Three students from West College Scotland swapped juggling coursework for judging competitions recently, as they stepped into the fast-paced world of Hyrox.
Eve, Ryan and Tolik, all studying HNC Fitness, Health and Exercise at our Paisley campus, volunteered as judges at the hugely popular fitness competition, helping athletes push through one of the toughest endurance challenges around while gaining valuable industry experience of their own.
The opportunity was a perfect fit for Eve, who chose her course as it aligned with her passion for helping people “go from what can sometimes be their lowest to feeling the best versions of themselves.”
Describing her course as “exciting, supportive and energetic”, Eve said becoming a Hyrox judge came after her lecturer shared the opportunity with students.
As a judge I was required to keep the motivation high, help people power through and push them to get to that finish line while also ensuring they were meeting form and technique requirements with every repetition.
Eve’s favourite part of the event was seeing such a diverse range of people taking on the challenge:
Seeing so many people of so many ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes pushing themselves to complete such a difficult challenge was amazing.
Describing the overall experience as “inspiring, amazing and eye-opening”, Eve is proud to have taken part in such an event, and believes it will bring her one step closer to achieving her long-term goal of launching her own business as a personal trainer and fitness coach.
Ryan, who is also studying at our Paisley Campus, said his own fitness journey inspired him to enrol on the course.
I picked this course after sparking an interest in fitness due to my weight loss journey.
Ryan describes his course as “challenging, motivating and rewarding” and said volunteering at Hyrox gave him a real insight into the fitness industry.
Ryan worked on the wall ball station, monitoring competitors’ form and counting repetitions.
If a participant did not get the form we would shout ‘no rep’ to make them aware and deduct the rep from the counter. We were also motivators, cheering them on and boosting morale.
Although the role demanded prolonged focus and accuracy, Ryan said he “couldn’t find anything to fault” about the experience, describing it as “amazing.”
Looking ahead, Ryan hopes to become a personal trainer before eventually opening his own gym and academy focused on creating a more inclusive fitness environment.
Ryan would encourage other students to take part in future events, saying:
It’s a great experience. You get insight into the fitness industry and what better way to do that than with the biggest fitness event in the world?
For Tolik, fitness has been a lifelong passion and volunteering at Hyrox only strengthened his ambitions for the future.
Sport and fitness have shaped who I am. This felt like the natural next step, not just for my own development but to build the skills to actually help people make real changes in their lives.
Like Eve, Tolik heard about the Hyrox opportunity from one of his lecturers, and he immediately signed up.
During the event, Tolik was stationed at the start line ensuring competitors entered at the correct times while also bringing energy and encouragement to nervous athletes preparing to compete.
I was also the hype man. Bringing energy, firing people up and cheering everyone on from the moment they arrived.
Tolik described the atmosphere inside the event as “electric” and called the experience “energetic, unforgettable and addictive.”
The event had such an impact on Tolik that he later competed in a Hyrox Doubles event in Cardiff.
Tolik now plans to progress onto an HND before studying Physiotherapy or Sports Science at university, with ambitions to eventually launch his own recovery facility to help people perform better and recover smarter.
Reflecting on the experience, all three students agreed that Hyrox provided invaluable experience, industry insight and motivation for their future careers in fitness and health. It is great to see students embrace extracurricular activities such as this one, and proudly fly the flag for West College Scotland.
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