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Hi, my name is Abi and I’m a second-year English Lit student who has been part of Gymnastics society for two years now. I did gymnastics when I was young and intend to make full use of my final year in Gym to actually learn some cool tricks during trainings to show off at comps.

I have loved my time in the society and met some of my closest friends in it, so would love to spend my final year making sure everyone has as good a time as I have. I am super passionate about this role organizing events and fundraisers, while ensuring everyone in the society feels comfortable, included and valued.

As someone who is neurodivergent with my own history of mental health issues, I feel well-equipped to advise and support society members, both as an individual and through my creation of inclusive, considerate policies that make Gym a fun, safe, welcoming space where everyone feels comfortable being themselves and mental wellbeing is genuinely prioritised.

I am very approachable and aim to provide a safe space for people to vent to about their problems both within/ outside the society to ensure everyone feels heard and supported. I will handle any welfare matters with discretion and promptly help to find solutions by discussing concerns with other committee members. I will also ensure to create anonymous google doc forms where people can anonymously voice any of their welfare concerns with me to act as their spokesperson within the committee to reach solutions that work in everyone’s best interests.

Having pushed for a welfare position to be opened up myself, I appreciate the responsibility of this role and aim to ensure Gymnastics is as inclusive and fun as possible, regardless of financial situations or drinking habits (which are some issues that have been brought up to me) and will implement this both in my welfare policies and in my planning of key events such as Ball.

Sponsorship wise, my priority will be to maintain our relationship with Pickards by liasing with social media sec to ensure we sufficiently promote them. However, I fully intend to gain new sponsorships this year and have already done some research into possible sponsors which I will pursue ASAP to hopefully make gymnastics more financially accessible ie by subsidising the cost of events.

I am also keen to increase the number of fundraisers to two per term (doing one for Gym and one for charity), keeping bingo but also including fresh and fun ideas for fundraisers and possibly creating an event open to alumni to raise more money for the society.

I also intend to bring back volunteering for Fareshare (which I loved doing last year) and pursue other volunteering opportunities ie animal shelters.

Although not technically in my job description, I am more than happy to help the social secs in organising a more affordable tour this year, based on previous feedback, so more people can come along next year.

As a beginner gymnast, I can also empathise with others who are new to the sport and will help encourage members to participate in trainings/ comps regardless of their abilities. My housemates are also happy with me hosting pres whenever necessary ;)

I genuinely love talking to people, organising events, and always make an effort to ensure everyone feels comfortable at socials and is having a good time so I am confident I will thrive at this role and would love this opportunity to make a difference in the society as your general & welfare sec!

Hey everyone, I'm Sophie :)

To share a bit about myself,

I'm a third-year Mechanical Engineering student, and this is my second year as part of the society. I've been doing gymnastics, specifically tumbling, for most of my life, and I honestly love it even more now than I did when I was younger. This society has become a bit of a home for me since I joined, and I'm really grateful for all the wonderful people I've met here :)

Now, to the important stuff, why do I want to do this role?

After holding a welfare position for another society this year and dealing with a couple of difficult situations, I realised that every society should have a welfare position. I discussed it with a few current committee members, and I'm glad to see that the role has been added. As I have previous experience in the role, it will be easy for me to write new welfare policies for the society and help educate other committee members on union policy. Equally, I want to be able to offer a space where people feel comfortable coming up to us with any problems.

I have a lot of experience running events hosted both inside and outside the union. This role is responsible for some of the most memorable nights of the year, and I am confident that I will be able to help make those memories possible.

When it comes to sponsorships and deals, the most important task is keeping the sponsorships the society already has, but it would be even cooler to get some new ones! I want to look into getting an energy drink sponsor, as well as a deal for a fitness gym, similar to the one secured with Coach before they fell apart.

I hope you consider me as your General and Welfare Secretary!
Thanks,
Sophie :)