Volunteering in Sport

Take control by ‘Stepping up to Lead’ in one of our UoM Sport Programmes

UoM Sport runs a large variety of sport and fitness activities for participants of all levels which are predominantly led by student and staff volunteers.

Whether it is by being a UoM Sport club committee member, a Sporticipate session leader or a Sport League (campus sport)  captain, our sporting workforce is the beating heart of our activities.   

Leading a UoM Sport programme will provide you with a number of skills and networks which will benefit your University experience and future employability.

Volunteering on our programmes will also give you the additional benefits of access to bursaries for training & development, sport kit, recognition on your HEAR transcript. All of the voluntary leadership opportunities also support the ‘Step up and Lead’ element of your Stellify Award if you are an Undergraduate. Masters Student can use these toles for the ‘Champions of Change’ section of Stellify award. 

To be recognised as a Sport Leader and be rewarded on the ‘Step up and Lead’ / ‘Champions of Change’ section of Stellify leaders will be required to: 

• Carry out a Sport Leader role (from UoM Sport) over the course of an academic year
• Complete and log, on the SVS system, a minimum of 25 hours over the course of the year ( 1st June – 20th May)
• Attend a mandatory training session related to the Sport Leader role held
• Make efforts to improve skills and knowledge by taking continued development opportunities

SVS Introduction to presentation for club committees 26 27 whether you are a committee member logging hours or a club captain verifying hours this is what you need to know

Induction to the SVS and use of the portal for all Sport Leaders – coming soon 

Becoming a Leader 

To become a Sports leader, you will need to be appointed in to one of the following opportunities and complete the role specific training

UoM Sport Club Committee or UoM Sport Executive Committee

• UoM Sport Club committee roles fall under the Sport Leaders roles and can be used for the Step up to Lead section of the Stellify award.
• Applications to join a committee can be made by club members in April (for the following year) to the current committee and are voted on by club members at the club AGM in May.
• UoM Sport Executive members are selected from committee members of UoM Sport Clubs. Individuals apply for one of seven positions and are then required to present to the clubs at the AU forum in June. After this voting will take place. For more details and how to apply contact : sport@manchester.ac.uk 
  • Social Media Officer 
  • Fundraising Officer 
  • BUCS/ Competitions Officer 
  • Sustainability Officer
  • Health and Wellbeing Officer
  • Inclusion and Diversity Officer 
  • Events and Varsity Officer 

For information on how to apply please email   sport@manchester.ac.uk

Sporticipate Session Leader

Sporticipate and Leadership opportunities   

Campus Sport Captains

Campus Sport and leadership opportunities 

Be the best in your role and make the most of the development opportunities available to you.

Training for all those on the Sports Volunteer Scheme is available from external Governing Bodies of sports in both coaching and Officiating. See the section on ‘Funding and Support’ on the Volunteering and Internships page.

Whether you are a community volunteer or a leader for a UoM sport programme, we have a wide range of training and development support available to you.

By volunteering for any of our opportunities, we are committed to supporting individuals through coaching qualifications, essential role specific training and any other relevant development opportunities that you may identify.

The University of Manchester also offers training internally on the areas of :

• Basic Sports Injury First Aid Basic Injury First Aid Qualification Description
• Responding to Disclosure Responding to Disclosure Training Description
• Active Bystander Active Bystander Training Description
• Mental Health First Aid Awareness Mental Health Awareness Training Description
• Level 3 Emergency First Aid at work – for those acting as as Campus League Rugby Medical Officer role – Emergency First Aid at Work level 3 for Rugby Medical Officers training session explanation
• Rugby Union Refereeing Course – ‘Starting to Whistle’ Rugby Referee starting to whistle training session explanation

Training for Sport Leaders – Our programme of training for all ‘Leaders of MCR’  begins with a main event in September for all student leaders across groups, clubs and societies. Sessions are held to cover all the main committee roles in these groups as well as guest speaker sessions and information stalls, and a chance to win fab prizes. Details on the sport club committee training offer are all on the club committee sharepoint.

