The Bandeja Magazine Issue 2

feature
Leeds University Padel Society founders (from left) Charlotte
Cassidy, Iona Mason, Lily Freeman and Emily Brinsden.
Leeds students
take the crown
for UK’s first uni padel society
By Lily Freeman
The UK’s first padel society has
been formed at the University
of Leeds by four friends
(including me!) who fell in love with
padel while studying during a year
abroad in Madrid as part of our
undergraduate degrees.
The society, which plays at Rawdon
Golf and Lawn Tennis Club, was
created in September out of a
passion for the sport and the belief
that many other students would
enjoy and engage with this
easy-to-learn sport in the same
way. It has been a huge success,
going from strength to strength
each week and now has some 60
mixed-level players.
Some students had never heard
of padel before whilst a few
experienced Spaniards were
pleased to be able to continue
playing whilst studying in Leeds.
One of the greatest joys of forming
the society has been inviting new
people every week - they get to
discover and fall in love with the
sport. Having players able to draw
on other sport skills and enjoy the
fast-paced nature of the game
has secured the weekly return of
new members.
Another positive outcome of the
society has been the social side.
Padel lends itself to being a very
inclusive and social sport and has
been a brilliant way to meet other
students. It has also been rewarding
to meet members of the local
community, which is an aspect
that can be often overlooked
at university.
The society is lucky enough to have
established a close relationship
with Rawdon Golf and Lawn Tennis
Club, the only local place to play
padel in Leeds. We play twice a
week and usually follow a round
robin style session, giving people
the opportunity to play with new
partners and allowing game play
to be varied and dynamic. We are
particularly lucky to have a coach
from the club (Simon Bickerton)
who has been instrumental in our
formation and supported us from
the first day. We often start sessions
with ball and racquet skills, aimed at
improving play off the wall, volleying
and playing effectively as a pair.
With the regularity of playing and
extra coaching, players have
improved immensely and are keen
to sign up and participate in local
matches and tournaments. We are
always on the look out to engage
with other local teams or clubs for
a chance to practice match play!
It has been a very rewarding and
fulfilling project setting up our society
and hope that it will have a powerful
impact on the sport in Leeds. We
are proud to be the first official
university padel society in the UK
and are excited to support the
growth of padel. •
www.linkedin.com/company
/leeds-university-pádel-society
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