Who is EUOC for?
EUOC is an all-inclusive orienteering club who welcome any Edinburgh student with open arms, regardless of experience, background, or ability. However, we understand the barriers that many students face in joining a sports club. EUOC is committed to breaking down these obstacles and is working hard to ensure that our club truly is accessible to all – we ensure that our claims of being an inclusive club are followed up by actions.
This page is a space for those who feel that orienteering is inaccessible to them, or those from a discriminated community and are looking for information about how EUOC is a safe and accommodating club for them.
If you would like to get in touch with our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer for a chat/meeting they would love to hear from you! This year’s officer is Kat (she/her), so send an email to If you need any support from Kat then send her an email at wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com , or speak to her at training!
Dealing With Discrimination
We do not tolerate any discrimination in our club. We are all equal and deserve to be treated as such, without microaggressions, exclusion or prejudice. We take any form of discrimination seriously and have created a form to report discrimination within our community, found below:
https://forms.gle/soofe7kenxCXCGc17
Whilst we hope that we will never need to use this, we believe it is better to be proactive rather than reactive to these situations. The form is only accessible to our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer, who will then deal with the issue appropriately. You can either keep it anonymous or leave your name if you would like to discuss this further. If you would like to report discrimination from our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer then either use the form or email our captain directly (captain@euoc.gmail.com).
Disability
Millions of people in the UK have a disability, whether that is a physical or ‘hidden’ disability they all impact a person’s ability to participate in sport. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in orienteering so if you have a disability please get in touch at wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com for more information about how we can adapt our sessions/trips/socials for you! You will be put in touch with our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer who will discuss options with you and ensure we are an accessible club to you.
Our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer is currently working on adding Trail-O events to our ‘Big Weekend’ of races in January. Trail-O is a type of orienteering which focuses on technical ability rather than fitness & speed, making it accessible to everyone, including those with a physical disability. Keep an eye out on our social media pages for more details!
LGBTQI+
Non-Binary:
We understand that being a non-binary athlete can be a constant battle in having to conform to the binary nature of sport.
When buying a EUOC membership no gender options are provided – it is a one size fits all purchase. SU membership options are more detailed and they are currently working on creating a more inclusive membership sign-up.
Our Thursday night orienteering sessions (training & biweekly winter events) aren’t gendered; everyone completes a course which they want to do based on distance/difficulty. Similarly, our Tuesday night interval sessions are of mixed gender. We have limited control over non-binary categories in races we don’t organise, however for our ‘Big Weekend’ races in January we are working on a way to be as inclusive as possible – watch this space!
If you have any questions or concerns then please do get in touch at wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com. We will do our best to ensure you feel comfortable and included in our sessions and trips.
Transgender:
There is no place for transphobia in EUOC. We fully affirm that trans women are women & trans men are men – we respect the right which we all have to freedom of gender identity and expression.
If you have any worries about joining our club, please get in email wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com to ensure you feel comfortable coming to our training/trips/socials.
British Orienteering (BOF) have a transgender policy linked below, which is helpful for those looking to compete in wider orienteering competitions. As a club EUOC stands with those who are transgender, so this policy is only necessary in events out of our control. Get in touch if you would like our Wellbeing & Inclusion Officer to help break down what this policy means for you & query any confusions with BOF on your behalf.
https://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/keydocuments
Racism
EUOC stands with those from BIPOC communities. We recognise the discrimination, biases and microaggressions BIPOC people experience and we do not tolerate any form of racism.
Our club is open to all ethnicities and if there is anything we can do to make you feel more welcome or safe then we would love to hear from you.
We are looking at ways to proactively include those from BIPOC communities over the coming year, so more information will be posted regarding that in the future.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV)
GBV is a harmful act directed at an individual based on their gender, and includes a large number of acts such as sexual harassment, abuse, stalking, grooming and stereotypes. Anyone can be affected by this type of violence however research shows that GBV mostly affects women.
The nature of our sport means that our athletes have to get to different locations around Edinburgh each week in the evenings – we understand that not everyone feels comfortable in doing this alone. On our weekly training posts (on our training Facebook page) our coach will write a group meeting point & time for anyone wanting to jog to training together. This is also a nice way to meet some people in the club so win-win!
If you are still concerned then please do get in touch and we will make more specific arrangements to ensure you feel happy travelling to our training/socials.
Financial Hurdles
We understand that participating in sport is a privilege that not everyone has. There are many financial hurdles in joining our club that we are trying to address.
We have a variety of club kit that we can lend out to our members, such as compasses & head torches. Speak to our coach at training about this, or email wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com for more details.
We are working on reduced memberships and financial support for members who need it, but if you need help/advice in the meantime then please get in touch and we will do our best to support your involvement in our club.
Activities & Sports Participation Grant:
This is a grant run by the Student’s Association in place to support students who need financial help in joining and taking part in Sports Union activities. Students can apply for a grant of up to £200 and this can help pay for membership, kit, competition fees, travel costs, etc.
The grant is however only for UK undergraduate students (or postgraduate students who were) in receipt of a UoE Access Scholarship.
More details can be found at this link:
Medical Conditions
There are many medical conditions which may be a barrier to participating in sports, such as diabetes, epilepsy or mental health issues. These conditions can be a source of worry for athletes and present some logistical problems which can put people off joining a club such as EUOC. We are working hard to make EUOC a space for all and will do our best to ensure you feel comfortable joining in with our sessions, socials and trips.
There is always a solution, so please get in touch at wellbeing.inclusion.euoc@gmail.com and we will work out some answers & adaptations of our activities for you – nothing is too silly or too small if it is impacting your ability to join in with our club.
Religion
Details coming soon.
EUOC Legends 