Sports Union handbook

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Section 1: What is the Sports Union

The Sports Union (SU) is a representative body of the University of Dundee sports clubs and is supported by the elected Student Executive team. The SU staff and student executive aim to provide opportunities for sport & exercise for all its members in such a way as to foster an ethos based on identity and pride within the University. We work alongside the Institute of Sport and Exercise and our office can be found within their facilities; we have an open-door policy so please pop in anytime!

As well as being able to take your pick from the 45 different sports clubs at the SU there are loads of opportunities to take part in sport – even if you’re not an SU member! We have events that run throughout the year to widen access to sport such as Campus Sport, Varsity, and Brave Runner. One of the largest events that the SU help plan, and run is Varsity, where we go head-to-head with Abertay University to complete in various sports and celebrating sport in the Dundee area.

Section 2A: Who's who in SU

Sports Union President

SU President represents the students’ voices. They will represent the students in all aspects and is there to provide support and guidance and to be the first line of call for any student that needs to contact the SU. The SU President can be found in the SU Office which is located within the ISE building. There is an open-door policy, and all students are welcome regardless of their question, query or worry. 

The role of the SU President is a full-time position that represents the voice of the SU students and is responsible for the development of sport at the university. The SU President oversees the day-today running of the SU and delegates, approves, and oversees the duties of the SU executive committee. Part of this is organising campus sport events, fundraising and the planning of Blues & Colours. 

The SU President also represents the SU clubs on external bodies such as Scottish Student Sport (SSS) and British University and College Sports (BUCS). Within the University of Dundee, the SU President will also represent the SU on internal bodies such as the Students Representative Council (SRC), the Dundee University Student Association (DUSA) executive meetings as well as any university liaison meetings. 

Sports Union President 2023/24: Alice Saville 

Vice-President of Sport

The VP of Sport helps organise the annual Varsity games with Abertay University. The VP of Sport also sits on the Blues & Colours committee and Finance committee in a voting capacity. 

Vice-President of Sport 2023/24: Mia Jennings 

Vice-President of Events

The VP of Events is responsible for the organisation and delivery of the SU events throughout the year such as the SU Ceilidh as well as the Blues & Colours Awards Ball. The VP of Events also sits on the Blues & Colours committee and Finance committee in a voting capacity. 

Vice-President of Events 2023/24: Erin MacInnes 

Honorary Secretary

The Honorary Secretary is responsible for all the SU records and communications throughout the year. As well as this the Honorary Secretary sits on the Blues & Colours Committee and the Finance Committee in a voting capacity and to record accurate minutes of said meetings. 

Honorary Secretary 2023/24: Julie Grant 

Communications & Promotions Officer

The Communications and Promotions Officer is to continually update the SU website as well as the SU social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. The Communications & Promotions Officer will also publish BUCS results along with SSS and local league/recreational results. They will also respond to social media to social media tags/links to SU clubs and create promotional content for the SU. 

Communications & Promotions Officer 2023/24: Emma Morrison 

Campus Sport Officer

The Campus Sport Officer is to work with the SU President and the Sports Development Officer to maintain and develop a recreational campus sport programme. They are also responsible for offering support to the Sports Development Officer in the development and delivery of the Campus Sport Programme. They also promote Campus Sport events and encourage SU clubs to get involved in the programme. 

Campus Sport Officer 2023/24: Harry Mendoza 

Transport Officer

The Transport Officer checks each SU vehicle is road worthy via the SU’s Regulations and Requirements and is there to support clubs in regard to the use of the SU buses. The Transport Officer also works along with SU staff and the SU President to ensure that each club’s transport needs are met, be that an SU minibus, Arnold Clark hire vehicle, helping process public transport reimbursement forms or hiring coaches! 

Transport Officer 2023/24: Jenna Boyd 

Finance Officer

The Finance Officer along with the SU President is responsible for Sponsorship for the SU as well as responsible for looking into sponsorship for Varsity. The Finance Officer also works alongside the SU clubs themselves to help give guidance and assistance with any finance related queries. 

Finance Officer 2023/24: Ewan Cattermole 

If your club or an individual club member would like to arrange a meeting or speak to the SU President, please email: 

sportsunion@dundee.ac.uk 

Alternatively, pop into the SU office and say hello to the team! The SU team is available for any query or question, big or small, from Monday – Friday 9:00 – 17:00. 

Section 2B: University of Dundee Sport Staff

The staff at University of Dundee Sport work alongside the SU Executive to help support and provide guidance for them throughout the academic year. Each member of staff works closely with the SU President to ensure each club and each club member’s needs are being met as best we can. 

