What is Give it a Go?
Give it a Go (GIAG) is a programme created with every student in mind. It runs every year, starting in October and hosts an exciting calendar of taster sessions for our LSESU Sports Clubs and Societies, so you can get a glimpse what it’s like to be a member first hand.
The magic is in the title really folks - think of it as a trial run before you join, where you can attend one of these events and literally “Give it a Go” as a society or sports club member, without the pressure of having to pay for a membership to join afterwards!
For anyone who’s late to the party and hasn’t seen us shout about this yet - we’ve got over 200 Societies and Sports Clubs here at LSESU (pretty incredible right?!). So as you can imagine, the Give it a Go calendar is BIG and there’s LOTS of these events and taster sessions to get involved in! Give it a Go events are great opportunities that allow you to try something new, meet new people, learn new things, find a new hobby or simply just have some fun whilst at LSE! It is the best way of trying out new experiences when you start the academic year. And if you’re just beginning your journey with us, what better way to start your LSE experience?
To find out what events are on offer, head to our Give it a Go event calendar and join our Give it a Go mailing list to get the weekly low-down for what is on offer, including our highlight of the events that are a must-not-miss! To find out more on specific sports clubs or societies, you can also join their individual mailing lists on their respective pages of our website.
If this doesn’t get you excited about Welcome and your arrival, then we don’t know what will! But for anyone who’s still not convinced, here is a bit more about getting involved and how Give it a Go can help kickstart your year at LSE
How can I find out what events are on?
Starting on the 21st September in Welcome Week, we have a wide range of events in the Give it a Go calendar for you to come along to. Just to reiterate – everyone is welcome! Give it a Go is a programme for all students and is a good opportunity for both new and returning students to try out and experience student group activities.
As we have over 200 Clubs and Societies (don’t mean to brag or anything…), there should be an event to suit everyone’s tastes and we highly advise trying out at least 4 or 5 different Give it a Go Sessions to get a flavour of what LSESU has to offer! The Give it a Go events calendar will continue to run throughout October and will end on the 1st November, so you have plenty of time to think about what you want to attend and to fit them around your timetables. If you are then interested in a particular group or activity, you may join the club or society to continue to attend.
Sounds great, so do I need to reserve a space?
To attend an event, simply head to our Give it a Go Calendar, choose your event and click on it. The event will give you all the details you need to be able to attend! If tickets or reservations are required, they will be listed on the page for you – quick heads up, you’ll need to log in to our website to be able to buy tickets and reserve spaces!
As pre-mentioned, our LSESU Sports Clubs and Societies are taking many precautions in being able to deliver a safe Give it a Go experience for everyone. Any safety information, procedures and guidelines that need to be followed for participating should be listed on each event page. If you have any questions, please contact the club or society directly via their email or social media channel, which is listed on their respective webpages – search for your relevant society or club here.
Trials rather than try outs - watch out.
Some of our Sports clubs or Societies with competitive teams may also host trials rather than Give it a Go events. Make sure you check out the descriptions of the events you want to attend so you aren’t caught out! In case you can’t already tell, we’re pretty proud of our award-winning sports clubs and societies (we’re not bragging, honest…) – and with some of them having teams that compete all over the country and the world, they want to ensure they get the best of the best to represent the LSESU and that’s why it’s important to let prospective members “Give it a Go” competitively.
Why should I attend, I’m not sure what I’ll get out of it?
Well, you’ll be missing out on a potentially life changing experience. Honestly! Tens, hundreds, even thousands of LSE students have said that being part of a Club or Society has truly made their university experience, as it’s allowed them to find their life-long friends, make incredible memories and given them lots of different activities to look forward to after classes. There’s SO many reasons why you should try out a few Give it a Go events from a selection of different clubs and societies in your first month at university – here’s just a few of them!:
- You may meet your lifelong friends
Meeting people on your first day or first week as part of a club or society, simply because you have a common interest, has changed the student life of so many students all over the world! The people you meet as part of these student groups may end up being not only your closest friends, but your friends for life. Give it a Go is the way to start this. Don’t believe us? Ask any second or third year LSE students who they met on their first day or week and hear it from them first hand!
