Jack was part of UCL Boating Club and the TeamUCL Sports Officer for 2024/25
Jack Sibeon, Students’ Union UCL Sports Officer for 2024/25, chats to us about all things Team UCL and Boat Club, leadership with the Students' Union and the important things he’s learned during his time at UCL.
Hi, I’m Jack, I’m a planning and real estate student from the Northwest of the UK. I fell into rowing by coincidence after my neighbour in my halls asked me if I wanted to go. Subsequently, he became my best friend for the entire three years at UCL and we spent pretty much all our time at the Boat House rowing.
It was great fun throughout the entirety of the year. There was so many social events, and I got involved in lots of training, and loads of races. By the end of the year, I decided to run for novice men’s captain and sports rep– and was elected for both. During this year I was able to spend lots of time on the water, leading the team. We took about 40 complete beginners all the way up all to racing at Brooks National Championships.
Life at TeamUCL
As Sports Rep, I took lead on sports night. I worked alongside the Sports Officer at the time, and I was involved in improving the experience at Team UCL members, such as launching the men's mental health campaign.
In my third year at UCL, I was elected for Alumni Fundraising Officer for the Boat Club and Sports Officer for TeamUCL. I was ecstatic to be the Fundraising Officer, as I felt I had no ceiling in terms of what I could achieve. It was a role that came with opportunities to be as creative as possible, whilst raising as much as possible. Over the last year, we launched the Jeffrey Easton Memorial Fund (JEMF) in memory of a former coach of the boat club. The purpose of this fund is to provide money for people from underprivileged backgrounds to support their membership in quite an expensive sport. As well as this, we raised lots of funds over the year, from hosting alumni events to our Row-a-thon, raising thousands of pounds for Crisis charity.
My role as Sports Officer was the pinnacle of my journey as a member of Team UCL
My priority was to galvanise the current roles of sports reps and give them more purpose. I worked closely with Reps across the year, as well as the Activities Officer, to ensure we provided a high-quality end-to-end service for all TeamUCL members. We worked hard in gaining the brand-new TeamUCL gym and recently passed funding for a second gym for next year.
I loved being involved in leadership roles during my time at UCL. Being part of TeamUCL has helped me develop communities and sense of belonging. Boat club provided an ‘anchor’ of regular routine for me, stability within university life, and I can guarantee 90% of my closest friends I know are through sport.
My advice for first years
If I could give one bit for advice to someone joining UCL, it would be to join a sports team (and never sleep in – do as much as you can!). Being part of the club would go beyond the boat. We'd all study together, go to the pub together, do everything together. I have absolutely no idea what university would look like without Boat Club, but it would be a heck of a lot different, that's for sure.