By Mihai Rosca, Second Year Politics and Philosophy
After doing some research, I found out that the charity Christians in Sport (CIS) plays a massive role in bringing together Christianity and sports at the University of Bristol. Co-leader Hannah Clark, tells me that CIS is a big charity based in the UK responsible for setting up groups around the country and at different universities to help Christian athletes form communities.
Though the charity isn't affiliated with the SU, it instead works very closely with the Christians' Union(CU), often sharing spaces at Woodlands Church and holding events together. The rationale to working with the CU comes from the fact that it'd be very natural to do so. Many Christian athletes are students who'll need specific support for their unique circumstances, which the CU can meet by referring them to a group of people similar to them that they can speak to and feel supported by.
Speaking to Hannah, who's also a student of History in second-year, I realise that there are many questions Christians athletes pose themselves that I never thought of before. Some of them may be: what is an acceptable level of competition? how should I approach drinking? is it okay to go to initiations? how do I ensure I keep my cool when playing?
I suppose these, and many other questions arise especially when a Christian leaves home for the very first time to go to university and find themselves in a somewhat alien environment, of new people that don't necessarily share their position. Having some like-minded friends can help answer these questions and ensure feelings of stress and isolation don't occur.
Both co-leaders Hannah Clark and Logan Hewitt are massively involved in sports and found joining CIS useful. Hannah is part of the Women's 3 football team she joined CIS in the first few weeks of first-year after she went to a Spike ball tournament on the Downs. Logan first heard about CIS at the CU launch day in his first-year, one of the guys with CIS was holding a hockey stick and invited Logan to a meeting. After enjoying it so much he kept going to them which helped him "stay committed to Hockey in first year when socials and selection were tough".
Hannah and Logan were selected to lead this year by the old leaders based on their good characters. On a Wednesday they normally cook a hearty breakfast for the group in Woodlands Church. In these sessions they might present some material sent to them from the charity, worship, pray, read the Bible, share experiences, and have the not-so-talked-about conversations about what it means to be a Christian in sports.
The breakfast being on Wednesday makes sense because it's typically game day and socials night, so it's a good time for a healthy meal and a deep chat to prepare you for the long day ahead, especially with the nerves and all.
This is a good opportunity for Christians from different sports to get together and make life-long friends. It's also an opportunity to bring along friends that are interested in learning more about the Faith. This can help the Christians with being more confident about their identity in public and also diffuse the stigma that may be attached to being a Christian, creating a more inclusive environment.
I'm told many students have returned to the sessions this year and that this has made for some lovely, deep conversations.
Many Christians in CIS may also be part of the CU, meaning that bonds are further strengthened by seeing friends several times throughout the week at different events other than meetings, training and games.
Leading CIS requires a lot of effort, Hannah gets up at 6am on a Wednesday to get ready and prepares the food with Logan. She tells me that figuring out logistics(scheduling events, booking tables) hasn't always been easy either but it is obvious she believes in what she's doing and feels happy to help people grow.
For more information look on the CIS website https://christiansinsport.org.uk/academy/audience/student/
Or contact the CIS Instagram: @bristoluni_cis
