It’s important to us at Scotiacon that everyone is able to access the event and enjoy it to the best of their ability. We aim for everyone to be able to feel welcome and included. There is no typical attendee at a furry convention, and everyone attending has their own unique and individual needs.

We are pleased to be able to provide information about the convention and its events to help you to plan your time with us and support you. Some of the things we aim to include are:

• Event-Specific Information
• How To Find and Identify Welfare Team Members
• How to Get Around Our Hotels and Event Spaces
• What to do in an Emergency

We intend to update this information throughout the convention cycle as more details become available so please do check back periodically to see if anything new has been added.

Events

Registration

The Scotiacon Steward Team will always be on-hand at the on-site Registration events and will be more than happy to support accessibility requirements. When you are ready to register, head down during one of our registration slots and speak to a Welfare Steward at the entrance to the Registration room or in the queue leading to it to join the accessibility queue.

Main Events

Once our events schedule has been published it will be linked from our website and will contain the times and details for all events at the convention. All main events have queues managed by members of the Stewarding Team and will include an accessibility provision for a seated waiting area and priority access.

Dealers' Den

Accessibility provisions for the Dealers’ Den include:

• Proactive Steward and Den staff throughout the Dealers’ Den opening hours to support with queue control and accessibility needs
• Maintaining suitable width pathways to allow for movement with wheelchairs and other mobility aids
• Capacity control to manage the crowding of the room and temperature regulation
• Access to food and water for dealers and assistants
• A relaxed hour (times to be confirmed) with dimmed lights, reduced capacity and lower noise levels to help those attendees who may find the usual Den experience overwhelming

General Event Access

Our Steward team is on hand throughout the day supporting the running of day to day events within our hotels. Where queuing is not being provisioned at an event, but you require further support, please contact a member of the Steward team at the event for help. Our Stewards can be identified by their black lanyards.

How to Find and Identify a Member of the Scotiacon Welfare Team

Stewards and Security

Members of our Steward and Security teams can be identified by their black Lanyards. These lanyards bear the following marks for confirmation:

• Scotiacon Themed Branding
• Welfare Team Text
• Black Colouration

All our Security and Steward team members will have black Welfare team ID badges attached to their lanyards, these badges feature:

• ID Style Photograph
• Legal Name
• Role/Qualification

Hotel security staff will be issued with a Welfare team lanyard, which will have a security contractor badge attached. These badges do NOT feature Photo ID elements or individual names.

All SIA licenced staff for the convention and our partner hotels will have SIA licences on their person, worn in accordance with SIA licencing regulations. This may be on their arm in a coloured armband, on a lanyard, or an ID reel on their belt.

First Aiders / Medical Staff

Members of our First Aid team can be identified by their green lanyards. These lanyards bear the following marks for confirmation:

• Scotiacon Themed Branding
• Medical Team Text
• Green Colouration

All our First Aid team members will have green First Aid team ID badges attached to their lanyards, these badges feature:

• ID Style Photograph
• Legal Name
• Role/Qualification

Getting Around Our Hotels and Event Spaces

The Crowne Plaza hotel has three entrances, referred to in this section as “Main Entrance”, “Car Park Entrance” and “Argyll Foyer Entrance”.

Crowne Plaza Outside Access - Main Entrance

The Main Entrance is situated on the front side of the building on Congress Road, it is a level access route into the building utilising a ramp/Slope with a slight gradient. There are automatic doors that open towards you and are controlled by a Push Button. These doors are single doors that are 80cm wide.

There is a second set of automatic doors inside of the main entrance which are double doors in width and are 210cm wide.

Crowne Plaza Outside Access - Car Park Entrance

The rear car park entrance is closed during the period that the convention has exclusive use of the hotel, usually at least from 3pm on the Friday of the convention to noon the following Tuesday, however, depending on the number of attendees selecting early arrival, this may be extended earlier to 3pm on the Thursday. The nearest access to the hotel to this is via the Main Entrance. There is no / limited footpath between these two entrances and there a full-width speed hump across the road access between the car park and the hotel entrance that may make independent navigation difficult for wheelchair users.

Crowne Plaza Outside Access - Argyll Foyer Entrance

The Argyll Foyer Entrance is a step-free access area with manual double doors which are heavy/difficult to open. During convention hours (10am till midnight/2am) there are Security staff at these doors that will be able to provide assistance. The doors have an opening width of 150cm with a second set of doors internally that are identical, there is a small raised threshold of a height less than 2cm.

Accessing Event Spaces in the Crowne Plaza

General Access

The event space is spread across the Mezzanine level and the ground floor of the Argyll Suite. Access from the hotel reception and bedrooms is via the Mezzanine level which can be accessed by stairs from the restaurant or via the main hotel lifts opposite the reception. To get through to the main event area, the reception Mezzanine and the Argyll Mezzanine are separated with double doors which are heavy and not fitted with a ‘hold-open’ device. If you require assistance with the doors please ask a member of the hotel staff or a convention volunteer Steward who will be happy to assist you.

