Imperial Athletes Captain's Handbook

CAPTAIN’S HANDBOOK

WELCOME TO IMPERIAL ATHLETES.

Imperial Athletes serves as the hub for College sports clubs. It is a joint effort between Move Imperial and Imperial College Union, offering a comprehensive range of services:

• Co-ordinating fixtures

• Securing funding

• Enhancing club development and training

• Facilitating Scholarship applications

• Managing event arrangements

• Overseeing intramural sports

This handbook has been crafted to provide assistance and guidance in your role. Don’t hesitate to reach out whenever needed; our team is dedicated to providing support

Captain’s Handbook

Who’s Who At Imperial Athletes

WHO’S WHO AT IMPERIAL ATHLETES

Here is a quick summary of who to turn to for support and what they can help you with:

Nick

n.murkett@imperial.ac.uk Competition administration (fixtures, bookings, BUCS, LUSL etc.)

Melissa Steingass m.steingass@imperial.ac.uk Club development (development plans, budgeting)

James Perry james.perry@imperial.ac.uk PlayerLayer, Scholarships, Performance sport

Andrew Evans andrew.evans1@imperial.ac.uk Rugby Development

Imperial Athletes imperialathletes@imperial. ac.uk General club activity or enquires relating to Move support

Captain’s Handbook

IMPERIAL ATHLETES AFFILIATION

Before joining a club, members will need to purchase their Imperial Athletes affiliation. All members must purchase the one-off, £10 annual membership. The Imperial Athletes membership includes:

Affiliation to a National Governing Body of Sport (NGB), if required to compete in BUCS. This can be checked by reviewing the BUCS Sport-Specific Affiliation

BUCS and LUSL affiliation (not team entry)

Entry to Imperial Leagues, our intramural Sports Programme

Access to the Club Development Fund

Imperial Athletes will refund the cost of your NGB affiliation if it’s required for competing in BUCS

CLUB TIMELINE FOR THE YEAR

September

• Confirming and signing facility allocation agreements

• Risk assessment approval

• Captains and Committee training sessions

• Pre-season bookings

• Confirmation of Performance Teams

• Club Development meetings commence

• Imperial Badges scheme opens

• Club Development funding opens

November

• This Imperial Girl Can Week (6-10 November)

• Varsity application deadline

• Movember

January

• BUCS fixtures commence for Term 2

• Imperial Leagues start for Term 2

March

• BUCS Leagues and Cups end

• Imperial Varsity (15 & 16 March)

• Charges for facility allocation and transport

May

• Sports Awards shortlisting and voting

• Facility requests for Term 3

October

• Sports trials and Give it a Go sessions

• Welcome Sports Fair

• Imperial Leagues commence

• BUCS starts

• Black History Month

• World Mental Health Day (10th)

• Rugby Inner Warrior Event

December

• Facility allocations for Term 2

• Deadline for Club Development Plans

• Annual Budgeting process

February

• BUCS Big Wednesday

• BUCS Nationals

April

• Team entries open for next academic year

• Sports Awards nomination forms open

June

• Sports Awards

• Imperial Leagues one-off events and festivals

• Clubs invoiced for any additional charges

July

• Facility allocation requests for the new year

• Handover processes

IMPERIAL LEAGUES

Imperial Leagues is the home of social sport at Imperial, based in convenient locations on or near our South Kensington campus. Our intramural fixtures are spread across the week, run throughout the academic year and are open to all members of College with an Imperial Athletes membership. The £10 membership enables you to join all our leagues, one-off events and festivals

You can enter the leagues with course friends, housemates, colleagues, a club team or even as an individual and we will strive to find you a team - everyone is welcome to join

Want to gain coaching a referee qualifications?

By becoming an Imperial Leagues Ambassador, we will support you financially in achieving development upskills in your chosen sport

Volunteering your time to support the intramural programme

How to sign up

All you need to do is purchase your Imperial Athletes membership and then you will be able to add the free Imperial Leagues product to your account, and that’s it!

Imperial Leagues Equipment

We provide all the equipment and officials for your games

Imperial Leagues Ambassadors

Interested in gaining new skills in leadership, coaching and officiating?

