STUDENTS arriving at York St John University this week will be challenged to take part in 100 activities during their time in the city.

The #York100challenge ranges from tasting Yorkshire Pudding and cheering on York City FC to getting involved in the local art scene and playing rounders at Rowntree Park.

Other ‘must do’ experiences include running one and a half laps at the weekly York Park Run on Knavesmire, finding the most Instagram-worthy photo spots such as the medieval city walls and getting 50 likes, and taking on the Drakes Fish and Chip shop challenge with an outrageous deep fry request.

The challenge has been created by destination management organisation Make It York in partnership with the university, in the hope York’s thousands of students will become future tourism ambassadors for the city.

York Press:

Six thousand copies of the #York 100 Challenge booklet will be handed out to students arriving at York St John during freshers’ week, which starts today, and also when students visit the university for open days and interviews.

A new challenge app will also go live this week for students and visitors interested in taking up the challenge of completing all one hundred activities.

A Make It York spokeswoman said it was estimated that about 25,000 students were studying in York at any one time and it could be argued that tourism bodies had been slow to recognise the economic impact students brought to their host city, as well as the life-long role they could play as ambassadors.

“Now, for the first time, Make It York will lead the way in promoting the city to its student population and establishing a life-long relationship with them.”

Steve Brown, managing director of Make It York, said the challenge would help students to get more out of their time in the city and ensure they discovered things that locals perhaps took for granted.

“If they take the York 100 challenge, they’ll be real York experts by the time they graduate and they’ll be able to recommend the best of York to their visiting friends and relatives,” he added.

University vice-chancellor Professor Karen Stanton said: “This initiative will not only give our students a wealth of new ideas to enrich their time in the city but it will also give all of our students, both home and international, every opportunity to integrate with the local community and quickly adopt York as their home city.”