Meet... Paul McPate

You've been at the University for 40 years - what brought you to Dundee?

Well, I qualified as a teacher and taught for a very short time in Ayrshire as a supply teacher. I knew I wanted to do a higher degree. A post came up at Dundee which was sponsored by what is now sportscotland. It was an opportunity to work in what was then the Department of Physical Education but also to do research for sportscotland in the Department of Town Planning. So it was a sort of win-win, get a higher degree, do research, get paid and stay in physical education.

Tell us about your early days in sport at Dundee.

The department supported the sports union clubs and delivered courses, classes and exercise sports instruction. Also, back at that time we also did income-generating delivery in the summer. We did Saga Health Week for six weeks and we had people from all over the UK come to Dundee. 

They had a six-day course which included everything from exercise classes, a fitness exam and a health test with the department of physiology, to Scottish country dancing, and walks out in the Sidlaw hills.

Your sport is volleyball - how did you get involved in it?

I played volleyball as a student at the Scottish School of Physical Education at Jordanhill College, which sadly doesn't exist anymore. When I came to Dundee in 1985, I joined the Volleyball Club in my first week and started coaching. I was a trained teacher and had actually just finished a volleyball coaching course. And being matriculated as a postgraduate student I could play for the student team.

We had anywhere between six and maybe ten at club training back in the day. But at that time, the University had only just over 3000 students. Volleyball is now probably one of our biggest student sports clubs. Volleyball is huge throughout Europe but is a very small sport in Scotland. It's been a real magnet for international students. And like all sports clubs, it's a welcoming community. People join to be part of something. They join to make friends.

I’m still playing volleyball locally. My team was in the local and national league finals recently. And most of the team are actually former students who have become good friends. The community aspect and friendships continue. I’m still friends with Salam, who when I walked in the door for the first time was one of those seven or eight people that were in the hall.

The volleyball reunion has become part of the Volleyball Club calendar, taking place every three years. Tell us about the reunions.

The first reunion was in 2010 and they've grown in size and reach since then - they provide the opportunity for former students to come back and meet up and relive their memories!

At the reunion weekend, the returning alumni can join the club training on the Friday night, play competitively against the current first teams in the morning, and participate in a recreational tournament in the afternoon on the Saturday. There is a reunion dinner in the evening, then a farewell brunch on the Sunday. 

The key thing for me is the recreational tournament, because that's really what the clubs are about, playing at all levels of ability. This year, there were up to 120 playing, ranging from current students to Salam, who graduated in the 1970s!

We also had someone who wasn’t in the club come along for the first time. I put her in with a supportive team. So we had somebody who was playing in the 70s alongside somebody for whom it was their first actual visit to the club. A lovely rounding of the circle!

What's your highlight of the sporting calendar?

I've got two I think! The first is the start to the year and the excitement. When you've got the sports fair with 46 club stalls with students sharing their enthusiasm for their clubs, encouraging others to sign up. That one fleeting moment can then define somebody’s four years at university and beyond.

And the other time is March at the Blues and Colours Awards Ceremony. That's when we celebrate those who have excelled during the course of the year, either competitively, or through their volunteering work with their club. The Blues and Colours Awards Ceremony is an absolute highlight, it's great to see the student successes being celebrated and for students to share that with their families.

We used to have guest speakers at the Blues and Colours ball. And back in 1996 the guest speaker was the Olympic rowing legend Steve Redgrave, who had won four of his five gold medals by that stage. At the end of his speech, he said, 'I'm now going to pass my medals around the room', and I could just imagine the headlines in The Courier the next day as these four Olympic gold medals, having been passed around the function room, arrived at the Volleyball Club table - and were dropped and rolled under the table! I was sitting at the staff table absolutely aghast. We still talk about that yet!

How have you seen sport develop at Dundee?

It's much more organised. I think that the mindset, the commitment, the resourcefulness of the students is so much greater than 30 or 40 years ago. I'm not saying they didn't have that 30, 40 years ago, but because the clubs are so much bigger, the expectation, the job spec, the AGM, the whole process and getting into a post is much more organised. I think they're much better supported and resourced. We've got a dedicated, sport development manager. We've got two coordinators within the sports union office. The framework is there for students to compete. When I started, there were no volleyball leagues. The teams met once a year, played a tournament, and that was it. We’re now part of a Scottish, British, and European structure.

What does sport at the University of Dundee mean to you?

Community and enjoyment. Have some fun and be part of something that's pretty simple. And if we can get this right as a department and if the sports clubs can get that right as clubs, then we're in a good place. And I think we're in a pretty good place.

Since 2019 and Covid, membership is up 40%, which is really significant. Students want to have a sense of community and experience success.

You were also sub-warden at Belmont Hall for four years in the late 80s/early 90s, you must have some cracking stories?

That’s a book, completely!

Paul McPate is currently Co-Director of Sport and Active Health at the University and still very active in the volleyball community at Dundee.