This leadership training continues in October and November with chances to enhance and learn new skills related to running groups. And then again in February as part of ‘Leaders of Mcr- Let’s Check In’  

NEXT TRAINING ON OFFER : 

Book your place

SVS training offer schedule 2026 (2)

Through your role with us, you will also be part of the Sports Volunteer Scheme which will support elements of your Stellify Award and also be recognised on your HEAR transcript.

University Recognition

Certificates and HEAR recognition

The Sports Volunteer Scheme (SVS) is an accredited programme on the HEAR (Higher Education Achievement Record).

This means that you will receive a level of credit on your academic transcript dependent on how many verified hours you complete, for each year that you participate in the scheme.

Certificates for your achievements are produced annually by the Sport office and are based on hours defined through the SVS table.

There is one certificate for community volunteering and another for volunteering as a Sport Leader 

• Find out more about HEAR

The Stellify Award

The Stellify Award is an initiative delivered by the University to help ‘Stellify’ students and create unique Manchester graduates.

The Stellify Award is for undergraduate students and runs across the length of your degree programme. Roles within sport can help you to achieve 2 of the 3 elements of the Stellify Award, either:

• Making a difference; by completing 25+ hours of community facing volunteering across any UoM opportunity, which can be supported by your Sport community volunteering.
• Step up and Lead; by completing 2 leadership roles, of which a UoM Sport leader role will count towards one of these, assuming you are activated on the SVS, attended the essential training for your role and completed at least 25+ hours of verified activity within the year.

Each element of the Stellify Award will also get a different HEAR recognition stamp in addition to any SVS acknowledgement on your transcript.

• Find out more about ‘Stellifying’ yourself

Members of the University of Manchester community may be eligible for funding towards qualifications.

Purpose of Funding

To support students and staff at the University of Manchester to gain qualifications related to their volunteering on the Sports Volunteer Scheme
Aims
• Increase the skills of the Sports Workforce
• Increase the employability of UoM graduates who have participated in the SVS
• Increase the number of qualified coaches and Officials in the University
• Improve the quality of coaching and officiating offered in student sport clubs
• Increase the amount of coaching/ officiating activity in student clubs and community sport programmes

Criteria and Funding Applications

To be eligible for funding you must:

• Be a current student or staff member at The University of Manchester
• Registered and logging in hours on our Sports Volunteer Scheme (SVS)
• Follow the commitments required of you through your Sport community role or Sport Leader position

How much funding : 

• Applicants may receive up to 80% of the course cost (L1 or 2 or equivalent qualification), to a maximum of £150 if in their first year of study.
• Applicants may receive up to 70% of the course cost (L1 or 2 or equivalent qualification), to a maximum of £200 if in their second year of study.
• Applicants may receive up to 50% of the course cost (L1 or 2 or equivalent qualification), to a maximum of £200 if in their third/or final year of study.
• Staff / Post grad applications will receive up to 50% of the course cost, to a maximum of £200.
• Level 3 qualification funding will be considered on a case by case basis.

Please note:

• Bursaries will be paid on successful completion of the qualification course and on agreement of volunteering – to be agreed on an individual basis.
• Where a club is looking for multiple applications, please note a cap of 10 individuals from any one club for any one course is applied, but may be lower dependent on the course cost (over £100)
• Funding is limited so applications will be assessed on a first-come, first-served basis. When it’s gone it’s gone!

Application assessment : 
All applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Sports Development team. Applicants will be informed of results of their application within 2 weeks and will receive details of the bursary offered. (Applications will not be accepted retrospectively so should be submitted prior to commencement of course.)

How to apply

• Read through the Sport Volunteer Scheme Policy Document
• Complete the Form  
• Await confirmation before booking on to the course
• Complete the training and log any agreed hours on you SVS account

All sports have a National Governing Body (NGB) which controls all aspects of the sport across the country they are operating in. During the current times many NGBs have moved elements of their coaching and officiating courses online so you can use this time to start your future development in these areas.

As well as official courses many NGBs are also offering webinars online. These sessions are giving learning on many areas from experts in the sports and definitely worth checking out the NGB website for your sport to see what is on offer that you can benefit from. Most of these sessions can be accessed free of charge.

To view all available courses visit our NGB Training Page.