2024-25 was the second year of delivery for the ‘Give it a Go’ programme at the University of Cambridge, where participation more than doubled on 2023-24. 

The Give it a Go programme offers free, fun, low commitment inclusive activities for students throughout the calendar year. The sessions are designed to create a community culture where students can take part regardless of their ability, where all the sessions are instructor led, with all equipment provided.  

With activity locations across Collegiate Cambridge, these venues offer barrier-free access to recreational sports activity at Cambridge and offer a social atmosphere to make connections with peers from different colleges and departments. 

What were the highlights this year? 

This year, 1,248 students have participated in the programme, which featured a wide range of activities including volleyball, football, touch rugby, ultimate, padel, tennis, badminton, squash and lacrosse.  

In total, 25 sessions were delivered weekly during term across 20 different sports, while a separate timetable ran during the term breaks. Over the course of the academic year, this equated to a massive 700 hours of free sports activities for students. 

The core programme objectives are to provide fun, social activities, while retaining the programme values of delivering high quality, inclusive and welcoming sessions.  

Many students developed a habit throughout the year, trying different activities or returning to the same session's week-on-week, forming the habit by including Give it a Go in their weekly calendar. In total, there were 6,870 total attendances throughout the year. 

The most popular sessions have been in Padel, Tennis and Badminton, with Volleyball and Women’s Football sessions also attracting big numbers every week.  

"It's free, includes equipment and coaching, provides a beginner-friendly social environment to make new friends"

How does the programme remove barriers to sport?

From the moment a student arrives at the session and receives a welcoming hello, to the buzz and the laughter of the session they are participating, it all plays a pivotal role in the success of the programme.  

Through providing students with all the equipment to be successful in their chosen activity, this alleviates the financial barrier to getting started, allowing them to dip their toe in the unknown of a new sport.  

The programme removes the ‘postcode lottery’ of the Collegiate Cambridge, by providing equal access for every student to every activity.  

Students can attend by themselves, or book on with a friend – regardless, they have the opportunity to make more friends and grow their network, and perhaps even find a new hitting partner on the tennis courts, or someone to play badminton with recreationally.  

As part of the end of year feedback survey, participants were asked to describe the Give it a Go programme in three words: 

"In first year, I didn’t attend give it a go and at times I felt stressed with work and missed home. This year I have felt so much happier and that is down to attending Give it a Go sessions. They give me structure and a break from work."

Outside the regular timetable... 

This year we have additionally developed our one-off event offer, provided to allow students the opportunity to try more sports and activities, sometimes in a more recreationally competitive format.  

• Delivered three separate Racket Remix events (combining a range of racquet activities including Badminton, Pickleball, Padel, Squash and Fives), reaching over 150 people in total.  

• Held two Volleyball round robin tournaments to round off Lent and Easter term, each reaching around 50 people.  

• Introduced ‘Fives Fest’ offering students the opportunity to try Eton and Rugby Fives at the same time 

• In January, ten teams entered a 6-a-side women's football tournament held at Homerton College Sports Ground, to supplement the women’s college league and weekly Give it a Go sessions, reaching around 60 people. 

• In line with a national Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) event, we held a Festival of Tennis in June at Fenner’s Cricket and Tennis Ground, offering students the opportunity to play on hard and grass courts in a series of mini games 

• Outdoor activity events in line with college wellbeing days and provided pop-up garden game style events at Robinson, Magdalene, Jesus, Downing and Trinity Hall. 

"The women's football was a really great community, and extremely accepting to all abilities, even as an experienced player this made it feel very friendly and welcoming"

What else are people saying about the programme?

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, providing the evidence to continue growing the programme in 2025-26: 

"I always felt happier, and my mood was instantly elevated after a session. I made new friends, learned new activities, got a sweat on and always had a great time!"

"I was able to meet a lot of people and we have evolved into a big social group over the months."

"It was honestly such a nice break from studies and made sports that usually felt very inaccessible super easy to get familiar with. "

"This year, I had so many deadlines, exams, thesis, coursework’s etc which I successfully completed, but one of the main things I remember doing in my final year of university was going to GIAG Tennis. I would always plan my day around it and it was always the one hour of the working day which I most looked forward to. "

Want to learn more about the programme or get involved next year? Head over to the website to learn more.  

As the programme evolves, we’re developing our sports volunteering programme with the ‘Cambridge Sport Activator’ initiative for Cambridge students. Join us and be part of our mission to make Cambridge healthier and happier in 2025-26! Please use the contact information below to enquire. 

If you have any questions, contact:

• Callum O'Shea, Active Students Programme Coordinator, & Hope Grant, Active Students Assistant Coordinator 
  • activestudents@sport.cam.ac.uk