Can University sports improve grades?

The answer to this question is YES.

The UK has always been at the top of world sport. From the origins of tennis in King Henry VIII’s court to the birth of football, table tennis, rugby, boxing, and cricket, UK’s passion for competition and ambition has helped fuel some of the best athletes and clubs of all time.

Sport is one of the most important ways that people come together socially in the UK, whether they are competing or watching from the sidelines. Many of the biggest events are landmarks on the sporting calendar, from Wimbledon to European Football, hundreds and thousands of people watch live, with thousands more spectating on televisions around the world.

When you live in the UK, you’re immersed in a fanatical sporting culture, and if you want to take part, you’ll be spoiled for choice, from university teams to the London Marathon.

In this article, I’ll be talking about the power of possessing a sporting skill and how it can help you gain academic achievements.

Being a university student in the UK, striking a balance between the academic and social spheres is just another one of the struggles faced by many young adults. Try adding the desire for a sporting career into the mix and it is enough to make some of us sweat.

Studies have consistently demonstrated that physically active people are not only healthier but also perform better on tests of cerebral or intellectual ability. Some studies even indicate that the results can be expedient, even a quick 5-minute walk can yield immediate results. Most studies show that the more exercise students get, the more proficient their mental faculties and cerebral performance can become. Juggling the two can benefit both academic and sporting performance of an individual giving rise to "Dual careers" which have proved to motivate training and preparation, stimulating athletes intellectually and relieving stress.

On this note, I would like to highlight a quote by Earl Campbell, a professional football player,

“I talk to student athletes. I try to get them to remember that they’re not just athletes, but student-athletes. You need to get an education, keep your hands clean and try to represent your university.”

To magnify the sporting ability of its students, the UK has put forward "BUCS" (British Universities and Colleges Sport) at its forefront which is a world-class Higher Education sport and physical activity association working towards creating the most engaged university communities in the world. It is the governing body for sports in the UK at the university level and works with its member institutions to get more students active more often, through traditional competitive sports and providing physical activity opportunities. With over 165 member universities and colleges in the UK, here is an opportunity knocking at your door to hop-in your sports shoes and thrive in a sport of your passion!

Here are some of the popular sports played in the UK:

Football

Football is the most popular game played in the UK and follows a traditional league system that consists of more than one hundred teams. When you live in the UK, you just cannot get away from football - nor should you. Immerse yourself in the local football culture, watch games at the pub with your fellow mates, or better yet, hop-on and go to the stadium!

Cricket

Known popularly as a Gentlemen's game, it is as popular in the UK as it is in India along with several other British Colonies in the world.

University cricket manifests to be an important aspect of English Cricket, especially now. Top universities such as Loughborough, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Leeds, and many more offer distinguished sporting programs for students to harness their skills in cricket. They offer healthy competition among universities and additional academic benefits and scholarships to their “star players.” (Get out and become one!)

Rugby

Rugby, according to me is truly a unique sport, which makes it so brilliant both to watch and to play. The mix between brute force and technical skill makes it the ultimate team sport. Rugby is played more in university championships and interscholastic competitions than on an international platform. It is a popular sport among schools and colleges in the UK and all around the world. This intense sport is like a war, easy to start, difficult to stop, and impossible to forget.

Badminton

Badminton is the most popular racket sport in UK's history - mainly because it can be played by basically anyone who can swing a racket! This fast-paced sport has been demonstrated to have mental benefits such as improved reflexes, higher productivity, and finer intelligence. The combined agility of mind and body that is needed in this sport can advance your ability to process thoughts and accurately develop a plan of action, both on and off the court.

"The greatest asset is a strong mind, if I know someone is training harder than I am, I have no excuses." - P. V. Sindhu

Tennis

Wimbledon! Isn’t that the first word that comes to your mind when you hear tennis! It is unarguably the oldest and the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. If you’re a tennis lover, what could be better than to live in the country that introduced this spectacular sport to the world. Universities in the UK provide fantastic tennis scholarship packages of support including competition, training, and funding to fit in alongside your academic studies. Go and grab it!

Here is a chance for you to harness that sporting side which has been locked away for eternity and to let your passions fly by making the most of your life in the UK. It is now possible for you to become a big-shot lawyer and at the same time, be the star Rugby player you always dreamt of being.

The choice is yours!