Queen’s Sport has secured the involvement of a market-leading specialist recruitment consultancy to support its Active Lifestyle Programme. VANRATH works across a range of market segments and with some of Northern Ireland’s leading businesses. The emphasis of the Lifestyle Programme is on providing sports and recreational opportunities in easily accessible and fun ways. The new programme will be known as the VANRATH Active Lifestyle Programme.

Kevin Murray, Queen’s Sports Participation and Wellbeing Manager said: “We are delighted to welcome VANRATH as our new partner as we seek to increase the numbers of students taking part in physical activity. The VANRATH Active Lifestyle programme will include classes and events for people of all ability levels. It will help us increase the amount of exercise our students participate in, transforming their emotional wellness and overall wellbeing.”

The programme offers around 20 different initiatives each year including Couch 2 5K, Campus Run, the Queen’s 5k as well as taster events in a complete range of sports such as tag rugby, social netball, yoga and dodgeball. With 62 student sports clubs in the University there are plenty of opportunities for students to try sample new sports they may not have encountered before. The overall emphasis of the VANRATH Active Lifestyle Programme is on taking part at a level that is right for the individual and on fun, inclusion, and friendship.

Kevin Murray explains: “We work closely with students to identify activities that will encourage participation, especially for those students that haven’t been involved with sport since they came to university. Our recreational soccer leagues, for instance, are a great, fun way of bringing friends and classmates together. We offer 5 a side and 11 a side leagues for both male and female students and over 500 students enjoy playing recreational football each week.”

Welcoming the new relationship, Barbara McKiernan, VANRATH’s Managing Director said: “We are really pleased to be working with Queen’s Sport on this excellent programme. As a company we appreciate the importance of physical activity and the positive impact this has on mental health and wellbeing. Encouraging young people to take part in sport and enjoy all the benefits that this brings is an important goal and is something they will take with them as they enter the workforce.”

VANRATH and Queen’s Sport are both committed to the same aim of helping our students strive for success in their studies and future careers. Both partners are also committed to helping them make the most of their student experience and enjoy all the sport and recreational opportunities that are on offer through the VANRATH Active Lifestyle programme at Queen’s.