UKQB Tournament Safeguarding Guide

Why have a tournament safeguarding officer?

Ensuring the safety and inclusion of all tournament attendees - both players and moderators - is of utmost priority. The way we guarantee this is by having a designated safeguarding officer at every tournament, who has the capacity to respond to safeguarding concerns appropriately if required, and refer these concerns to UKQB.

What is a tournament safeguarding officer’s role?

Generally, a tournament safeguarding officer’s role is to:

  1. Help uphold the UKQB Code of Conduct,
  2. Ensure that participants in a tournament feel safe and included,
  3. Resolve any safeguarding concerns that can be done so immediately (eg: provide a quiet space for overwhelmed participants),
  4. Communicate any safeguarding-related concerns to UKQB.

During the Briefing

The tournament safeguarding officers should be present at the player and mod briefing during tournaments. If the tournament is in person, they should identify themselves by addressing the group, as the TD simply saying “the safeguarding officer is [name of safeguarding officer]” is not enough to identify them.

If the tournament is online, they should turn on their camera and make it clear who they are, as well as address the group.

When the safeguarding officer is addressing the group, what they say is up to their discretion, but should include the following:

  • A brief introduction (name)
  • Where they will be during the tournament
    • If room bookings allow, it is very useful for the tournament safeguarding officer to have their own room (or share one with the TD), as it makes it easier to have private conversations and/or provide a quiet space for overwhelmed participants.
  • How to get in contact with them (something that they will be checking frequently, such as phone number or Discord)
  • Encouragement for the participants to come to them with safeguarding concerns, outlining examples of these concerns such as
    • Exclusionary behaviour (eg: discriminatory language)
    • Unsportsmanlike conduct (eg: mocking other participants, harassing moderators)
    • Concerns about the wellbeing of another participant of the tournament
  • Signpost participants towards the safeguarding issue reporting form if there is an issue they do not feel comfortable discussing on the day/want to report after the tournament is over/any other reason, as well as the cheating reporting form

Please emphasise that participants are encouraged to come forward with any concerns, as it is common for people to feel like they are “inconveniencing” others or “making a big deal of something” — this is very much not the case!

During the Tournament

One or more tournament safeguarding officers should be present on site for the entire length of an in-person tournament. For an online tournament, they should be present in the Zoom conference (or on whatever other platform is being used) and be readily contactable.

If a tournament safeguarding officer is modding, they should be modding in a pair with someone who can mod solo if needed. If they are not, they should remain at the location they have informed teams they would be at during the briefing.

Throughout the day, players and mods may come up to you with safeguarding concerns. It is to the safeguarding officer’s discretion whether an issue can be dealt with independently within the tournament organisers (eg: between the tournament safeguarding officer and the TD) or needs to be escalated to UKQB. If in doubt, please get in contact for advice.

In either case, this should be communicated to the UKQB safeguarding officers, with indication whether further action is needed or not. This is especially important if action has been taken (eg: a participant has been given a verbal warning). Contacts can be found at the bottom of this document.

Don’t worry about bothering us with “extraneous” information, we would much prefer to read through paragraphs of messages than to miss something that might be important later! It is crucial that UKQB are able to make decisions with full knowledge of the situation at hand.

Though some issues might seem one-off or minor, if we find that there is a pattern of exclusionary or inappropriate behaviour, there may need to be actions taken.

If someone’s safety is at immediate risk, please contact the campus emergency hotline (if available) and/or the emergency services. The TD should provide the safeguarding officer with the relevant emergency numbers for the campus they are on, if that is available.

What are the kinds of things that might come up?

  • A participant is feeling overwhelmed (sensory issues, triggering content in the packet, etc.)
    • If a player, they should be given the option to sit out the match/any further matches in a quiet place
    • If a moderator, a suitable replacement should be found for them while they take the time they need
    • If there are major concerns with packet content, this should be relayed to UKQB
  • A participant is using discriminatory language, or behaving in an unsportsmanlike manner
    • The tournament safeguarding officer should discuss this privately with the participant and make it clear that this type of conduct is not acceptable
    • Any instance of this should be communicated to UKQB safeguarding officers
  • There are immediate safety concerns for a participant (eg: an allergic reaction or other medical emergency)
    • Contact campus security (and emergency services, if required) and let UKQB know after the fact
    • Evacuate others from the room but remain with the casualty
    • Ask the casualty whether they have any medication that needs to be administered (e.g. EpiPen, inhaler)
  • There are long-term safety concerns for a participant (eg: erratic behaviour, prolonged discussions of concerning topics)
    • Contact UKQB safeguarding, include the person who has raised the safety concerns if they are comfortable doing so as they are likely able to provide more information
    • Please don’t worry about being “nosy”, an extraneous mental health check-in is much better than letting something that may be serious go unnoticed

In general, please get in contact with UKQB safeguarding officers with as much detail as possible about the situation if it has been escalated to a point where disciplinary action, such as needing to remove a player from a tournament, needs to be carried out.

Being a tournament safeguarding officer is not an expectation on you to be able to resolve any safeguarding issue that comes up independently! Instead, it is a role designed to help facilitate a safe environment and maintain communications with UKQB.

UKQB safeguarding officers

CT Tang

Discord: maltvitasoy

Phone number: 07384 059172 (if urgent contact is needed)

Nathan Easow

Discord: natxian

Phone number: 07421 325008 (if urgent contact is needed)

Code of conduct

Safeguarding Incident Reporting Form

Cheating Reporting Form

  • Samaritans: Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
  • Mind: Call 03001021234
  • Shout: Text ”SHOUT” to 85258
  • CALM: Call 0800585858 or access their online Live Chat, open from 5PM each day
  • Nightline: Available to university students, check your university-specific Nightline for opening hours and contact methods

Last updated 06/11/2025