The Roaries 2021

The Nominees

Most Improved Society

• Earth Society

  "I am nominating the Earth Society because they have shown signs of betterment throughout this semester and year. Starting from the number of members joining the society up until the attendance and inclusion of new and existing students in every event. There has always been new students becoming a part of the society or being more involved from one event to the next. The events have included a variety of fun filled activities like kahoot quizzes, monthly meet-ups, Pictionary and Netflix parties. They have also participated on Instagram live sessions hosted by the wonderful executive officers and joined by other societies. The committee has always kept society members and the goals of the society as their primary aim all along. Members have been introduced and educated about the needs of environment friendly practices in an exciting and enjoyable way."

• SALTSoc

  "Last year there was minimal engagement with students from saltsoc. However this year they have worked hard to correct this and have made vast improvements. They have worked hard through their summer to re-establish a social media presence and connect with current and prospective students. They have ran multiple online events such as quizzes and game shows. They have set up successful podcast and blog where they seek and invite guests to speak on a range of topics. They reached out to a group of people other speech and language therapy societies across England to run a joint fundraiser for DLD. They have raised awareness for countless communities. They have completely turned it around this year and deserve so much recognition for their hard work"

• Indian Society

  "COVID-19 has impacted us all, and it has been a challenging year for all student groups. We did not, however, come to a complete halt. We began communicating with students on the social media platform as soon as our society was established on the website. The Virtual Holi Celebration was one of the events we organised with the help of VP Equity & Inclusion and VP Opportunities Community. We also built a good relationship with the Indian Consulate, where our whole committee was invited to a meeting in the Indian Embassy. As currently in India due to COVID-19, the situation is worst, and we are looking to do fundraise and the Indian Consulate are also supporting us with that. We will give our best to all our Indian students to feel that we are here for you."

Society Member of the Year

• Mansoor Sadikot – Earth Society

  "Mansoor truly is a dedicated member of Earth Society as he goes out of his way to comment on events that are posted on social media as well as reacting to our announcements on Ms Teams straight away. Not only does Mansoor attend our events regularly, but he also takes an active part in our events too. He has participated in and won some difficult quizzes! I always look forward to our Netflix Parties where Mansoor encourages an incredible discussion in the chat consisting of debatable topics in line with the movie! It is quite evident that Mansoor has had a positive impact on us all; his personality brings out the best of us!"

• Rajan Joshi – Indian Society

  "The situation I found myself in was I created Indian society for our Indian community at BCU as it has shut down before. I wanted to ensure that our Indian students feel represented and welcome to the society where they can meet people from their community. I planned regular meetings with my committee to organise materials for all the events we celebrate in India. Recently, we organised Virtual Holi by working and taking guidance from sabbatical officers to help us and support us to have a successful event. We started communicating with students if they wish to volunteer during the event by giving performances or be a helping hand. We also gather ideas from students regarding what they really expect from the event. I ensure that my committee and myself are well organised with the key dates and festivals, also I ensure to manage time to balance our study as well as running our society."

• Dhanusha Reddy – Earth Society

  "I encouraged students to grow Herbs at their student accommodations. I grew fenugreek, carrots, chili, avocado, mint leaves by upcycling Milk can, ghee can, curd can and olive jars and promoted mental health benefits of growing plants at home. I put myself forward by going Live on Instagram with Vice President Equity and Inclusion Officer and Parents and Careers Society. In these live sessions I taught members how to make a Christmas tree out of paper (origami session), also taught them to make a Bag out of T-shirt encouraging everyone to Reuse and Recycle. During Diwali I participated in competitions organized by Vice President Equity and Inclusion by making short reels and stories from BCU Earth society social media pages encouraging students to make a Diya out of lemon and decorating Rangoli with Red Kidney Beans, Dal, Black Beans etc and thought members to make flowers out of paper (origami) encouraging students to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali."

Society of the Year

• Pakistan Society

  "They have been excellent with changing their approach due to the pandemic, in their favour. They did this by boosting their social media and being as regular as possible considering they are all students running the society. There are 4 creatives in the committee which helped them to be creative and consistent. Some examples of posts were, word of the days and regular posts informing about events and special days. They have also hosted many online events for the members to take part in, categories varying from entertainment (eg. Meet and Greets,) to learning new things (Women empowerment and Hijab day). In every event, they were sure to keep it close to home and involving the Pakistani culture, being a Pakistani society. They took advantage of the online facilities, and collaborated with societies from all over UK. Some examples being Surrey Pakistan Society, Aston Pakistan Society, and Medical University Sofia (MUS) Pakistan Society. This helped all the students to get to know more people and make more friends.

  "BCU PakSoc not only held events for students, but they also carried out campaigns to help the poor and needy. They ran a campaign alongside a charity to help raise funds to make houses and provide medical needs for the people of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. During the campaign, they not only held auctions as an individual society, but also took part in larger auctions which consisted of many different societies and organisations, for example, MUS Pakistan Society, Salaam Charity UK, and The Pakistani Foundation."

• Malaysian Society

  "I would like to nominate the Malaysian society as this society is the most engaging team throughout the pandemic circumstances. They always have fun activities with the member and outside of the member as well. Their society is always inclusive. Also they had this Chinese New Year event, it was really fun and happening. People who is not Malaysian join the event as well and the team members did engage everyone throughout the whole event. Malaysian society also have Malaysian slang to teach people who is not Malaysian about their culture. They also have a very fast reply on Instagram and messenger whenever you have any query. Overall, Malaysian society team deserve to get a recognition from everyone and the university."

