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My name is Hugh Hutchison, I’m a first-year student studying mechanical engineering and I’m from a little city just north of Birmingham called Lichfield. I have been doing gymnastics for as long as I can remember (coming up on 10 years now) and I would be enthralled to be able to help play a part in the society. My strong organizational skills, alongside my familiarity with competition events and routines, make me well-suited for the role.

While I like to mess around sometimes when I train, I love the feeling of accomplishment, satisfaction, and camaraderie from competing and I’d love to be able to share that with other gymnasts by being the men’s competition sec.

When considering the requirements and expectations of someone in the role of men's competition sec, I believe I tick all the boxes. Not only do I have extensive experience with competing as well as dabbling in the organization of events, I understand the feeling of being a ‘casual’ gymnast.

For the most part, the members of society are not looking to be the best of the best, they just want to have fun and improve their skills along the way. Those who take gymnastics seriously don’t face as much of a choice when it comes to competing, it’s usually just a yes. However, if the motivation is just to have fun, a decision must be made.

For some, this will mean completely disregarding competition since there is (from their point of view) ‘no point’ as far as reaching their objectives is concerned. Competing can be daunting, especially for those without experience, plus having to pay for the competition further decreases motivation. I’ve been in that position before, where it’s easier just to not go and I know what got my lazy self to go to the competitions. I aim to show another side of competition to the ‘casual gymnasts’ so that they are aware of the less obvious benefits of competing.

As far as my experience goes, I have competed for the whole length of time that I’ve done gymnastics. Fortunately, the club I attended was very understanding and casual about competing, so there was little pressure on the gymnasts. I aim to use their example to encourage greater competition attendance while not being overbearing on the members of the society.

Additionally, I compete at the advanced level, which gives me knowledge of all the possible skills at and below that standard.

For the year of my tenure in this role, I aim to raise the men's competition attendance. I will do this by educating on the reality of competing as well as reducing prices for competition tickets. I feel the price barrier is just the nail in the coffin for most when it comes to not competing so I will coordinate with the society treasurer to budget expenses so that the prices can be dropped. I know for a fact that price is a major factor due to the difference in attendance between a UGC competition (paid) and the Christie Cup competition (free).

Overall, I am really excited at the prospect of involvement as well as making a difference in the society, even if it’s small things. I am confident in my ability to fulfill this role so I hope I will have the chance to prove it.