Most social clubs to join in UCD

ruburd

For someone who doesn't have a particular passion for anything in particular.
Is there any clubs in UCD that are well known for being good fun ?

Not overly sporty.
Was looking into softball, SVP, etc if anyone has experience/ opinion on them ?

RoundBox11

From my experience, don't join a big club if your looking for the social side. Go for a medium size club.
I was in one of the biggest sportsclubs for 2 years and found it kind of anti-social because theres just too many people. Then joined one of the medium/small ones and ive had a great time.

Ive been in L&H, Law soc, Qsoc etc and theyre just way to big too imo.
I'd say just judge by the people at the stand. You can usually get a fair idea of whether they'll have much going on.

Ive heard softball is good craic actually. I joined SVP and they seemed nice but I never got to go to their stuff. You'd meet a good bunch doing the soup run and the likes with them!

Mister R

I was terrible at clubs and the like in first year and I actually kind of regret it now, I still had an amazing time at UCD I was just a slow starter

I played a bit of Olympic Handball for a while, its a pretty small club but I had an operation and was out of action for ages and didn't go back It was pretty good though. The big societies like Law Soc, L&H etc. are just too big and become super cliquey. Same with the political parties.

I'd agree with the previous poster, aim for the smaller/medium sized clubs and socs and go to everything you can early on. Basically just say YES to almost anything

IrishKnight

Feel the need to defend the L&H a bit here. If you aren't all that into debating, then L&H nor Law Soc will not suit your needs.

However, if you think you will take part in the first year debating comps with them, then it is a very good way to met people. When I started first year I was the only person from my school to attend UCD. Wanting to make friends and having an interest in debating, I joined the L&H and partook in their first year comps, the James Joyce comp and the Mace, and made a large number of friends from it.

But like the other posters have said, join anything you might think you'll have an interest in then go from there. Have a think about what you enjoy most, or if you have any hobbies. Also, depending on what course you are doing, joining the associated soc can be helpful too.

OneOfThem Stumbled

Mister R wrote: »

I'd agree with the previous poster, aim for the smaller/medium sized clubs and socs and go to everything you can early on. Basically just say YES to almost anything

I dunno - sometimes the small clubs are small because they want to be and only really have people sign up because they want the grant.

A good sign of this is if they treat people who sign up like cattle, while the small number of senior members remain cliquey with one another. I've actually heard the cattle analogy being used as a proven means to whittle down people who have joined to a handful who'll be dedicated to the sport and not place too much pressure on the club's resources! In the end, the small number of senior members again manages to outnumber newcomers.

Zen65

Find a small sports club that organises weekends away? Those weekends away were always great bonding sessions and good craic!

The advantage of being in a sports club is that you're almost forced to mix with others, which is great for people who might be daunted by the move to a college environment.

(In my time the best clubs were minority sports like trampoline, canoe, karate, aikido, etc.)

Z

RoundBox11

OneOfThem Stumbled wrote: »

I dunno - sometimes the small clubs are small because they want to be and only really have people sign up because they want the grant.

A good sign of this is if they treat people who sign up like cattle, while the small number of senior members remain cliquey with one another. I've actually heard the cattle analogy being used as a proven means to whittle down people who have joined to a handful who'll be dedicated to the sport and not place too much pressure on the club's resources! In the end, the small number of senior members again manages to outnumber newcomers.

Have to say i completely disagree with you here. I've been heavily involved in one of the smaller sports clubs in UCD for the past 2 years. We'd have up to 40 or so regular members across mens and womens each year.
Ive heard a disgruntled senior member complaining that other senior members didnt want new people. Meanwhile these other seniors were putting huge emphasis on ways to get new people in and keep them with us.
With the fast turnover of members in all clubs (after all, most members will only be there for max 3/4 years) it's always a top priority to get new people involved. Otherwise the clubs will fall apart.

I'm sure it has been the case somewhere before but i really wouldn't consider it at all when thinking about what club to join!

OneOfThem Stumbled

RoundBox11 wrote: »

Have to say i completely disagree with you here. I've been heavily involved in one of the smaller sports clubs in UCD for the past 2 years. We'd have up to 40 or so regular members across mens and womens each year.
Ive heard a disgruntled senior member go on about what you said there. Meanwhile we were putting huge emphasis on ways to get new people in and keep them with us.
With the fast turnover of members in all clubs (after all, most members will only be there for max 3/4 years) it's always a top priority to get new people involved. Otherwise the clubs will fall apart.