• SALTSoc

  "SALTSOC have improved tremendously over the past year. With the new blog, podcast, awareness days and a nomination for the NVSAs, SALTSOC have been better than the ever have been before. The committee headed by President Francesca Luca have changed SALTSOC completely, and have laid the way for future committees to keep improving SALTSOC.

  "They have worked hard over the last year to make the society as inclusive as possible. They have raised awareness and money constantly throughout the year for different client groups. They have set up a blog and a successful podcast and have taken it upon themselves to establish connections outside of university to provide a range of topics and discussions. They also took the initiative to reach out to other National speech and language therapy societies to run a group quiz for members and raised money for DLD. They have just put in a real shift this year despite all committee members studying full time and also being on placement throughout a pandemic."

Most Improved Sports Team

• Women's Rugby

  "The club this year were eagerly awaiting their first season in BUCS representing BCU throughout the season. With this in mind the clubs committee worked tirelessly during the summer months and covid hit season to continuously attract new members ready for when training began. Last season saw the girls average around 10 players training each week but this year this has risen dramatically with over 25 girls being part of the squad. Alongside this work the squad undertook a charity challenge in the summer months to raise money for a worthy cause in conjunction with one of their own players. It’s an exciting time ahead for the club and 21/22 will be a record breaking year as they enter BUCS for the first time."

• Volleyball

  "As a club the 2019/20 season didn’t go to plan on the court as the Men’s squad struggled in their BUCS League and the Women’s squad had to forfeit the entire season. However the new committee used this as a reason to reignite the club and build it back up with their passion for Volleyball. Superbly throughout the Covid season they raised engagement sensationally and have now gone back training with a two full squads as they prepare for Varsity and a return to court in the 21/22 BUCS season. A tremendous effort by everyone involved and the passion for Volleyball and bringing new students to the club who’ve never played before has been great to see."

Sports Person of the Year

• George Munro (Men’s Rugby)

  "Taking on the role as Club President was a big commitment for George this year and was something he was determined to succeed with and develop the club as a whole. Having sustained a major knee injury last season that meant he wasn’t able to play this year allowed George to focus solely on his president role for the club. Throughout the season George has secured three kit sponsors for the club enabling all the squad to have training kit at a very reduced rate. Obviously with Covid and a return to training/playing their has been a lot of new protocols put in place by both BCU Sport and the RFU so that rugby as a contact sport can remain safe and George has fully embedded these processes into the club and allowing the club to train as much as possible together throughout the season. George was also nominated and got commended at the annual RFU University Awards for his commitment and engagement to BCU Men’s Rugby this season which was a huge achievement going up against all other Universities in England."

• Trey Norman (Men’s Football)

  "Coming on board this season as Men’s Football President Trey’s ambition was to change and set a culture within the club that allowed students to progress through the teams within the club across the season, developing a culture that all three BUCS teams within the club are equal and as one. Right from the start of the season Trey led the whole club by example and in conjunction with the new Head Coach soon created a great training environment for all those players in attendance to enjoy. This was key during Covid as the usual social elements of University life weren’t available. The culture within the club is certainly now there to be seen and it’s a shame that the season couldn’t get underway to reiterate this. Alongside his role Trey has also fronted an anti knife crime campaign across the University and the City, seeking support and guidance to keep students safe."

Sports Team of the Year

• Netball

  "As always the club had large numbers of students trial for the club at the start of the academic year and a trials process was held in conjunction with the committee and coaching staff in a structured format under Covid regulations and guidelines which meant it was different to previous years. Throughout the season the club undertook a fantastic charity challenge with all the club raising over hundreds of pounds whilst keeping members fit and active during Covid at the same time. Lockdown came and the club continued to drive engagement virtually by creating new methods of engagement via social media, online yoga and fitness classes and an array of challenges. Since April the club have been training outside so again have had to adapt to new training regulations but this has enabled the entire club to train together creating a great environment that’s much needed in this uncertain times. The current club committee will be leaving this season knowing that the club is in great shape after the hard work they have put in this season throughout Covid."

• Women's Football

  "After sealing promotion last season to BUCS Midlands Tier 2 the club were awaiting a great season of football but again Covid hit and that wasn’t enable to take place. Neither the less the club under a new Head Coach continued to train hard and held virtual training sessions each week throughout each lockdown to keep themselves fit for when the season was to start. Throughout the season the club have continued to recruit and have a large number of players that make up both the 1st Team and Development Squads."

• Men's Rugby

  "With a very new proactive committee the club used the summer months to recruit and did so amazingly well. Being part of the RFU Cluster meant the club could undertake a mini preseason for the first time and they did so with great intent and commitment, using the time to engage new students even before Fresher’s Week arrived. Covid processes have changed the game of rugby and the way its been played over the last year quite dramatically but the club have taken it in their stride and trained tremendously well as a whole squad. Now having over 30 players in the club they head into Varsity and next season with much higher hopes than previous seasons, a new culture has been created and the club are working hard to keep driving that forward. Recruitment of new players in a Covid hit year was brilliant to see and the new committee will be looking to capitalise on that again for the coming season."

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Each Student Group gets one vote per award category, your committee should discuss this with your members. Once your Student Group has decided who it will collectively vote for in each category, your President should send these to Tom from the Sports, Societies and Volunteering Team.

If you have any questions, please contact Tom.