The Problem

Warwick Sport is attempting to sneakily increase the price of the Club Pass by £10 per student. This would mean that from September, it would cost over £100 for any student to become a member of a sports club, even before factoring in additional costs that many students have to pay such as equipment, kit and training fees. By increasing the price of membership, Warwick Sport is making sport less inclusive for Warwick students, and is directly undermining its goal of trying to create an active campus. It is unacceptable for Warwick Sport and the University more generally to offset its losses caused by coronavirus by increasing the financial burden on students, given that students and their families will also be experiencing economic difficulties. Most importantly, repeated price rises are likely to disproportionately impact BAME and working class students, creating inequality in access to student sport.

Already, Warwick Sport have refused to refund students the cost of term 3 membership (worth £30 per student), despite the fact that they closed facilities so no one was able to train or play sport. Other companies, such as Stagecoach and National Express, have refunded students who were unable to use their services, but Warwick Sport is not only charging students as normal, they are increasing their prices. This is unacceptable.

What We’re Asking:

We are making four simple and achievable demands to the university:

1)      Ensure that no play means no pay. It is unfair that we should be expected to pay over £100 if fixtures and training is disrupted because of coronavirus

2)      Flexibility of payment. Warwick Sport is trying to justify the price increase by saying that sports club membership only equates to £4 a week, yet they make us pay the total in one lump sum. Introduce termly payments for membership.

3)      Delay any increase in the price of the club pass. Students are feeling the financial impact of coronavirus just as much as Warwick Sport is. Any price increase should be delayed for at least a year, in which time a review into sport membership prices should take place. Student voices must be present in these discussions.

4)      For the university to re-evaluate its relationship with sport. Warwick Sport should not be forced by the university or any other third party to increase prices. Repeatedly increasing prices as the university has done unfairly disadvantages people from working class backgrounds, creating inequality within sport at Warwick and propagating a reputation of elitism within the university. This is especially problematic given the relationship between sport and positive mental health, and the fact that, according to the Office for National Students, more students than ever are reporting mental health problems

Please take the time to sign this petition. Warwick claims to be an inclusive and accessible university, but we, as students, need to send a message to the university that constantly increasing prices in sport directly contradicts this goal. How can we, as students, recommend the university to prospective students if the University fails to recognise the negative financial impact that sports club membership has on students, or the effect that a lack of inclusivity in sports has on mental health?

ONS Source: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/mental-health-are-all-students-being-properly-supported/