Southampton Stags American Football Team Mark National Fitness Day
By Rachel OReilly
At a glance
The Southampton Stags, an American football team at the University of Southampton, are using the Club Culture Reflection Tool from Energise Me to review and improve their club culture as new students join. This initiative aims to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for new members, addressing the challenge of high turnover in university sports clubs. The effort is part of a broader push to ensure sports clubs in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are supportive and inclusive, with resources available through Energise Me.
Southampton Stags, the University of Southampton’s American Football club, has become one of the first university sports clubs in Hampshire to formally review its welcome culture, working through Energise Me’s newly revised Club Culture Reflection Tool ahead of this year’s Freshers’ intake.
University sports clubs face a challenge most community clubs never do: every year, a large share of the squad leaves, and a new intake arrives who know nothing about how things are done. Culture, or “how things are done around here” doesn’t carry over on its own. It gets rebuilt, or it drifts.
The Southampton Stags have decided to do something deliberate about that. With National Fitness Day falling on Wednesday 16 September, right in the middle of the weeks when new students are choosing which clubs to join - the Stags have begun working through the newly revised “Club Culture Reflection Tool” with Sue Forber, Sport Welfare Officer at Energise Me, the Active Partnership for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
The tool is a free, structured framework that helps clubs step back and look honestly at the everyday culture of their sessions: how people speak to each other, how concerns get raised, and how welcome every member actually feels. It is not an inspection, and there is no pass mark; it’s a tool to help sports clubs and coaches identify areas for improvement and shape their Club’s culture.
Why student clubs are different
In a community club, people who have been there for years hold the culture. In a student club, the people holding it graduate and leave. A committee has roughly nine months to three years to set the tone, hand it on, and hope it sticks.
That turnover cuts both ways. It makes culture fragile, but it also means a student committee that gets it right can reset a club far faster than an established one ever could.
“Every September we get a room full of people, most of whom have never played the sport, don’t know anyone, and are trying to work out whether they fit in and want to be part of the club. What happens in those first few weeks determines who’s still here in March. We wanted to be deliberate about that rather than just hoping it works out and to leave a stronger legacy behind for the committee that comes after us,” says Finn O’Reilly, Welfare and Fitness Secretary, Southampton Stags.
The first fix: getting the welfare officer known
Finn met Sue on Friday 11 September to start working through the tool. The first action that they identified was simple: to make his welfare role more visible, so every new player knows who he is and how to reach him from their first session. Sue and the Stags will meet again in October to see how the club is getting on.
After agreeing on a set of actions for the club, Finn and Sue also pulled together top tips for student clubs and societies, and for students, to consider when deciding whether to join one.
Top tips for university sports clubs and societies
- Make your welfare officer visible. Every member should know who they are and how to contact them, not just the committee.
- Culture is everyone’s job. Making a society welcoming, supportive and inclusive isn’t down to the welfare officer alone. It sits with every committee member, and with the wider membership too.
- Prevention beats cure. Stopping harm happening in the first place is far better than dealing with a complaint or a safeguarding incident afterwards. Put the time in. The Club Culture Reflection Tool is a good place to start to create a safe and welcoming space.
- Write it down for the next committee. Committees change every year. Recording what works, how you welcome new members, who does what, and how concerns get raised means the next committee doesn’t have to start from scratch.
Top tips for new students
- Make the most of Freshers’ Fair. Visit as many stands and talk to as many clubs and societies as you can.
- Try something new. Don’t just sign up for the sports you’ve always played.
- Treat it as a fresh start. University is a chance to step out of your comfort zone and seize new opportunities.
- Ask who the welfare officer is. It’s a fair question at any taster session and a good club will be glad you asked.
Southampton Stags President James Hornung says, “I’m really pleased that our welfare officer has taken the initiative to run the Club Culture Reflection Tool for the Stags. It demonstrates our commitment to being a welcoming and inclusive club that takes care of its players on and off the field.”
