Hi, I’m Edd Keeler a fourth-year Sport Science student.
I’ve been heavily involved in sport throughout my degree. I played American Football for my first three years and currently play Water Polo. This passion for sport led me to Air3 Radio where I started as a guest on the sports show and have now become the host. Over the past year, I have become involved in the reboot of Bleed Green TV.
Why I'm running!
- Mental health
- Development of teams and connections with societies
- Accessibility and Inclusion
- Bringing teams together
What I plan to do!
During my research into how I could improve mental health on campus, I found two key statistics on a report by BUCS. 1 in 4 people experience mental health difficulties each year and “29% of students experience clinical levels of psychological distress associated with increased risk of anxiety, depression and more. This reinforced why it is so important for us to tackle mental health as a Sports Union.
I would implement further advertising of mental health first aid courses with a particular emphasis on the mental health and wellbeing officers for clubs being strongly encouraged to attend as well as any other member who wants to make a positive impact.
Along with these courses, I would support all the student-led mental health campaigns from the Green Ribbon and Movember campaigns to encouraging Sports Union members to engage with the recently created Nightline service.
I would also run a campaign aimed at increasing participation in casual sports and recreational activity.
I would like to improve the accessibility of sport at Stirling with a focus on two key groups, the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities. Most importantly I would not just sit in my office and guess the problems. I believe in a proactive and discussion-based solution to problems.
For increased LGBTQ+ inclusivity I would work alongside the LGBTQ+ society and develop an inclusivity workshop to increase awareness of microaggressions and their impact, how to be a proactive ally and why gender-neutral safe spaces are important amongst other issues that have been raised.
For increased accessibility for people with disabilities, I would discuss the best ways to reduce and break down barriers to sport for this community. I will also look to start an Accessible Sports Society.
I would love to work with teams of all sizes to help them grow and develop. I would listen to every club's issues.
I hope that through my time with Bleed Green TV I have become a friendly recognisable face (/hairstyle) around the campus and teams would be comfortable approaching me for help. I would also use my contacts in the media societies to form a working alliance that will benefit both sports clubs and societies.
Finally, I love to watch our teams in action and I would like to create an environment with higher support at home fixtures. I would do this by improving how fixtures are announced.
Use your head Vote for Edd