With the CNCC AGM fast approaching I?m hoping many clubs and cavers will attend the meeting. (10am, Saturday 1st March, Hellifield Institute)
I have spoken to a number of northern clubs who are surprised that they are not full members of CNCC and therefore have no voting rights. I have also spoken to a lot of people who are surprised that so many ?remnant? clubs with just a couple of members left are still able to have such an influence on northern caving. I can shed some light on why this is the case.
Prior to 2004 clubs had to subscribe annually to CNCC. It was therefore easy to keep track of who was a member. Since 2004 BCA has been funding the CNCC as the regional caving council and clubs no longer needed to pay a subscription. Ten years on there has been no change and no new members and the list has fallen into disrepair. The present secretary and treasurer of the CNCC also claim, for poorly justified reasons, that this list must remain secret. We do know, however, that there are around 50 member clubs on the list of which about 20 have folded over the last ten years. Although the really big Dales clubs will still be present, a number of the remaining clubs only have two or three members and are expected to be amongst the 15-20 voting clubs at the AGM.
BCA member clubs are only associate members of CNCC and although that does give them access to permits it does not give them a right to vote.
What is interesting is that at least five of the full member clubs, identified from recent published minutes, are not listed as being members of BCA. So, although BCA members contribute to the CNCC by their subscriptions, most of them do not get a vote, and clearly some of those who don?t contribute ? do get one.
Certainly this anomaly needs fixing soon, but I don?t see anything specific on the AGM agenda that even requires this to be discussed.
I?d encourage all clubs to send a representative to the meeting next Saturday, whether they have a vote or not. At the AGM it will be very easy to be proposed for membership and therefore your club can have a say in the future modernisation of the CNCC which is so desperately needed.
I have spoken to a number of northern clubs who are surprised that they are not full members of CNCC and therefore have no voting rights. I have also spoken to a lot of people who are surprised that so many ?remnant? clubs with just a couple of members left are still able to have such an influence on northern caving. I can shed some light on why this is the case.
Prior to 2004 clubs had to subscribe annually to CNCC. It was therefore easy to keep track of who was a member. Since 2004 BCA has been funding the CNCC as the regional caving council and clubs no longer needed to pay a subscription. Ten years on there has been no change and no new members and the list has fallen into disrepair. The present secretary and treasurer of the CNCC also claim, for poorly justified reasons, that this list must remain secret. We do know, however, that there are around 50 member clubs on the list of which about 20 have folded over the last ten years. Although the really big Dales clubs will still be present, a number of the remaining clubs only have two or three members and are expected to be amongst the 15-20 voting clubs at the AGM.
BCA member clubs are only associate members of CNCC and although that does give them access to permits it does not give them a right to vote.
What is interesting is that at least five of the full member clubs, identified from recent published minutes, are not listed as being members of BCA. So, although BCA members contribute to the CNCC by their subscriptions, most of them do not get a vote, and clearly some of those who don?t contribute ? do get one.
Certainly this anomaly needs fixing soon, but I don?t see anything specific on the AGM agenda that even requires this to be discussed.
I?d encourage all clubs to send a representative to the meeting next Saturday, whether they have a vote or not. At the AGM it will be very easy to be proposed for membership and therefore your club can have a say in the future modernisation of the CNCC which is so desperately needed.