Sport Development Manager

Our SU Sport Development Manager (SDM) works with our clubs' committees and helps progress each individual club. The SDM will meet with each club committee at various points throughout the year. 

Sport Development Manager: Kelly Moonlight 

Dundee University Sport Co-Ordinator for Fixtures

Our SU Fixtures Co-ordinator is there to help clubs with anything BUCS related. 

Dundee University Sport Co-Ordinator for Fixtures: Donna Kemlo 

Dundee University Sport Co-Ordinator for Transport and Finance

Our SU Finance and Transport Co-ordinator is there to help clubs with any finance or transport queries clubs may have. 

Dundee University Sports Co-Ordinator for Transport and Finance: Stuart Gray 

email: su-finance@dundee.ac.uk or su-transport@dundee.ac.uk 

Section 3: Sports Union Council Meetings and Club Development

Sports Union Council Meetings

SU council meetings take place once a month and consist of the SU executive committee as well as three members from each of the 45 SU clubs. Each council meeting will be used as an information session and as a platform to discuss any issues affecting clubs. 

Registration is taken during committee meetings to make sure all clubs have at least three representatives present as key information and dates will be exchanged. It’s recommended that the President/Captain of each club attends along with the Finance Officer and Secretary, however SU council meetings are open to all club committee members, and all are encouraged to attend.

Review the Sports Union events calendar for all council meeting dates.

Club Development

The Club Development Plan is a document that all clubs complete to sustain the future of their club.  It is also used by the SU and the Sport Development Manager – Kelly Moonlight, to help clubs access the best support. 

The Club Development Plan is also reviewed throughout the year with the Sport Development Manager, to make sure each club is staying on track and to provide support where necessary. 

Section 4: Sports Union Matriculation and Club Matriculation

Sports Union Matriculation

All 45 sports clubs are overseen by the SU who provide guidance and funding support to the clubs throughout the year. The SU have a fleet of twelve minibuses that can be accessed by the clubs to use for travel to and from events, competitions, and club activities.  The SU ensure the upkeep and maintenance cost of these vehicles throughout the year for the students. For the SU to be able to support the clubs financially though club grants, provide well maintained transport and deliver events such as the committee conference, SU Ceilidh and Sports Ball, the SU require a fee each year to maintain the expenditures and running of the SU. 

Students are only required to pay this fee once each year regardless of how many SU sports clubs they join. If you join an additional club later in the year you will be asked to pay the SU fee again, you must email sportsunion@dundee.ac.uk and the second payment will be refunded.

The Sports Union Fee for the year 2023/24 is £20.

Club Matriculation

Club Matriculation is the yearly cost that students pay to join a SU club. This money goes directly towards the clubs themselves and is at the discretion of the club to set the amount asked they ask for. This is reviewed yearly by each incoming committee. 

Only students who have paid both the Sports Union and Club Matriculation will be eligible to play in Scottish Student Sport (SSS) or British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) matches.

Section 5: Funding

How funding works

There are two types of funding available to Sports Clubs: 

Annual Grant

This is applied for at the end of the academic year in advance of the coming year and should be aligned to the club development plan. 

Applications for annual grants are confirmed for the clubs over the summer period. 

The Annual Club Grant can be used for: 

  • Coaching 
  • Training Courses 
  • Competition Entries 
  • Transport 
  • Facility 
  • Insurance

Financial Assistance

This is open to all clubs to help make large one-off purchases that they couldn’t otherwise afford and that will help in the longevity of the club. Applications for Financial Assistance can be submitted at any point throughout the year; however, the applications will be reviewed and a decision made at each Finance Committee Meeting, which is held once per month.

If your club would like to put in for Financial Assistance from the SU this year, please fill in the form and email su-finance@dundee.ac.uk.

How clubs access their Annual Grant

In the first instance clubs should contact the Sport Development Manager - Kelly Moonlight.

Further guidance for both types of funding can be found here.

Review the Sports Union events calendar for Financial Assistance Deadlines to allow time for the Finance Committee to review the applications. 

Alumni

As well as the two core types of funding listed above, the University of Dundee also has a Sports Union Alumni Fund. The fund aims to help Sports Clubs pursue special projects and secure the best equipment to improve their performance as is donated to the University from Alumni members. Applications from clubs should aim to encourage innovation and serve the long-term sustainable development of the club. 

Section 6: Transport and Booking

What Vehicles the SU has

The SU is very lucky to have a large fleet of vehicles in comparison to other universities around Scotland. In total there are 12 vehicles. This consists of 7x 12-seater minibuses, 3x 9-seater minibuses and 2x8-seater vehicles. Some of these vehicles also have removable back seats which aids in kit transportation for clubs.