Level Access

If level access is required without use of a lift, the conservatory area may be used to travel through the restaurant between the event areas and the reception area. The doors to the space are kept closed to avoid disruption to or from the busy restaurant area. It is the request of our venue that use of this passageway is limited to those who require it such as those with mobility requirements and Welfare personnel responding to incidents. If you require assistance with the doors please ask a member of the hotel staff or a convention volunteer Steward who will be happy to assist you.

Further Information

More information can be found on the “AccessAble” website which you can find here: https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/crowne-plaza-glasgow

Lift / Elevator Etiquette

Given the number of people moving between residential rooms in the Crowne Plaza and the event areas, especially in time for some of our most popular events, it is likely that the lifts will become congested at times. With this in mind, it is important that we remember some simple etiquette to help everyone be able to enjoy themselves.

Prioritisation: Everyone needs to be understanding and provide lift priority to attendees with accessibility needs and fursuiters. These guests are limited to one handler each. Guests with accessibility needs often need to quickly get to their room or may be unable to use stairs and escalators. Additionally, please remember that being in a fursuit is physically taxing and it is easy to overheat.

Capacity: If the lift looks full, it is full. Please don’t try to squeeze “one more in”. Overloading contributes to system strain and eventual breakdown leaving guests stuck and causing more congestion with a lift now out of action. The most common cause of lift failure during conventions is due to the strain of repeatedly being overloaded.

Go in the direction of your final destination: Ever heard of the phrase “Don’t go up to go down”? The temptation to get on the very first lift that opens only gets harder as the time you wait grows. Please understand that this exacerbates the problem. By not getting on the lift going in the direction of your final destination, you risk overloading the lifts and disrupting the efficiency of lifts for everyone - leading to that long wait you’re trying to avoid.

Reduce lift travel: Before you leave your room to enjoy the convention or time with your friends, please bring everything you need with you. Plan your day and expect to be out of your room for long periods. By reducing the number of small trips to rooms (to grab a phone charger, snack, or personal belongings) we reduce the stress and load on the lifts. Consider bringing a backpack, satchel, or hip bag to carry your personal belongings. Enjoy the convention, don’t waste it waiting in lift lines.

Use stairs whenever possible: If you are on a lower floor, and are physically capable of doing so, please consider using the stairways when possible to access your floor.

Music: Please do not play loud music inside of the lifts. Loud music can harm people’s hearing, especially when in a small enclosed space like a lift. Additionally, we all need to be sensitive to those with neurodivergent needs that can be put into an unsafe situation with exposure to loud music. Please put your favourite music on pause while in the lifts.

Respect: Please do not forget why we are all here; to express ourselves in a safe space with like-minded individuals. We all hate waiting for lifts, we all want to see our friends, we’re all trying to get somewhere. Be respectful to each other so we can all have a great convention.

Follow instructions from staff: Our staff is made up entirely of volunteers, who are doing this out of their love for our community. All instructions from convention staff, Security staff and hotel staff must be followed. Their primary goal is to get everyone where they’re going as quickly as possible.

Emergency Situations

Contacting the Welfare Team

Before the convention begins, our Welfare team can be contacted by email ([email protected]) or via our Support ticketing system (https://support.scotiacon.org.uk). These contact channels are checked frequently but not constantly monitored 24 hours a day. Our volunteers will always aim to provide you with a swift response, but this could take up to 7 working days. If you do not receive a response within this time, please contact [email protected] or submit a General Enquiry ticket so our Communications team can chase up for you.

Whilst at the convention, our Welfare team on-site can be contacted through Telegram or by mobile phone via call / text. Details for all the channels are published in the conbook, signposted around the convention venue, announced during our Opening Ceremonies, and can be requested from convention staff.

Medical Assistance

In the event that you require medical assistance whilst at the event, please reach out to the nearest member of convention staff, contact our Welfare team via Telegram or mobile phone, or if you are in your hotel room, please dial down to the hotel Reception team who will be able to alert us to your request for assistance.

In the event of a life threatening emergency, please do not delay in contacting 999 for assistance, but we ask that you let our team know at the earliest opportunity so that we can respond and provide assistance until 999 arrives.

Evacuation Procedures

Please ensure you discuss with the hotel’s Reception team any requirements you have and establish a ‘Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan’ (Also known as a PEEP).

Any Other Needs? Please Contact Us!

If you have a request or any additional needs that you would like us to consider, please let us know by raising a ticket on our support site (https://support.scotiacon.org.uk) or emailing us ([email protected]). We will make every effort to make reasonable and proportionate accommodations to the best of our ability, however, we cannot guarantee that every individual request will be fully accommodated.

Whilst we will always strive to minimise barriers as much as we possibly can, we may be limited at times due to financial or logistical constraints, available facilities, venue construction, and the availability of our volunteers.