A growing offer for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
The Club Culture Reflection Tool was piloted earlier this year with Fareham Running Club, where it surfaced a gap in support for members returning after injury or time away, leading the club to introduce a dedicated ‘Return to Running’ session. Following the pilot, Energise Me’s Sport Welfare Officer service is now offering the tool to clubs and groups across the region.
“The Stags didn’t wait to be asked but came to this wanting to know what they might be missing and how they could improve. It’s a great example of how student clubs and societies can work to keep improving and build something long-lasting,” says Sue Forber.
Phil Malatesta, Associate Director of Sport & Community Services at the University of Southampton, says “Across the University of Southampton and beyond, we want everyone to have the prospect of connecting with sport, movement and physical activity, while feeling a genuine sense of belonging. It’s really pleasing to see Southampton Stags proactively reflecting on their club culture and taking steps to make it as inclusive and welcoming as possible. This is a key theme of both our Active for All 2031 plan and the city-wide We Can Be Active plan. Thank you to Energise Me for supporting the Stags in this important work.”
How other clubs and groups can get involved
Sport England funds the Sport Welfare Officer service, and the Active Partnerships network delivers it. Any sports club or activity group in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can access the Club Culture Reflection Tool along with other sports welfare and safeguarding-related tools and resources at no cost at the Sports Welfare Officers page on the Energise Me website and by contacting Sue Forber at sue.forber@energiseme.org.
Editorial insight
University sports clubs face unique challenges in building and maintaining a positive environment, given the rapid turnover of members and leadership. The decision by the Southampton Stags to formally review their welcome culture, using a structured tool developed by Energise Me, represents a deliberate approach to an issue that many student organisations encounter but few address systematically.
With the annual Freshers’ intake coinciding with National Fitness Day, the timing is particularly relevant for clubs seeking to attract and retain new members. For other university sports teams in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the availability of the Club Culture Reflection Tool may provide a practical starting point for strengthening inclusion and welfare, especially as student sport returns to full activity following recent disruptions. The Stags’ engagement with this process could encourage similar steps by other student groups looking to create a more welcoming experience for newcomers.
Story ideas and journalist angles
Research/dataEvaluating the Impact of the Club Culture Reflection Tool on University Sports
Investigate the effectiveness of the Club Culture Reflection Tool in improving club cultures at university sports teams, focusing on its application by the Southampton Stags and its outcomes.
Target audience education and sports sections in regional-news and national-news Story potential 7/10 Jobs/employmentThe Role of Welfare Officers in University Sports Clubs
Examine the increasing importance of welfare officers in university sports clubs, as highlighted by the Southampton Stags' recent initiatives to make their welfare officer's role more visible.
Target audience higher education and sports sections in regional-news and national-news Story potential 6/10Issued by Morph PR and Marketing. Distributed by WebPR UK.
About Morph PR and Marketing
About the Club Culture Reflection Tool The Club Culture Reflection Tool is a structured framework offered free by Energise Me’s Sport Welfare Officers to clubs and groups across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. It helps them assess and strengthen the inclusivity, welcome and wellbeing of their member experience. It was piloted with Fareham Running Club in May 2026. About National Fitness Day National Fitness Day takes place on Wednesday 16 September 2026. Run by ukactive, it is the UK’s most active day of the year, with fitness, leisure and sport facilities across the country offering free activities. About Energise Me Energise Me is a charity that champions physical activity for all in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Its goal is to create a happier, healthier and stronger future for local people, and it won’t rest until everyone has the confidence, support and opportunity to be active safely and on their own terms. The charity is one of 42 Active Partnerships that work with partners to create an active nation. About the Sport Welfare Officers (SWOs) The Sport Welfare Officer role provides community sports clubs with a trusted, knowledgeable point of contact for safeguarding. SWOs guide clubs on creating safe and inclusive cultures and provide local training opportunities. In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the SWO programme is hosted by Energise Me, the area’s Active Partnership, and funded by Sport England.