Students as well as professional and amateur athletes are set to benefit from the relocation of the University’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences (SSES) to a new dedicated building on its Canterbury campus.
This move, which will take place during the summer 2021, will enable SSES to make greater use of the existing facilities and services run by Kent Sport – the University’s department of sport, physical activity and recreation. These include Kent Sport’s fitness suite, dance studio, indoor halls and outdoor sports pitches.
Based previously at the University’s Medway campus, SSES is one of the leading sports science schools in the UK. It offers a range of undergraduate courses in sport and exercise science, sports therapy and rehabilitation, and sport and exercise for health. Its acclaimed full- or part-time postgraduate programmes include a professional doctorate, masters and PhD options.
Among its teaching and research staff, SSES is home to many of the UK’s leading specialists in areas such as endurance physiology, sport and exercise nutrition, exercise and health, post-injury rehabilitation, respiratory issues in athletes, and the benefits of physical activity in people with chronic medical conditions.
Over the years its staff have worked with a wide range of professional and amateur sports women and men including cyclists, premier league footballers, swimmers, rugby players, combat sports practioneers and triathletes. Its clients have included Team GB, Gillingham FC and Team Sky professional cycling team (now Ineos).
As a result of its relocation to the Canterbury campus, SSES and Kent Sport will also provide the most comprehensive sports performance clinic in the south east. Open to University students, staff and the public, this new service will draw on the expertise and skills of staff from both areas in the fields of improved performance and rehabilitation with therapy, physio and exercise referral, optimised nutrition, and injury diagnosis and prevention.
SSES will continue to operate its renowned sports clinics and services at Medway Park Sports Centre.
Dr Glen Davison, Head of SSES, said: ‘I look forward to welcoming students to our new home at Canterbury in September 2021. Through this move, we are strengthening our academic offer and student experience, expanding our client services and will be working more closely with Kent Sport and colleagues across the University’s Division of Natural Sciences.’
Mel Clewlow, Director of Sport at Kent Sport, added: ‘We are delighted that we will be able to work more closely with colleagues and students from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. With our combined expertise and skills, we can provide a sports clinic that will be second to none and open to all. My Kent Sport colleagues and I look forward to welcoming everybody to Canterbury in September.’
James Hopker, a Professor in Sport and Exercise Science and Deputy Director of the Division of Natural Sciences, commented: ‘This is a great opportunity for the School. By moving to Canterbury, it will be in a position to continue to offer high quality teaching and a thriving research environment, which will now co-exist with outstanding sports facilities.’
The Kent Sports Clinic will open in September.