Catherine O’Callaghan | Staff Writer
A mandate to hold a preferendum regarding Sports Centre charges has been passed by the Students’ Union. The preferendum, to be held in September 2014 alongside Class Representative Elections, will contain up to four student levy options. The motion was proposed at SU Council by Trinity College Students’ Union Welfare Officer Stephen Garry and seconded by Tom Lenihan, SU President.
The options contained in the preferendum are to be determined by the Union Forum, and be “guided by insight gained from the President and Welfare and Equality Officer in consultation with the Sports Centre.” One option must be the current long-term policy and none of the options can result in no levy being charged. Council also mandated that “if the preferred option of said preferendum differs from the current long-term policy…a referendum be held asking students to adopt that option as the new long term policy of the union with a yes or no option.”
A number of concerns regarding Sports Centre funding were noted by Council while discussing the preferendum. One such concern was the increased pressure on services capable of creating revenue through commercial means as a result of the college’s commercialisation strategy. Also noted was the importance of protecting, maintaining and improving student services as solely student services, regardless of the current commercialisation pressure. Additionally, it was noted that consultation with the Sports Centre indicated that its current method of funding, through the current charge of €77 per student, is no longer viable in the long term in order to avoid increased external membership.
While no specific increase in the levy was put forward at Council, Welfare Officer Stephen Garry has stated that it is likely that an increase in the charge to €120 may be proposed. He also suggested that there may be an option to increase charges for students who wish to use the Sports Centre during peak times.
On the numbers of external members of the Sports Centre, an additional source of revenue, Head of Sport and Recreation Michelle Tanner told The University Times: “At present we do have quotas for all categories of non-student memberships but we have capacity challenges particularly within the Fitness Theatre. Within the prevailing economic conditions the current charge puts us under pressure to increase commercial activity that ultimately jeopardises student usage. There is a recognised need to increase the students’ Sports Centre charge so we can deliver better services and facilities for students. We have consulted with the SU and will continue to do so to find the right solution.”
Stephen Garry expressed similar concerns, commenting that: “The Sports Centre is first and foremost a student service. The current college commercialisation strategy poses a real threat to this status and we are exploring every avenue available to ensure that this strategy does not impact negatively on the student experience.”
The charge for the Sports Centre has not increased since the academic year 2009/2010, after being introduced in 2007/08 at €70 with the proviso that it would increase yearly in line with inflation. In December 2013, The University Times reported that a proposal that the mandatory charge be increased from €77 to €87 had been tabled and rejected by the college’s Capitation Committee. The proposal had been made by Ms Tanner, a representative of Dublin University Central Athletic Club (DUCAC) on the Committee.
Photo by Andrew Murphy
