Scottish Region


SUS SPRING UPDATE

It has been a very busy period, both in terms of planning and delivery, the highlights of which are summarised below.

SEMINAR
The first SUS Christmas Seminar was expertly hosted by Filippo and his staff at RGU on December 15th. A comprehensive report of that day is available in the attached seminar report document.

OFFICE LOCATION

Following a tender process managed by SUS Exec, it has been decided that the permanent office base for SUS will be at 3rd Floor, 48 Pleasance, Edinburgh. A generous offer from Edinburgh includes access to a fully equipped suite of offices and preferential use of a meeting room alongside a staff kitchen and WC on the same floor of the building. This will be an excellent home for SUS and should be ready in time for the permanent staff in March/ April of this year.

STAFF RECRUITMENT
The two professional officer posts are currently being advertised through the Edinburgh University HR website, Leisure Opportunities Magazine and through the BUSA, UCS and sportscotland websites. The closing date for applications for both the Sports Manager and Executive Officer posts is 24th Feb, with interviews scheduled to take place in on March 9th. Over thirty applications have been received so far and this highlights the attraction of these two positions.

CORPORATE ID

Following some feedback at the Seminar, the logo has been tweaked slightly to incorporate a bolder shade of green. SUS has worked hard with Edinburgh based design consultants Shaw Marketing and Design to generate sport specific logos and alternative formats for general use. A summary of this work and guidelines for onward use of the brand is included as an appendix to this update. Any member wishing to access the original artwork for further use is asked to contact the SUS office.

BUNAC
SUS is very close to announcing confirmation of a partnership arrangement with BUNAC. This partnership will identify areas of mutual interest to the two organisations and provide broader awareness of each, with the aim being to provide greater opportunities for students. The announcement will also confirm that new resources (financial and otherwise) will be brought into the student sport sector as a result of this partnership.

BUSINESS PLAN
An outline business plan has been submitted to sportscotland for their consideration at a senior management meeting later this month. It is hoped that the plan will allow sportscotland to release new funds directly into SUS for the delivery of sport, physical activity and professional development within Scotland's universities. It is also hoped that sportscotland and other partner organisations will be encouraged to work more closely with the university sector on the back of the creation of SUS. It is felt that much progress has already been made to that end. Please note that the business plan (attached) is purposefully written with a sportscotland slant. The broader (and final) SUS business plan will follow a different format and will be for more internal use.

SUS CONFERENCE

The first annual SUS Conference is set to take place in Edinburgh on the 8th and 9th June 2006. Details of the programme are being worked up by an organising committee at Edinburgh University in close collaboration with the PDC. It is hoped that the seminar will attract a big turnout of people involved in SUS sport from Club level through to AU President and Department staff level. It is also hoped that there will be a strong attendance from SDC's and other volunteers. The Conference will incorporate a variety of themes, encapsulating every area of our work - in truth there will be something for everyone!

SUS COMMITTEES
Each of the SUS committees continues to work hard on your behalf to put solid and modern systems in place for the future management of Sport and Physical activity in our sector. Much of the work of these committees is encapsulated within the second half of the Seminar Review document and so will not be repeated here. However, should anyone wish to see minutes of the meetings of any of the SUS committees, please do not hesitate to contact the SUS office. The minutes of the most recent Exec committee meeting are attached for your reference. Finally, please feel free to circulate this message on to other colleagues within University sport in Scotland who may not have received it directly. It is hoped that you continue to share the sense of optimism for the future which has underlined SUS' work to date. SUS looks forward to updating you on developments again in the near future.

Stew Fowlie
SUS Acting Sports Manager
c/o Centre for Sport & Exercise
46 Pleasance,
Edinburgh
EH8 9TJ
0131 650 9283 07903 891 497