Privacy policy

Last updated: September 2026

Who we are

USEMS (the Undergraduate Sport and Exercise Medicine Society) is a national, non-profit society run by a volunteer committee. This policy explains what happens to your data when you use usems.co.uk.

What we collect

If you create a USEMS account, we store:

• Your name and email address
• Your university, course and year of study, if you choose to provide them (these are optional and can be added, edited or removed at any time from your account page)
• Which events you've marked as interested in, if you use that feature

If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email address from Google, but we don't receive or store your Google password. If you contact us by email or through the site's enquiry form, we hold whatever you send us for as long as needed to reply and resolve your enquiry.

How we use it

We use your data to run your account, let you keep track of events you're interested in, understand the makeup of our membership (e.g. which universities and courses members are from), and respond to enquiries. We don't sell your data, and we don't share it with third parties for marketing purposes.

Where it's stored

Account and site data is stored with Supabase, a hosting provider that provides our database, authentication and file storage. Photos uploaded for the committee page are stored in Supabase storage. The site itself is hosted on Vercel.

Our mailing list

USEMS also runs a separate opt-in mailing list, open to anyone: you don't need an account to join. It's used to share USEMS events, conferences, webinars, research opportunities, electives, careers in SEM, and relevant opportunities from partner organisations where appropriate.

To join, complete our official sign-up form. By submitting it, you consent to receiving emails from USEMS and to this policy. We only collect what we need to run the list: your name, email address, university or organisation, stage of training, and any other optional information you choose to give us. We only ever use it to tell you about:

• USEMS events and conferences
• Educational webinars and teaching sessions
• Research opportunities
• Elective information
• Careers and training opportunities in SEM
• Relevant opportunities from partner organisations, where appropriate

How the mailing list works

Mailing list data is stored securely, with access restricted to the current USEMS committee and handed over securely to each new committee (account passwords are changed whenever committee access changes). We may occasionally analyse anonymised membership data (for example, by university or stage of training) to understand and improve engagement with the society; no identifiable personal information is ever shared as part of this.

Emails are sent using blind carbon copy (Bcc), or an equivalent system, so you can never see other members' addresses. We normally send one email a month, with occasional extra emails for upcoming events or time-sensitive opportunities. The committee may adjust this frequency where appropriate.

Unsubscribing and data breaches

You can unsubscribe from the mailing list at any time by emailing hello@usems.co.uk with the subject line “Please remove me from the mailing list”, and we'll remove your details.

If a data breach ever occurs, we'll notify everyone affected by email. As a voluntary student committee running a non-profit society, individual USEMS committee members take no collective or personal liability for any breach. We review this policy, including the mailing list and mentorship scheme sections, at least once every 12 months, and will let members know of any significant changes via the mailing list itself.

Our mentorship scheme

USEMS also runs an opt-in mentorship scheme, connecting mentors working in Sport and Exercise Medicine with students and doctors interested in the specialty. It's used to arrange group sessions and support around SEM career pathways, portfolio development, building an SEM CV, applications and interviews, research, pitch-side and event medicine, developing clinical and professional skills, and networking opportunities.

To take part, sign up as a mentor or mentee from the mentorship page (this needs a USEMS account, see “What we collect” above). By signing up, you consent to receiving emails related to the scheme and to this policy. We only collect what you tell us when signing up: what you're interested in, and anything else you choose to share about your experience or what you're hoping to get out of it. We use it only to run and match the scheme.

Mentorship data is stored the same way as the rest of your account (see “Where it's stored” above), with access restricted to the current committee. We may occasionally analyse anonymised data (for example, stage of training) to understand and improve the scheme; no identifiable information is ever shared as part of this. You can withdraw from the mentorship scheme at any time from the mentorship page, or by emailing hello@usems.co.uk with the subject line “Please remove me from the mentorship scheme”.

Committee and admin access

Members of the USEMS committee with admin access can see account details (including university, course and year of study) for the purpose of running the society. Only super admins can change another member's role or delete another member's account.

Your choices

You can, at any time:

• Edit your university, course and year of study from your account page
• Reset your password, or change how you sign in
• Permanently delete your account from your account page, which removes your profile and event interests

Questions

If you have any questions about this policy or how your data is handled, email the committee at hello@usems.co.uk.