Welcome freshers and commiserations again for not getting into Oxbridge (it’s okay – clearly none of us did).
What did you all think of over summer when you considered your new university? Studying at one of the finest colleges in Europe? Sitting alongside future world leaders? Securing an internship at Goldman? Well, banish those thoughts immediately and start thinking about the Sport. LSE is truly hitting its peak this year, with a hugely impressive selection of opportunities to get involved with the Athletics Union. Will it be Kabbadi? Netball? Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? Cricket? Rugby? Football? All of those plus Rowing? Take your time and meet each of the above (plus an obscene number of other societies) before you take your first step into sporting adulthood.
Alongside the endless health benefits that accompany an AU membership, there exists plenty of scope for embarrassing yourself in front of your new pals at one of LSE AU’s many events. The most notable, of course, is Carol – a ritual drinking pageant in which each team within each Sport dresses under a particular theme or inspiration (i.e. Colonel Sanders and a brood of chickens) and drinks from 7:00 am onwards. It’s quite disgusting really.
If you cannot, for whatever reason, fully commit and/or if aspects of the club are simply not for you then do not fret you prudent fledgelings. Each team and each captain welcomes those right across the spectrum with equally open arms and the pressuring environment that once plagued University sport is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. This truly cannot be stressed enough.
Following an extremely successful sporting year in 2018/19,* LSE Sport is hoping that you, freshers, will carry on the fine work done by your now unhappy-and-working-in-a-job-they-detest predecessors. As Albert Camus famously said, “Everything I know about morality and the obligations of man, I owe it to sport at LSE.” Or something like that.
*with the exception of Men’s rugby✝
✝just kidding
