Sport Writer Timon Burford sits down with Guild Sports Officer Rob Hegarty to reflect on his tenure so far, the impact of COVID-19, and his legacy
It is fair to say that Rob Hegarty has had a turbulent tenure as Guild Sports Officer. In a year defined by pandemic disruption and the cancellation of both participation and competition, it has been anything but straightforward for the man tasked with coordinating student sport at the University of Birmingham (UoB). Last week, Redbrick Sport sat down (virtually) with Hegarty to discuss the highs and lows of his time in office so far.
It is obvious just how much sport means to Hegarty
Prior to reviewing his time as Sports Officer, we started our discussion with Hegarty’s own sporting background. From swimming to boxing, when talking to Hegarty it is obvious just how much sport means to him and how it has played a significant role throughout his life. Speaking at length about his family’s passion for sport, Hegarty reveals how his own involvement in organised sport was almost an inevitability. By the age of nine, he had won medals at county level for swimming, competing on the international level by 14. Importantly, in the journey towards being Sports Officer, it was through swimming that Hegarty assumed his first leadership role in sport, by captaining his school’s team.
After leaving competitive swimming to focus on academic responsibilities, it was rugby which Hegarty began to orientate towards. Whilst in his second year at UoB, he became the Social Secretary for the rugby club and it was during his time on committee that he first began to take interest in running for the position of Sports Officer. Not content with just playing rugby, Hegarty also took up boxing, joining the University’s club also in his second year, an organisation that he described to Redbrick as a ‘great, great club.’
Hegarty on the Guild Elections
After covering his own sporting background, we progressed to discussing the recent guild elections and Rob’s previous experience of campaigning for office. When asked about the secrets to a successful campaign, Hegarty quickly pointed out the importance of listening. He firmly believes it was his ability to listen to the wants and needs of all students, not just those who are members of UoB sports clubs, that helped get him elected, stating: ‘The main secret is speaking to as many people as possible and just understanding what students actually want.’
In particular, Hegarty emphasised the necessity of breaking out of your own sporting ‘echo chamber’ to gauge wider interests and opinions: ‘get every stakeholders opinion. What do they want? What do they want to change? What you and your friendship group want might not be reflective of everyone.’ Quizzed on the more trivial topic of choosing campaign slogans, he advised: ‘just something which is catchy to be honest.’
‘The main secret is speaking to as many people as possible and just understanding what students actually want’
Hegarty remarked on the reality that, for many students, a memorable slogan, promotional video and costume can make the difference when it comes to standing out from the crowd. That being said, he was quick to assert how ultimately it is a robust manifesto that provides the backbone for any successful campaign.
Asked to summarise the main piece of advice he would give to the incoming Sports Officer (confirmed last Friday as George Christian, after this interview was conducted), Hegarty’s response was indicative of the hardships he faced in guiding university sport through the uncertainty of the pandemic: ‘be prepared to be adaptable, circumstances can and will change but always represent students first[…]see what you can do not what you can’t.’
Reflecting on his time in office
In his initial interview with Redbrick Sport, Hegarty stated that his biggest challenge as Sports Officer would be the ‘void’ of face-to-face interaction, and this was something he was keen to follow up on. Responding in a positive tone to the question of whether or not he felt that he had succeeded in this challenge, Hegarty said: ‘yes it was something we were able to overcome while fitting in with government guidelines.’ Though major sporting events have not been able to go-ahead, Hegarty has nevertheless been proactive in organising Covid-safe sport; namely launching his flagship Safe Exercise Initiative.
‘We were able to overcome [COVID-19 restrictions] while fitting in with government guidelines’
As for the topic of student participation in sport, Hegarty maintained that while participation has not been as high as in previous years, he was confident that his work and that of UB Sport has ensured people still feel a sense of identity with sport at the university. Although he remained optimistic that in lieu of recent government announcements that in-person sport might return before the end of Hegarty’s time in office.
Taking a detour away from sport, we checked in on how Hegarty found his non-sporting duties as a Guild Officer, namely being the Chairman for the Ethical and Environmental committee. Hegarty described this particular responsibility as ‘really, really enjoyable and actually quite eye-opening.’ However, he was also keen to stress how this role was humbling at times, distinct from anything he had done before, requiring a lot of learning and listening to conduct this role dutifully.
Hegarty on his Legacy and Future
One of the highlights of Hegarty’s tenure and has been the establishment of the Inclusive Legacy Team. The project, which is sure to be a key part of Rob’s own legacy, was set up with the assistance of the Guild’s part-time officers, ‘all with the goal of making sport more inclusive.’ Hinting that more is yet to come from the project, Hegarty is positive that this will mitigate any present excluding factors preventing individuals from participating in sporting activity.
You learn to appreciate [others’] opinions and their experience
Though Hegarty is still in office until June, we wanted to know what the most important learning experience has been so far as Sports Officer. ‘Being in a role like this, working with so many people, you hear many different opinions and you learn to appreciate their opinion and their experience,’ Hegarty says. He adds that he has also learned to appreciate that everyone’s opinion is valid, ‘I’d listen to a club president as much as I would do with a person who’s never done organised sport before[…]it will definitely be this that I’ll take out from the job.’
Our conversation came to an end with the topic of Hegarty’s plans upon leaving office and specifically whether he will continue to be involved in organising sport. Admitting that the role has made him change a few ideas of where he wants to take his life, Hegarty expressed continued interest in organising sport, in particular his desire to work in the upcoming skiing season. Lastly, returning focus back to his stint as Sports Officer, Hegarty was confident in his choice not to stand for re-election, being content with just the one year in office. ‘I like the idea of fresh people coming in with fresh ideas.’
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