How joining the Bradford Bees shaped me

By:: Kaitlyn
Published: 29 September 2025
Tagged under:: Societies; Student Life; Students' Union

Doing something out of your comfort zone can be daunting. Kaitlyn shares how she arrived at her first Bradford Bees training session, unsure of her abilities, and how she went from hesitant beginner to passionate leader.

Hi, I’m Kaitlyn and I’m in my third year of BSc (Hons) Forensic and Medical Sciences.

Where I started

Currently, I'm the president of the Bradford Bees netball club. However, this wasn’t always the case. I initially joined the club back in 2022 during my first year. I hadn't played netball since secondary school, so I wasn't confident in my abilities at the time.

At the beginning, I attended training twice per week, and I was a very quiet, non-sociable member. As I got comfortable with my fellow members, that soon changed.

The warm and friendly atmosphere helped me grow in confidence, and I began making friends with other members of the society. These friendships have followed me throughout my entire university life so far, with some of these friends now being my housemates.

A group of netball players in fancy dress.

Why I joined netball

I was quite familiar with netball, having played it in secondary school during Physical Education, and this is the reason why I joined this society. Because of my experience with the sport, it didn't feel as daunting compared to a sport that would be completely new to me.

The reason I stayed in this society was because of how welcoming everyone was, and I felt like no matter what my ability was, there was a place for me within this club. This goes for everyone else, too - everyone is welcome and there will always be a place for you.

As I had moved away from home for university, I knew that if I wanted to meet new people and find friends, I had to put myself out there and join some sort of society. Bradford Bees was the one for me.

What do we do?

There are two teams within Bradford Bees. Our first team, which I'm currently the president of, competes in British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Big Wednesday. BUCS is an inter-university league where we compete in highly competitive games against other northern universities.

A group shot of the netball society members.

Our second team competes on a Thursday in a more relaxed league where we compete against local teams. The biggest goal of this team is to have fun and develop your skills in netball.

If you join the Bradford Bees, you don’t necessarily have to compete. Everyone is welcome to come along to training, and it's great for improving your fitness and socialising.

What social events do we do?

It's not all just about netball - we also participate in many social events at Bradford Bees!

Every Wednesday night, we meet with other sports teams at the University and play different party games. After this, we head to the on-campus evening party called ‘Diversion’. Doing this enables all the sports teams to form bonds with each other. This social gathering adds to the friendly atmosphere within Bradford and demonstrates how all sports teams support each other, both at games and outside of the sport itself.