Although we have a great fleet of minibuses due to the high activity of our 45 Sports Clubs, transport can sometimes be an issue. The SU have partnered with Arnold Clark who have allowed us to make use of their vehicles when an SU minibus is not available. These external vehicles do come at a small cost to the clubs so will only be used as/when necessary – the SU will make it as fair as possible and split costs evenly, ensuring clubs aren’t given external vehicles numerous times back-to-back.   

Large external hire coaches are also available to clubs. It’s recommended that clubs make use of coaches if several teams are traveling to the same location. The cost of the coaches would then be deducted out of the clubs’ annual grants. This option works out far cheaper the more clubs opt into coach-sharing as the cost can be split across the clubs.

Who can drive the SU minibus & Arnold Clarks

To drive any of the above vehicles, SU members must be over the age of 19 to drive the 9-seater minibuses and over the age of 21 to drive the 12-seater minibuses. In conjunction with this, all drivers must have a Full clean UK drivers' licence (no penalty points). 

If eligible, a drivers declaration form must be completed and in the first instance of driving the SU minibuses, a minibus driving test must be passed to ensure the driver is competent to drive the large vehicles and minimise risk – This only needs to be done once. However, at the start of each academic year, all drivers must renew their driver's declaration form before driving any SU vehicle.

All renewed driver’s declaration forms can be sent to su-transport@dundee.ac.uk.

If you or someone in your club would like to have access to drive the SU buses, please arrange a minibus bus driving test by coming into the SU Office to book. 

Transport Handbook

A new transport handbook can be found in the SU office, or a digital copy emailed to your club account. Alternately, please contact our Transport Officer, Jenna.

Section 7: Coaching

  1. Coaches are asked to provide proof of qualifications and coaching insurance. Insurance is not required for voluntary coaches. 
  2. Coaches working with University of Dundee sports clubs and teams are required to sign a coaching agreement outlining the responsibilities of all parties and a coach’s code of conduct.  A copy will be held by the coach, club, and the Sport Development Manager. 
  3. All paid coaches must be registered as self-employed and should be prepared to invoice for their coaching hours. 
  4. They will have to register with the university before starting any sessions. Payment cannot be made until they have registered with the university. 
  5. Invoices will be paid within 30 days of invoice date.

Section 8: Club Kit

Sport Brand

The Sport brand has provided a means of unity and a sense of community between all members of the SU. The design for club kits sees the SU penguin logo sitting on a base kit colour of red with dark red stripes for the home kit where the away kit shares the same concept expect with white and black base colours.

Our Supplier

The supplier for the SU club kits is an external company that we have partnered with called The Stevenson Group. They provide quality products at an affordable rate and will be our supplier for this coming year – 2023/24. They also offer a range of non-specific sporting attire that non-competing clubs can make use of to be included within the SU community both on and off campus. 

Our supplier, The Stevenson Group, will also be making an appearance at our Sports Fair this year, which is a great opportunity for your club to come and ask questions about your own club’s kit. 

To view the range of club kit on offer, please visit The Stevenson Group.

Section 9: Student Services

The SU put a strong focus on ensuring there is the correct support in place for SU members throughout the year. With a fresh focus on mental wellbeing in particular, the SU executive has put mechanisms in place to ensure no student feels isolated.

SWITCH 

SWITCH (Student Well-being Initiative Targeting Community Health) is an opportunity for students struggling to get out and about to give sport/exercise a go to promote and improve their mental well-being by becoming active with our ever-growing SU community. This is a key initiative in Student Services that supports students to engage with our sports clubs, gym, and other ISE activities.

The SWITCH initiative works individually with students who are interested to get involved with sports clubs, volunteering for a sports club or simply getting active with exercising but perhaps don’t know where to start. Students may find a range of barriers which stops them from engaging with sports and exercise: motivation, struggles with well-being, confidence, or simply having not knowing what they would like to try and how! SWITCH helps identify these barriers, working collaboratively with each sports clubs dedicated 'Lead Contact' or designated member of the ISE to create a bespoke plan which can include offering student spaces on training sessions, inviting them to club socials or tours of the ISE facilities etc. 

The initiative runs throughout the academic year and our service is open to all students of UOD.

For more information or how your club could offer help to the SWITCH initiative, please get in contact with Liam Quinn.

The Enquiry Centre

The Enquiry Centre offer support and advice covering a variety of areas from university accommodation, ID cards, general well-being, international support/visas, money issues, to opening a bank account, registering with a doctor, study support and careers advice. 