- Find a new hobby or skill
Being at university is the perfect time to try out new things and explore new hobbies. Being part of a range of clubs and societies could give you invaluable skills to take with you into a graduate role. It could even help you prioritize your work life balance after you graduate, because you now know what your passions are! And of course, it’s one of the best ways to have fun, let your hair down and take your mind off of your day-to-day routine activities, whether that be studying or employment. Start finding your hobbies and learning new skills right from the get-go by attending these sessions!
- Gain invaluable life experience
Juggling studies, work and being part of a student group will help you gain invaluable experience that will help you with all aspects of later life - one of the most important ones being that of time management. Planning and delivering your own events or initiatives? Looks like you’ll be building your project management abilities, all whilst having fun at the same time!
Maybe you’re liaising with speakers and working to get the best prices for venues and packages – negotiation and relationship management skills right there. Or perhaps you’re looking to enhance your leadership qualities? You can also take it one step further and become a committee member and boost your CV.
- A great way to be more active and healthy
Sometimes having a busy schedule makes it challenging to prioritise exercise and healthy living, so why not combine your exercise with your time in a student group? Many of our societies have their own sports teams within them for keeping their members active amongst their busy schedules. And of course, joining a sports club will help combine those fun times with keeping healthy. Just make sure you attend the physical activities as much as you attend the social ones!
- Your mental health with thank you for it
Taking time out of your studies to allow your body and mind to unwind helps you academically and in the classroom. Give it a go sessions and society or club activities are a great way to de-stress and take some time for yourself inbetween study sessions and lectures. It’s so important for maintaining a positive mental health and wellbeing at university!
Take a look at the wind down wednesday programme too! Delivered by David Gordon, your General Secretary, try out some student activities to give your brain a well-deserved break.
- You are more likely to perform better
It has been proven through research at other universities such as Teesside SU that being part of a club or society not only improves your experience but supports students in getting a better result in their studies. What better reason to join?!
Buddy up and attend, you don’t have to brave it alone.
We know that it can feel overwhelming at first - not only trying to pick what you want to try out, but also to attend them, potentially by yourself. If you do muster the courage to attend alone, remember the golden rule of making friends…Start by saying Hello! Remember that everyone else is in the same boat and the chances of them welcoming that interaction with you are higher than you think. Once you have made the first step with someone, it is easier to keep the conversation going.
Not sure if you even want to go because you have no one to go with? Then get yourself a buddy! There are lots of ways you can do this. Ask someone in your house or flat whether they would be interested in coming with you and tell them you don’t want to go it alone. Reach out to others in your community, join our facebook groups to stay digitally connected, and pop a post in there as easily as ‘I’m looking to go to this event, anyone else interested in meeting me beforehand and going together?’. The likelihood is you will then become too popular because your post will be buzzing with other people feeling the same way. If all else fails, contact the society or club and ask if one of the committee members could meet you beforehand or at a meeting point on campus. They will scoop you up and introduce you to a lot of people who will most likely become your life long friends if you are lucky!
Tried out a few things, and still not fancy joining?
That is perfectly ok, we know that being part of a club or society isn't for everyone. There is no commitment to join a group after attending a Give it a Go event. It is that simple. We do hope you find another group that peaks your interests though. Better yet, why not create your own student group if there isn’t something for you by checking out the new group support page.
I loved it and want to come back for more! How does membership work?
Amazing! Our hope is that there is something for everyone at LSESU and that after attending a Give it a Go event you will want to become a full member of a club or society. You can do this by heading to their student group page on the communities section of our website. Find their page, add the appropriate membership to your basket and pay. You are now a member of a club or society.