Join Imperial Leagues as an Ambassador and Imperial Athletes will help fund courses in your chosen sport

Ambassadors help facilitate our intramural sport leagues. You will be required to liaise with Imperial Athletes staff and help recruit members into programmes

You must have a valid Imperial Athletes membership to participate in any of our

Pickleball Monday | 12:00 - 14:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

Indoor Cricket Friday | 16:00 - 18:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

3v3 Basketball Saturday | 12:00 - 14:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

Touch Rugby One-off events | Hyde Park

Badminton Thursday | 12:00 - 14:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

Women’s Indoor Football Thursday | 14:00 - 16:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

5-a-side Football (Indoor) Friday | 12:00 - 14:00 | Ethos Sports Centre

5-a-side Football (Outdoor) Thursday | 17:00 - 19:00 | Hyde Park Will2Win

BUCS AND LUSL ADMINISTRATION

BUCS Fixtures

All schedules for BUCS and LUSL fixtures, along with timings, venues, and participating teams, will be accessible on BUCS Play

For BUCS fixtures, the timing and venue of games are established by Imperial Athletes. Proposed changes must be communicated through your Sports Administrator at n.murkett@imperial. ac.uk . This step is crucial to ensure fixtures comply with BUCS regulations

Regarding LUSL fixtures, it falls upon the team captain to arrange the venue and schedule, which should then be uploaded onto BUCS Play. If adjustments to LUSL fixtures are desired, you have the autonomy to manage this directly

Responsibility for organizing referees and officials for both BUCS and LUSL fixtures lies with the respective student clubs and captains

Should you have enquiries about BUCS or

LUSL, your primary point of contact should be the Imperial Athletes staff. Additionally, if you require further details, you can refer to the BUCS Rules and Regulations which includes the sport-specific regulations, available online

All the facilities you use and play on for BUCS fixtures are booked and administered by Imperial Athletes - so there is no need to worry about this

LUSL

Whilst LUSL is almost entirely studentled, Imperial Athletes is always on hand to support

If your team wishes to use the pitches at Harlington for a fixture, please email n.murkett@imperial.ac.uk with the following details:

- Date

- Time

- Pitch (space)

- Teams involved

Similarly, if you need to cancel a pitch

booking make sure these are emailed to Nick, this allows us enough time to communicate changes to space allocations to Grounds Staff. Please be mindful that pitch cancellations can impact on our on the day staffing requirements and other clubs bookings too, so make sure you cancel your bookings as soon as possible.

For unforeseen cancellations that are last minute or on the day, for example at weekends or outside of work hours, please email grounds directly Brian b.lee@imperial.ac.uk

At Harlington, we have the following:

4x grass football pitches

3x grass rugby pitches

2

lacrosse pitches

1

2

2

1

SPACE ALLOCATION & FACILITIES

Your club’s previous space allocations do not guarantee the same allocations for the 2023/2024 season

Term 1 July

Complete space allocation request form August

Move Imperial to confirm space allocations with clubs

Clubs submit Risk Assessment through ICU eActivities portal September

Clubs sign and return booking confirmation

Club’s risk assessment is approved by ICU

Move Imperial invoice ICU for club facilities space. Clubs will be charged for facility usage for term 1 and 2 during term 1

Any adhoc space requests for Move

Imperial spaces will need to be sent to imperialathletes@imperial.ac.uk

ICU share risk Assessments with Move Imperial to periodically review. Move Imperial provide feedback to club if any adjustments to their Risk Assessment is required. ICU approve Risk Assessment after Move have reviewed them.

Clubs that train at Ethos will need to ensure that members have purchased the Student Basic Membership as a minimum. This eill allow members through the front gates. Please communicate to your clubs that members will need to sign up to the Imperial College Leisure Hub to add the Student Basic Membership to their profile. Members can then use their College ID cards on the front gates to access the building

Alumni and guests will not be able to add the Student Basic Membership so clubs will need to ring reception for Move staff to let these members in

Cost of booking Ethos spaces

Clubs will be charged each term for their facility usage. Make sure your club has budgeted for this expense when managing your budget throughout the year. The total cost of your facility hire can be found in your booking agreement

Clubs that wish to make additional bookings at this facility will need to email n.murkett@ imperial.ac.uk with the details of their requirements.

