolds on a global scale.

It was announced that disgraced former PM Boris Johnson plans to attend in an apparent attempt to bolster his profile on a national stage. There had previously been fury at Liz Truss’s decision to not allow King Charles, a veteran climate campaigner, to travel to Cairo. Sunak has appeared to stick with this

approach, much to the apparent fury of the monarch and climate activists.

The summit in Cairo is likely to be criticised for the amount of air travel and pollution it will cause in bringing global leaders together. Critics of the event are concerned it may just give good publicity to some of the biggest polluters and governments. Being able to wax lyrical about making a difference from comfy conference seats as the sea levels rise. The limit of 1.5℃ for the rise in global temperature is likely to be broken if urgent action isn’t taken.

There is not much time left for the planet as current predictions stand. These events must lead to action. There have been UN talks on the issue of the climate for around 30 years now, and every year fossil fuel usage has risen and CO2 levels have escalated. Words are unlikely to turn into action unless the course is changed quickly. The United Kingdom still has a large influence on the global stage, whether it chooses to use this force for good remains to be seen. If the United Kingdom fails to grasp this opportunity to slow the planet’s descent the alternative is an embarrassing cop-out.

Anna Wyeth Concrete Writer

I spent at least 2 years of my time in Tucson, Arizona trying to leave. Not much of a selling point I guess, but like many things, its complicated. I’ll start by telling you a bit about my life which, as anyone who knows me will attest, I tend to do a lot. What can I say, I’m an open book; I’ve been told its (kind of) charming.

I grew up moving around a lot. Like, five-different-countries-in-fourdifferent-continents-in-the-first decade-of-my-life a lot. I was always the new kid, always having to say goodbye and rebuild friendships. I moved to Tucson when I was 9 and lived there for 7 years - the longest I’ve lived anywhere. I never really felt I belonged in Tucson, always a bit misaligned with the American lifestyle. Everyone is always driving about in their SUVs to these massive shopping centres that make you want to buy much more than you ever needed. Not that the UK is that different but at least I can cycle everywhere. Anyway, by the time I was 16 I was ready to move on again but my parents, uncharacteristically, had settled.

Tucson is large and spread out and hot. When I say hot I mean 110F for

three months of the summer (sorry, 45C). I remember once I was outside at 9pm and it was 104F. Let that sink in for a second. 104F. No sun.

Speaking of the sun, Tucson sunsets are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Every single evening the sky erupts into pink and red and orange and yellow, all playfully fading in and around fluffy clouds until the sun gently slips behind the mountains.

I guess that’s why lots of artists live there. Then the stars come out, so bright and clear, unobstructed by light pollution or clouds. I guess that’s why lots of astronomers live there.

Tucson is a desert. That probably makes you think of vast empty expanses of sand, but the Sonoran Desert is the most biodiverse desert in the world. It’s full of weird and wonderful plants and animals.

Lizards skuttling, quails bobbing, palo verde trees with their bright green bark, javalina pigs running across the street, coyotes howling in the night, the mighty saguaro cactus, towering above everything, its strong arms reaching to the sky. There are probably more animals that can kill you in my parent’s garden than there are in the whole of the UK.

And when it rains, it really rains. Imagine being excited about rain. Imagine feeling the humidity rise, watching the clouds roll in over the mountains and the temperature drop, smelling the creosote releasing its pollen. It’s warm rain, fresh rain, life-giving rain. Afterwards everything is new.

Writing this is making me home(?)

sick… Now that I don’t live there, I can appreciate Tucson for all that it has. It is far too hot, but at least it doesn’t get dark at 4pm. I guess nowhere is perfect. It’s like a relationship; however much you appreciate someone, spending all your time with them is bound to leave you feeling a bit claustrophobic. Sometimes space is healthy.

Dan Laughlan Sports Editor

UEA clubs have been competing for almost a month in the 2022/23 BUCS season, the highlights so far include:

UEA Surf travelled to Cornwall for BUCS Nationals, taking 15 competitors with them. I reached out to them on how the trip went, they said: “BUCS is definitely one of the best trips in our eyes. The whole of Newquay gets flooded with thousands of university students for a weekend and the vibes are amazing.

This year there were about 400 competitors in total and the competition lasts for 3 days. Considering there aren’t many waves in Norwich, we had 3 great guys competing for us. We didn’t win big but are very proud. Although we are obviously there to compete, it never feels pressured. Surfers are very chill so there’s never any huge competitiveness between universities.

I think the best thing about the trip was how well everybody bonded. We all stay, cook meals, socialise & surf together everyday so

people make friends really quickly. There is such a supportive atmosphere when you’re in the water.

We would encourage everybody to try surfing. It is really beneficial for your mental health as well as physical. You get such a rush everytime you stand up on a wave. Surf is a very inclusive club, the majority of our members have never surfed before joining. It feels amazing watching them catch their first wave and grow in confidence.

Our next trip is to Wales this month, I’m sure the vibes will be just as immaculate as Newquay. We’ve also got

Devon and an international trip in the works so we’re very excited for what the rest of this year brings.”

UEA Women’s Football won their first game in their new division.

UEA Men’s Football won five out of six of their games so far this season with the biggest results coming against De Montfort as the first team won 6-0. The thirds progressed to the next round of the cup against Nottingham Trent whilst the seconds did the same after winning on penalties against Oxford

UEA Netball won five out of seven matches played with the seconds confirmed their place in the next round of the cup with a 46-26 win against Worcester. The biggest win came from the thirds as they beat Lincoln 58-25.

Men’s Badminton have had a strong start, winning two out of their three matches including an 8-0 win over Loughborough. Men’s Basketball has seen success for both teams. The seconds recorded a blowout win against Birmingham City, 107-39 and followed it up by beating Leicester 80-25.

Women’s Squash has also begun brightly after they beat Loughborough 4-0 and then Nottingham 3-1. There were big wins for Men’s Table Tennis with a 17-0 win

against Nottingham Trent backed up with a 16-1 win over Loughborough.

Men’s Volleyball has got off to a good start winning 3-1 against Birmingham and Staffordshire. Men’s Futsal ‘s first team also recorded a win in their first game with a 5-3 win over Wolverhampton.

Men’s Hockey are undefeated in their first four games with the first team defeating both Nottingham and Nottingham trent, the former 4-2 and the latter 3-2.

it’s a good start to the season for many clubs within UEA, hopefully this good form continues and UEA sees another successful year in BUCS.