Volunteering at Bath City FC
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Kickstarting your career at Bath City Football Club
Monday, 29 July, 2024Bath Spa University recently announced an exciting partnership with Bath City Football Club that will see the University become the main front of shirt sponsor for the men’s team for the next two seasons.
Having already sponsored the women’s team and stadium, this most recent deal sees a deepening of our ties with a pillar of the local community.
Of course, football is an entertainment business and heading down to Twerton Park for a weekend of matchday action is the perfect way to socialise with friends and take a break from studies. There is, however, many other ways that you can get involved with the football club, with recent Film, TV and Digital Production graduate Ned Nolan taking advantage of this unique partnership to develop his skills.
Bath City Football Club is community-owned and run solely by volunteers, from members of the board to the people pulling the pints. The club relies on the generosity of the local community to help keep the blood pumping and Ned grasped this opportunity with both hands, volunteering within the media team at Twerton Park:
“As it was my final year at University, I realised my experience when it came to media and filming outside the classroom was non-existent. I saw an announcement from Lizzie Powell that the women’s team at Bath City were looking for media volunteers and I thought this was a great opportunity for myself. This then led to working with both the women’s and the men’s team week in, week out by the end of the season.”
Seeking to develop his skills, Ned became a regular face at Twerton Park, assisting with filming on matchdays and creating content for social media. Mixed with his studies at BSU, this practical experience enabled him to bolster his CV and learn lessons along the way.
“I learned a lot from just being surrounded by those who were interested and knowledgeable about all things film, tv and production. With this idea and the practical learning in the classroom, I built up a working knowledge of the technical side of production, which went hand in hand with filming the matches at the football club.”
Only recently finishing his studies, Ned has wasted no time in jumping straight into the industry, taking on the role of Media Librarian at IMG.
“Volunteering at the club was amazing and being able to be pitch side, right in with the players was a highlight for me, especially when they would come celebrating right in front of me and I could capture their reactions after they scored.
It’s a great place to put the skills you learn in a classroom to practice in real life. Before the season started, I was not the best on camera but as the season progressed I got better and better, which is an example of putting skills to real world challenges. You also need to give it 100% as, just because you are volunteering, it doesn’t give you the right to slack off and not show up!
Being able to discuss my season volunteering at the club was a great talking point in the job interviews I had. I could talk about skills such as commitment, communication and confidence and have real life examples from my time at the club to back it up. The club is a great place to volunteer, and a bonus was being able to put in on my CV to show my experience.”
Bath City Football Club provides a range of volunteering opportunities, with students offered the chance to get involved at their local community club and gain tangible and practical skills that can aid in their studies, and beyond.
Are you interested in applying your skills in the real world? Bath Spa University’s new Sports Media Production course is the perfect place for you to learn your craft.
