Sign ups have opened for the SSS Festive Gathering 2024!

Taking place at City of Glasgow College on Wednesday 4^th December, expect a packed day of learning and connecting with the SSS Network, sprinkled with some festive cheer.

We’re also lucky enough to be joined by partners Decathlon who’ll be leading an activity session for the group, supported by the College’s Active Campus Coordinator Gregor Cree.

Sign ups are open for all members, partners and external delegates through the link below:

Festive Gathering Sign Ups

Once again we’re keeping a lid on costs for the event with members able to take advantage of the best prices:

Members: £15

Partners & Governing Bodies: £20

Externals: £25

New for this year, individuals can now sign up to five people up at a time – hopefully easing the burden on those staff members responsible for registering their entire team!

Sign-ups will remain open until 12pm Wednesday 27th November.

All enquiries related to Festive Gathering can be directed to our Learning & People Coordinator Jo Foster.

The Line Up

Following morning introductions, we’ll be kicking off the day with University of St. Andrews Director of Sport Stephen Stewart who’ll be discussing the current landscape of student sport following his summer roadshow. This will include time for an audience discussion.

Fitting for our return to Glasgow, Stuart Turner from Purple Moon will be giving us the inside story of how he led Scotland’s 2026 Commonwealth Games bid, and the opportunities coming up to be involved in the event.

During the lunch break, our partners Decathlon will be running an indoor activity session for participants, supported by City of Glasgow’s Active Campus Coordinator Gregor Cree. Those not participating will also have the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and a break.

We kick off the afternoon session with a series of breakout rooms hosted by SSS and our members. You can choose from:

Kirsten Mullen & Eve Thompson: ‘Thinking Beyond the Walls of Sports Facilities’

We’re delighted to have Kirsten and Eve from University of Stirling Sport leading a discussion on how to increase sports programme participation, with a direct link to improving student wellbeing.

Natalie Dott: ‘Building Community Partnerships’

Glasgow Clyde College’s Active Campus Coordinator Natalie will be on hand to talk about their great partnership work beyond the college, including with Partick Thistle.

Ian Lowe: ‘Making Facility Access Free’

Hear from RGU’s Head of Sport who will be discussing their initiative to make gym access free for all students at the university. He’ll talk through the programme’s impact, and whether it can be a sustainable approach for institutions moving forward.

Chris Purdie & Sean Berthelsen: SSS Comps Catch-Up

Our dynamic Comps team will have a space dedicated to bringing together fixture admins and other competitions-oriented institution staff to round up semester 1, and look ahead to 2025.

Once back in the main room, we’ll turn to Chris Gibbons – Director of Inside Inclusion – who has already been working with a number of British governing bodies and partners, including SSS. We look forward to him introducing the Moving to Inclusion Framework, and how institutions can apply it in their own settings.

In a thought-provoking finale, we’re delighted to be joined by Don McIntyre from Glasgow School of Art who will be discussing his project on reimagining student sport. This is sure to generate plenty of discussion and provides an insightful end to the day.