There is no charge for clubs to use this facility.

Harlington Training Transport

Clubs that train at Harlington can reserved a specific number of seats on the coaches that travel out during the week. Seat number allocations can not be amended mid term, but there is opportunity for clubs to amend their seat allocations at the start of term 2

The service stops at two pick up points, first at Beit and the second at Hammersmith bus stop. The first service runs at 17:00 and the second service runs at 19:00. The coach will also make return drop offs too

Financing Training Transport

Imperial Athletes subsidise the total cost per term to keep this transport option affordable for clubs and ultimately help to reduce costs onto your members.

Clubs will be charged each term for the cost of your training transport. If you are unsure on the termly costs, please email imperialathletes@imperial.ac.uk we can provide a breakdown for you. Remember

that clubs will be charged for transport each term, make sure you have enough budget

We recommend that you create a training transport shop product to manage these costs, if members are paying for this transport options themselves or utilising your club’s reserves to further subsidise these costs

BUCS Transport

Clubs can either opt in or opt out of BUCS transport. Clubs that opt in will sign a SLA with Imperial Athletes. This means that Imperial Athletes will organise club transport that is outside of TFL Zone 6

Imperial Athletes will contact coach companies directly to arrange logistics and timings. Your club will be charged for any BUCS travel - so remember to budget for this cost throughout the year

In some instance minibuses can be booked for teams away matches if

there is an approved minibus driver in your team. Clubs can put members on minibus tests, these can be arranged through Imperial College Union. It’s worth noting that for 2023/2024 there will be a reduced number of minibuses available compared to previous seasons, so it is advised to look at other transport options

To keep costs affordable for clubs, Imperial Athletes will try to organise away fixtures to allow different Imperial teams playing at the same location to share coaches and split the costs

In the case that your club participates in events or single competitions, you have the option to submit transportation requests to Imperial Athletes, provided that they are submitted at least 14 days prior to the event. While booking coaches might not be feasible in certain situations, we will collaborate with you to explore alternative solutions

Register for BUCSplay - all members must be registered at the start of the season

Allocate Team Captains – must be completed before your first game

Attend the Team’s Captain’s training

Re-affiliate – make sure you affiliate to your Sport’s National Governing Body if required.

- BUCS sport specification

CLUB DEVELOPMENT

Club Development Plans

Are working documents that are annually updated by committee members to set out the vision for your club’s future, its objectives and the actions to achieve them

Each club will have the opportunity to book a 1-2-1 Club Development meeting to discuss and review your plan for the year

Development plans should be completed before your club completes their Annual Budget, to allow your Club Development Plan and Annual Budget to align for the following year

Book in your Club Development meeting by emailing m.steingass@imperial.ac.uk

Imperial Athletes Badges

Our Imperial Athletes Badge Accreditation scheme is a recognition and rewards programme for sport’s clubs demonstrating good practice. Achieving Imperial Athletes badges is a great way

to attract and retain members, as they support clubs to become stronger, better managed and provide more enjoyable sport and physical activity experiences

There are four Imperial Athletes Badges clubs can apply for:

- Beginner Friendly Club

- Female Participation Club

- Sustainable Sports Club

- High Performance Club

Clubs can nominate themselves to an Imperial Athletes Badge by completing the application form which is open from 1 September to 31 May

Before applying, make sure you read the Guidance and Information Sheet as your club will need to evidence how you meet the criteria

Club Development Fund

Funding requests should be tied to the goals and initiatives outlined in your Club Development Plan or should contribute to your club’s pursuit of an Imperial Athletes Badge

Maximum funding per club per year is £1000. Clubs can submit multiple funding applications annually, but the accumulative funding across all applications cannot exceed £1000

The Club Development Fund is for new projects and programmes to develop your club such as coaching courses

Funding applications are open from 1 September to 30 June via the application form

CAMPAIGNS & EVENTS

OCTOBER 2023

Date Campaign/event Details

Whole Month Black History Month Shining a spotlight on black athletes and their success both within Move Imperial and internationally.

