To save me retyping everything you can read my thoughts on why the BCA is important in the October 2019 newsletter (page 8):
Alas, my involvement in BCA was very brief and of dubious success
However, as someone who has been involved in the CNCC for much longer (>10 years), I know the vast majority of the work we have done over this period has been funded by BCA (as part of our annual grant claim). The BCA are the central 'pot' that fund the majority of regional council activities (not to mention many other resources).
For the CNCC over recent years, this has included conservation projects, subsidised training workshops, anchor installations and purchases, cave entrance restoration, our ever-expanding website and IT-infrastructure, and our numerous initiatives to try to promote caving and keep cavers informed of regional activities.
We are typically claiming around £5000/year from BCA funds for our work, and without this, CNCC would need to either discontinue work, or find funding elsewhere.
Therefore, for me, joining the BCA is not just about the insurance. It's about doing my bit, and contributing to the national pot that ultimately goes towards so many projects that benefit myself and others on an almost weekly basis. It just seems the right thing to do.
To put it another way... Going caving is usually free, but the anchors I hang from, the fencing around the entrance, or the entrance pipe I slide down were not. Therefore, £20 per year doesn't seem much as a contribution towards these and many other things.
I really hope that over the coming few years the BCA can encourage some mega enthusiastic new people in, to bring a little more energy to the BCA, to 'sell' the benefits of BCA beyond just the insurance, and make the organisation something people want to be part of and proud of, rather than just feeling they are forced to be part of. For me, that was an immediate priority in 2019, and I believe it should remain so today.