Section 10: Engagement

Student and Club Engagement

In 2022/23 there was a record-breaking number of SU members at 3133 total members. It is fantastic to see so many students engaging with our clubs and the SU want to keep that momentum going this coming year by ensuring every member is receiving the best experience possible both within their club and the SU itself.   

The SU are focusing on running more inclusive events such as such as our Campus Sport sessions. As well as working with Student Services & the Enquiry Centre, the SU have put together a programme of events & training during Committee Conference week to enable your returning club committees to have the resources and knowledge in place to support students with any issue or worry they may have.

Club and SU Engagement

To help engage clubs with the SU, council meetings are held once per month to relay important information to help run the clubs. As well as this, the SU are introducing a form of newsletters to help improve the communication of information. 

  1. Committee Newsletter: A newsletter sent directly to the club email addresses and President/Comms Officer that contains information regarding subjects such as the SU, finance, and transport.
  2. SU Member Newsletter: The Penguin Post is a monthly newsletter sent to all SU members emails that contains SU highlights, club successes and events that are happening both within clubs and the SU. Clubs are asked to submit any news and photos within the first 2 weeks of the month and if selected, will be featured in end of the month newsletter that is published on the last Friday of each month.
  3. SU Buddy Systems: Each year the SU encourages clubs to share their sport with a buddy club they are paired with. This gives the opportunity for clubs to build their inter-club relations and maybe even give rise to students joining other clubs too! If would like to offer your club to the buddy system and fancy trying a different sport, please contact our Campus Sport Officer Harry.
  4. Give it a Go Sessions: Give it a Go sessions are designed to allow students (of all years, not just freshers) to come along and try out sports that are on offer at the University of Dundee Sports Union before they matriculate with a club. Clubs can run their Give it a Go sessions up until the 1st October. After this date, members must matriculate with their desired clubs, which allows them to use all club equipment, coaching and facilities including the Institute of Sport & Exercise, swimming pool, tennis courts and riverside pitches.

Section 11: Code of Conduct

The University of Dundee Sports Union is committed to promoting and supporting student groups to run their activities safely, inclusively and responsibly.

Everyone involved in University of Dundee Sport has a responsibility for setting standards, making sure there is equal access and opportunity for all and that fairness and respect is upheld on all occasions. This Sports Code of Conduct allows the University of Dundee to uphold its values of trust, integrity, responsibility and equality and allows the University to deal with any breaches of conduct with a consistent approach.

Code of Conduct Outlines the behaviour expected from all individuals engaged in University sport. All individuals have a responsibility to act and behave according to the highest standards to ensure that the reputation of the University of Dundee is beyond reproach.

University of Dundee Sports Clubs are affiliated to the University through the University Sports Union. All students representing a University Sports Club come under these regulations. These are in addition to the standards of behaviour set by the University. It is expected that all involved in the University of Dundee Sports Union will adopt the Code of Conduct and understand that any breaches of this code will be dealt with through the appropriate disciplinary procedures.

Code of Conduct

This code is designed to ensure the highest possible standards of conduct and behaviour of all University representatives. This code applies to all SU members and affiliated clubs, including all persons officially appointed to any team or individual competing in an event.

The code of conduct applies when travelling to and from competition and training, and at all other times where sporting and social events are organised under the umbrella of the University, the Sports Unions or constituent SU clubs.

The Sports Code of Conduct advises all SU members on their expected behaviour. The purpose of the

code is to protect members and others potentially affected by their actions.

All SU members must:

  • respect the rights dignity and values of others.
  • be fair, considerate and honest.
  • take responsibility for their actions.
  •  treat everyone equally and sensitively regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnic origin, culture, social background, sexual orientation, religious belief, political affiliation or any other personal characteristic.
  • not encourage or pressure others in to acting against the code
  • not be involved in any form of initiation practice.
  • maintain high standards of personal behaviour at all times.
  • conduct themselves in a reasonable manner relating to language and gesture.
  • refrain from any form of intimidation and harassment of others.
  • refrain from any behaviour that may bring the University, Sports Union or the Club in to disrepute.
  • not distribute, or be involved in the distribution of, material on any social media platform that can be deemed offensive, abusive, threatening, humiliating, degrading or intimidating.
  • not be unduly intoxicated at any event or social function organised under the umbrella of the Club, Sports Union or the University.
  • not use any illegal drug whether sporting or recreational when representing the Club, Sports Union or the University.
  • not act in an unlawful manner.
  • understand the repercussions of any breaches of this Code of Conduct.

While this code of conduct sets out the types of conduct that will not be accepted by the University, this list is not exhaustive and any other acts deemed by the Director of Sport and Exercise and the Sports Union President to be unacceptable may be treated in the same way as any other breach of the code.