Coming to university, one of the things that excited me most was the possibility of trying new activities and meeting people through the various societies to be found in Exeter. In terms of sport, I was almost overwhelmed by the choice of taster sessions that I could have signed up for, ranging from more traditional sports like basketball or football, to more unconventional ones like benchball. During my first week, I attempted to try out as many sports as I could. However, the one that I decided to continue with was trampolining.
I started trampolining at school so I can’t say that I was completely new to it. The possibility of continuing it alongside my studies has helped me to improve my confidence and learn so much more about the sport. All the members of the society were friendly and encouraging, they gave me a lot of constructive feedback and often commented on possible jumping techniques, ensuring that everyone knew what they were doing. I was finally able to perfect my Straddle Jump and Front Somersault. Some of the sessions were supervised by a professional coach who explained to us how to ensure maximum safety when doing some of the more difficult skills.
The captains convinced me to take part in a competition and helped me to perfect my routine. I would say that competitions can be stressful, especially for someone who doesn’t do sports for the rivalry, but the support I received from other members of the society was invaluable. Sport societies can sometimes be associated with the stereotype of toxic competitiveness, but from my experience, everyone was accommodating and there was no pressure to be perfect.
Other than the training, there was an opportunity to get to know everyone better as the society organised various events outside of the sports hall. I have met lots of people through their “dress as an animal” social and had a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, at some point I suffered from an injury and had to stop doing trampolining. I sprained my knee as I twisted my leg when landing on the bed, hence I was not allowed to do the sport anymore and it brought me a lot of pain. I received help from one of the coaches who was able to identify what happened to my knee and he directed me to an appropriate doctor. Even though the injury is not affecting me as much anymore, I haven’t returned to trampolining as I was afraid it could happen again.
But I always look back to my time in the society with a smile, remembering the good moments. In the meantime, I tried other sports that were not so hard on my knee, for example I rediscovered my childhood love for football. I would recommend trying new sports to anyone at the university, some of them are not so heavy on the competitiveness and its always a great way to meet new friends.
