Madness said:Kenilworth said:I mean, is it imaginable that British caving could go on without BCA?
There''s no doubt that caving would continue without the BCA. We have regional organisations such as the DCA, CNCC etc. They do a lot of work regionally regarding access, conservation, bolting, training etc.
As Secretary of DCA I am well aware of the support we receive as a regional council from BCA. If we had to fund for ourselves all the bolting, conservation work, access work, etc. which we do, then the funds would have to be raised from the relatively small number of clubs who choose to belong to DCA so we would have to charge them a fairly substantial subscription. As it is, BCA funds a substantial proportion of this work, which is to the benefit of all those who cave in the Peak District, not just our local clubs. It also, of course, benefits those independent cavers who choose not to belong to BCA, DCA or to a club - but that's OK.
The point is that the cost incurred regionally is shared out overall through the much larger membership of BCA so all of us benefit. DCA does not charge its member clubs a subscription but it does ask that they are members of BCA - this seems only fair when BCA is providing the funds and the DCA members provide the manpower.
DCA doesn't set up access agreements which require membership of DCA, or even of BCA, we try to make them as open as we can so that all cavers, independent or otherwise, can benefit. There are a few local landowners who insist on BCA insurance for cavers visiting caves on their land and DCA has to comply with this where the landowner insists. This is because we realise that without the BCA insurance scheme there are a few caves where there would be no access at all.
As a regional council DCA would be hard pushed if it were not for BCA, though maybe other regions with a larger number of local clubs could manage.
Jenny Potts,
DCA Hon. Sec.