What’s up Outdoors Club!
I’d like to cordially welcome you back to grounds and to the very first (FIRST!) ODC email of the 2023-2024 school year! I couldn’t be *more* stoked to see all of your beautiful faces again and for the absolutely epic year to come.
Annual reminder of how these emails work (aka the sections—read ’em all!):
Announcements → Gear Info → Trip Resources → Adventure of the Week → Social Media
~ Sarah (your new secretary… ooooo)
ANNOUCEMENTS:
First Party of the Year THIS WEEKEND!
- Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement.
GEAR ROOMS RETURN!!! (find the info in the gear section down below…)
On that Note: BRING BACK YOUR GEAR!
- Did you borrow something this spring and forget to bring it back? Maybe sometime this summer? Well, here’s your opportunity (and friendly reminder) to return your club gear to a gear room this week or email the officers (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) to schedule a return time.
- THIS ESPECIALLY APPLIES TO CLIMBING GEAR—where has it gone?
- Please return climbing gear ASAP. We want to do a quick inventory and inspection of our technical gear—mainly ropes, draws, and trad pieces—sometime next week. Please reach out if you have any gear of this sort but are unable to check it in by then. If gear is checked out through next week, we may put a hold on check outs until everything is returned.
Change to Climbing Gear Checkouts
- Helmets, shoes, harnesses, chalk, belay devices, & crash pads can be checked out by anyone, but any gear past this (such as ropes, draw, trad pieces, anchors) needs to receive approval from one of our Climbing Sport Advisors, Melu (alt7yjh@virginia.edu) or Abby (als6qm@virginia.edu) before it’s allowed to leave the gear room.
Gear Requests!
- From Mitch: “Hello gear gremlins! If you have items of outdoor gear that you would like to see purchased by the club, please fill out the form below!”
- Google Form OR Microsoft Form
Are YOU in the GroupMe?
- Join it here!
Officer Meeting Notes
- Here are the notes from our latest officer meeting (8/20).
GEAR RESOURCES AND POLICY
This Year’s Gear Room Schedule:
Mondays @ 12pm — Max St. Clair
Tuesdays @ 2:15pm — Mitch Lang
Wednesdays @ 8:30am — Ed Aten
Thursdays @ 5pm — Evelyn Needham
Fridays @ 3:15pm — Renee Erickson
If none of these times work for you, please email the officers outdoors-officers@virginia.edu at least 24 hours in advance to schedule a separate time to be let into the gear room. Please only do this if you really can’t make the gear room times, not just because you don’t feel like it or didn’t plan ahead.
You can stop by the gear room to check out or return gear and be reimbursed at any of the times listed above! Officers remain at the gear room only for as long as people are checking in/out gear (usually about 20-25 minutes). You may also purchase ODC t-shirts, hoo rags, patches, stickers, and more at the gear room!
MISC. GEAR INFO:
- Before returning gear, refer to the GEAR CLEANING DOC!
- If you return damaged, dirty, or incomplete gear, you will jeopardize your ability to check out gear in the future. It is your responsibility to return your gear in the condition you received it.
- Please refer to our reimbursement policy here.
- You can check our gear inventory here.
- Want to check out water sports gear or a mountain bike?
- Please email the officers at outdoors-officers@virginia.edu. They are stored at separate locations. We ask that you give at least 24 hours notice.
- Gear is due one week from when it is checked out unless renewed by an officer at a gear room. Keeping gear past its due date is a UVA Honor Offense. Club trips have priority access to gear.
Directions to the Gear Room:
- Start at Echols Dorm → go right on McCormick → turn right on Alderman Rd → take a left on Leake Drive → walk to the end of the road (there are several buildings and parking on either side) → pass a picnic table on the right → keep going! → walk straight to the first big maintenance building directly ahead → walk behind the building on the left side (if it feels like you maybe shouldn’t be there, you’re in the right place) → walk up the stairs → End: knock on the door!
- Map to Gear Room
TRIP RESOURCES AND REMINDERS
Leading Trips:
To become a trip leader, thoroughly read the Trip Leader Manual (resources page of the website) and send the officers an email (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) letting them you know you have done so. They will then activate you on the website! Alternatively, come to a Trip Leader Workshop, lead by the officers several times each semester and posted on the website.
As a reminder, climbing, caving, mountain biking, and whitewater trips have special rules to lead! To learn more about types of trips and to become an approved trip leader for the sports listed above, feel free to contact the club’s Sport Advisors (emails can soon!).
- Climbing:
- Melu (alt7yjh@virginia.edu)
- Abby (als6qm@virginia.edu)
- Caving
- Renee (rle6juc@virginia.edu)
- Aidan
- Biking
- Max Titov
- Hiking/Backpacking
- Grace (gag4jaz@virginia.edu)
- Ed (eba4ksx@virginia.edu)
- Water Sports
- Mitch – All (mcl2hxw@virginia.edu)
Jade – Paddleboarding (jma9x@virginia.edu)
Marion – Kayaking & Rafting (mtd6tx@virginia.edu)
- Mitch – All (mcl2hxw@virginia.edu)
If you have questions about how to lead trips, refer to the Leading Trips pages under Resources on the club website.
Want to lead a trip for an under-represented group in the outdoors? Lead an Affinity Trip! See the link for details and guidelines.
Absences:
- Please be aware that if you are joined on a trip, and you do not show up, or you drop out at the last minute, you are depriving another member of a spot on that trip.
- No-shows and last-minute absences not only hurt trip attendance, but they also make logistics more complicated.
- If a member is reported for two absences, trip leaders are permitted to take this into account when moving people off wait lists.
Sexual Harassment and Equity Reporting:
- Outdoors at UVA is committed to providing a safe and welcoming space for everyone to enjoy the outdoors. If you feel you or another have experienced sexual or gender-based violence or misconduct at the hands of another club member, you can report the misconduct here.
- If you feel you or another have experienced harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. at the hands of another club member, you can report the misconduct here.
- Outdoors at UVA’s Sexual Misconduct policy can be found on our Resources webpage and is linked here. Our policy for harassment and discrimination is here.
ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK!!!
No AOTW this week! Submit next week for a chance to be featured!
- How to be featured:
- Each week we’ll feature a different adventure that happened within the previous 7 days. To be featured, send us (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) a couple of pictures of you and your pals adventurin’ and a little blurb about what you did!
- We’re stoked to see what y’all get up to, but PLEASE (please!) do not take pictures of people without their consent (and don’t submit them to us without their consent).
- Try and submit pictures as .jpeg files if possible! (not .heic live photos!)
Who will be the FIRST ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK of 2023-2024?!?!
ET CETERA.
Social Media:
FB: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/OutdoorsAtUVA/)