Writtle University College and ARU have merged. Writtle’s full range of college, degree, postgraduate and short courses will still be delivered on the Writtle campus. See our guide to finding Writtle information on this site.

The Excellence in Sport Lecture Series

Since 2013, each year, the Sport and Exercise Science team have sought to bring in external speakers to add to our students' learning experience and provide opportunities for ARU to engage with the wider community.

Attendees get to hear ideas from inspirational people, gaining an awareness of experiences or feelings that may never have crossed their minds before.

The title "Excellence in Sport" is intentionally broad, allowing the invited speakers to interpret and/or put their own slant on the theme being covered. The talks have provided a fantastic insight into the world of sport, with each speaker providing an individual footprint of their route to “excellence”.

Many themes have been covered, including:

  • the process of coaching world champions
  • preparing for high performance competition
  • the logistics of organising a national team
  • the science of activity at altitude
  • the journey to achieving gold medals
  • the commitment and planning needed to win
  • the stress of training and societal influences on sport.

All our speakers have shared their thought processes, providing opportunities for the audience to reflect and leave better informed, and perhaps better prepared to achieve their own "excellence".

Watch our lectures

Dr Dan Gordon BSc, MSc, PhD, SFHEA, PLY
Associate Professor: Cardiorespiratory Exercise Physiology
Cambridge Centre for Sport & Exercise Science


Past speakers

  1. Danny Williams (Commonwealth Games Gold medallist, Judo)
  2. Graham Gooch (Ex-England Cricket Captain, Essex County Cricket Club)
  3. Les Reed (Technical Director, The Football Association)
  4. Dr Paul Ford MBE (Deputy Chef de Mission, British Olympic Association)
  5. Goldie Sayers (Olympic Medallist, Javelin)
  6. Dr Melanie Eldridge (Mt Everest summiteer)
  7. Gail Emms (Olympic Gold medallist, Badminton)
  8. Paul Hall MBE (Men’s Head Coach British Gymnastics)
  9. John Barnes MBE (Ex-England, Newcastle, Liverpool, Watford FC)
  10. Lizzy Yarnold OBE (Britain’s most successful Winter Olympian)

For further information about upcoming talks, please contact [email protected]