Tuesday 10 October World Mental Health Day Highlight the important role that physical activity can play in supporting our mental health.

NOVEMBER 2023

Date Campaign/event Details

w/c 6 November Imperial Girls Can A campaign to encourage and increase the number of female students who are physically active; by providing more opportunities to try something new

Whole Month Movember Raising awareness for for mental health, suicide prevention, prostate and testicular cancer

If your club is interested in getting involved, email imperialathletes@imperial.ac.uk

VARSITY

The Imperial Varsity

The Imperial Varsity is our annual sporting event between Imperial College clubs and Imperial College Medic clubs

This year’s Varsity will be held on 15 & 16 March

How can your club get involved?

The Ethos takeover will be on Friday 15 March and the Harlington outdoor sports will be on Saturday 16 March

All clubs are welcome to apply to be involved in The Imperial Varsity by completing the online form. Varsity application open on 1 September and close on 20 November

We ask clubs to apply to take part as this helps with event logisitics and facility planning

Fancy being the 2024 headliner?

Headline sports get extra media coverage leading up to Varsity, including

Captain photoshoots, team profiles on the Varsity marketing, team write ups included in the official Imperial Varsity Programme and, most importantly, their matches are scheduled at the end of the day, drawing in the biggest crowds

Clubs can apply to be the headline sports for either Friday or Saturday when completing their application form. Clubs will then be shortlisted, with the headline sports being decided by student vote

Varsity Pledge

I, and my team, recognise that we all have a part to play in creating a world where everyone, everywhere, and in any sport can be themselves

I, and my team, pledge that:

We stand proud in representing our club in the Varsity Competition

We abide the laws of the game, bringing good sportsmanship and respect towards the game, opponents, and spectators

We will be respectful towards the competitors, officials and staff supporting the event

We will be proactive in encouraging an inclusionary culture within sport at Imperial and beyond

We will create an environment in our club where all forms of discrimination are not tolerated, and we will speak out when we hear or see discrimination taking place

We will make this Varsity the most inclusive yet. We will use this time as a platform to build change

SPORTS AWARDS

Each year we hold the Imperial Sports Awards to celebrate the sporting achievements of clubs, teams and individuals

Club members can nominate club, teams, individuals or coaches for an award. All nominations will then pass through our sports awards nomination committee with supporting evidence. The winners of each category will then be revealed on the night

Imperial Sport Awards categories:

1. Coach of the Year

The contribution of a coach; whether they have grown, sustained or progressed the student club and its sport

2. Outstanding Contribution

An individual that has gone above and beyond for their sport or physical activity at Imperial. This individual may not necessarily be in the first team or participate at elite level in their sport. But they have been integral to the functioning of their club

3. Student Club of the Year

Recognise a student club that has made an impact on the Imperial College environment

4. Participation

Someone that has shown exceptional dedication to a recreational sport programme. This could be someone who has provided coaching, led sessions, helped to develop their teams or any combination of the above

5. Team of the Year

Any team within a sports club that has shown sporting excellence over the season

6. Sportsman of the Year

An outstanding performance of a male athlete representing the college at the highest level

7. Sportswoman of the Year

An outstanding performance of a female athlete representing the college at the highest level

8. Sports Club Member of the Year

A club member that has shown exceptional dedication to their sport, going above and beyond their expected level of performance

9. Rising Star

A student in the first year of membership to a club, who has shown dedication, enthusiasm, and passion throughout and have shown themselves to be a promising club member

10. Imperial Athlete Badge Recognition

We recognise and celebrate all those clubs that have achieved an Imperial Athletes Badge over the course of the year

Tickets for 2024

Club will be able to reserve tables ahead of general sale. Imperial Athletes will raise an Internal Charge to your club account for the cost of the table and member can purchase tickets from the club. Single tickets will still be available to purchase online.

If you need any further assistance please contact m.steingass@imperial.ac.uk