Depends on the specific club I suppose. :pac:

RoundBox11 wrote: »

I'm sure it has been the case somewhere before but i really wouldn't consider it at all when thinking about what club to join!

Good point - after all, you can't know 'till you go.

RoundBox11

OneOfThem Stumbled wrote: »

Depends on the specific club I suppose. :pac:



Good point - after all, you can't know 'till you go.

You do make a good point tho now that i think about it.

OneOfThem Stumbled

RoundBox11 wrote: »

You do make a good point tho now that i think about it.

Remember of course that some clubs and societies have just disappeared. The sports and societies pages are full of them! Some linger on in low digits (one which I know of essentially just gets post-grads from the same sport, from different colleges, but has few "home grown" members). And, of course, some clubs and societies grow and prosper.

I'd say it's a simple survival of the fittest, but the fast turnover, low accountability and publicly funded nature of clubs distorts this somewhat. Ultimately if a club is going to be an asset, those responsible for its upkeep have to care about the club's survival - after all, such leg-work is unpaid!

electrictrad

Tip: Be open minded, and try not to follow the crowds. Go for something that feels right, such as a conversation with a welcoming Auditor, or a really social first event.

I may be biased here, but I believe a smaller society will be more social. If you're looking for good, non-course societies that are pretty active and social; SVP, TradSoc (Trad Music Society), JazzSoc, World Aid, International Student Society, and Belfield FM are all very active social smaller societies at the moment. Talk to the people on the stand for smaller societies about the kind of stuff they do; try and go for someone with weekly meetings/events/gatherings/workshops/sessions, that way you'll really get to know people. The good societies will have an event on during Fresher's Week; try and make the event, and get to know people.

For medium-large societies; LGBT, GameSoc, DramSoc, DanceSoc, MusicalSoc are all really good choices as well, if you're prepared to get involved. For large socs, you may want to join L+H, LawSoc too if they have good goodie bags,but don't expect them to be too social if you don't debate/moot. Cumann Gaelach is another one if you want to keep your cúpla focal alive, it's well-subsidised and will always be active due to the Irish House. If you go to the cinema often, FilmSoc members get 50c off films in UCD, so that may be worth a gander.

Sports Clubs; this is a tricky one. Don't join anything heavy-equip, they only want you for the €10, unless you have your own ect. So don't join Equestrian if you don't have horses, same with Sailing if you don't have a boat in Dublin. Surfing is meant to be a good choice, athletics is very active and social. GAA is extremely competitive, so only go if you're there to play hard. American Football and Olympic Handball have good reps, depending on whose organising. Hockey is well organised, as are basketball, rugby and soccer, they're taken seriously. Archery, Rock-Climbing and Trampolining are popular relaxed sports. It really depends on what you're looking for from sport in college, whether just to keep fit and be social, a small bit of competition, or rock-hard serious; there's very few sports clubs that'll cater all 3 - perhaps athletics would be the only one I can think of.

All in all, be diligent, talk to the people on the stand, and be open-minded: the best choice you can make will be to go with your instinct. Societies and Clubs are a fantastic opportunity to get to know people, and the best are welcoming, open organisations that make you feel at home in college, so do try and pick the right one!

Dude Love 1

Hi guys, is there a wrestling society? As in Pro-Wrestling/WWE type thing. Big wrestling fan, didn't see it mentioned in any brochures I got during Orientation.

Raphael

Not to my knowledge, though I could be wrong. Doubt it in this instance, though.

Zen65

Dude Love 1 wrote: »

Hi guys, is there a wrestling society? As in Pro-Wrestling/WWE type thing. Big wrestling fan, didn't see it mentioned in any brochures I got during Orientation.

I think there's a Ju Jitsu club there, and certainly there's a MMA club. Not the same I know, but you'd get your rolling-around-the-ground fun with those, which is a bit of a laugh.

errlloyd

Never got involves, but always regretted not getting involved in windsurfing. Weekends away always, casual sporting banter.