tolls in the distance and tumble weed rolls across desert that is UKCaving

:tumble:


come on everyone - what have you all been up to.

I'm currently struggling to get diggers for this dig in bagshawe - everybugger is abroad.

I ask you - a draughting dig though soft mud with plenty of stacking - what does it take to generate some interest. the promise of gold on the otherside!! :roll:

Winnats has been put on hold although I could do with one more trip to sort out a couple of loose ends until next winter.

Anyone fancy it.

Oh go on then! Maybe able to co-erce (?) a colleague. Mid week trips are available as is one day of the weekend.

Reply here or private message for contact details.

Sam, looking at your total posts, where exactly are you hoping this dig is going

which one - bagshawe or winnats. :?

and what relation does that bear to my total posts. :? :?

Well im coming to Sheffield uni at end of September so you can take me on some hardcore digging trips!

Ive been a couple of trips to a very promising looking (and drafting) dig in Ogof Carno at the top of a 30 metre aven, watch this space!

How do Sam,

I will be up for a trip when I get back from Spain. What's that upstream sump in Bagshawe looking like at the moment, and has Simon Brooks been back down the glory hole yet?

Simon.

Upstream is looking good - made a quite good progress in the few trips we've had up there - want to start to concentrate on it now (while the waters are low) but all the eldon have buggered off to france or peru (of all bloody places). Still - as you can see - there is a bit of interest from the suss lads so I should be ok for this next couple of weeks

Simon Brooks mailed me just the other day actually - I had a look down there on saturday but its still sumped at the magic roundabout. need to get the bilge pump down there and set up a syphon.


How long you spain for.

Just one week from this Friday.

What's JT up to, I haven't heard from him in a while.

He's been silly busy with work for a few months now - back late most weeknights so not much caving. Got out down baggers at the weekend with him though.

SamT said:

and what relation does that bear to my total posts. :? :?

Click to expand...

At the time of posting you were on 666 :evil: but it doesnt work now

Ah - I see

Both are heading up dip rather than down - so they should take me to a higher plain :angel: .

Nice one Huw. Always good to have one or more people who can cave amongst the October intake. You won't need the Eldon to take you digging. We've got Crem. Mud mud mud mud rock mud mud mud. There must be some cave down there somewhere

Unfortunately the Uni has decided not to support us next year **at all** - basically 'cos we don't have thousands of members and don't win medals. The walking, scuba, canoe, cycling, riding and a few other clubs are all going too - apparently it's less "sport for all" and "wide range of opportunities" (the sort of crap that goes in the prospectus) than "throw money at a few sports and get a few medals" :roll:

I could rant on for pages.

Comically, they don't want to actually close us down, just withdraw any support. However this means they're liable for us. Which means they need to insure us. Which means they need to look after us. Tee hee.

And if they hope we're going away they can forget it - we'll just go underground

So you position is that you still have a Sheffield University Spel. Soc. which is insured by the university. But the university will no longer provide any funding.

Not too bad a position. Presumably the Uni just provided funding for Kit. Now this is where your tackle master needs to be vigilant, pull together all the club kit and make sure it doesnt walk since now you wont be able to replace it.

Can you not appeal - maybe revise the funding so that you can at least afford to replace a bit of rope every year.

Glad to hearyou are joining Derbyshires premier caving club Huw

Don´t quite know what the Uni is playing at - I´m a bit out of touch having been in Bolivia for the past month and a half, but basically a few years ago the Union ran a poll which asked along the lines of ¨more money for sports or cheaper beer?¨. Since the rather predictable result,a victory for the apathetic student majority sports funding has been consistently cut to the level where this year we don´t get a grant at all. However, we can recruit new members at the Freshers fair, get insurance, and have a few other ´benefits´. Just no money. We therefore have to charge a bit more for some trips to make a profit and allow us to replace kit etc.

But don´t fear, we will still be around. Can´t let the Eldon think they are the best

BTW SamT, when Ireturn I might be free to come down Bagshawe. Back in 3 weeks.

Brendan said:

Can´t let the Eldon think they are the best

Click to expand...

Err- we dont think we're the best - we KNOW we're the best.

:guns:

Brendan - what I think may be fun would be to ask what they students meant when they cut funding for sports. Did they really want the football/rugby clubs to be funded MORE than ever and the small clubs run down in the hope they'd go away? Hmmmm, maybe not, methinks.
:twisted:

Interesting that school sports days can't be competitive - definitely no medals - then all national sports and University funders are interested in are..... competitive sports and medals. :twak:

SamT said:

Brendan said:

Can´t let the Eldon think they are the best

Click to expand...

Err- we dont think we're the best - we KNOW we're the best.

:guns:

Click to expand...

Yeah, whatever 8)

It just really annoys me the uni pays 28 grand a year to BUSA, refurbishes the gym at exorbitant price and then tells us how much money it invests in sport whenit cant give any money at all to half the clubs.
:roll:
Daresay Bif will have summat to say on the subject
Maybe we can convince someone to run as sports sab next year

That would be fun

Hurrah, Im now a player

The gradual removal of university funding seems to be happening to all non competitive uni clubs, though at Reading we're doing quite well just got some money for 6 kidney packs. I think its part of a plan to make uni less fun, and more like school. You know paying for the privilege of doing exams, registers in lectures as you have to turn up of they fine or fail you, and other stuff. Still uni isn't about having fun and becoming a well rounded person, it's all about having one subject rammed down your throat and then being spat out totally unprepared for life out side the education system.

ok I'll stop now, but as you can probably guess its something I have strong opinions on, just don't ask me about tuition fees. Still I suppose you could try binge drinking to relieve the boredom, if you can afford it that is.

Hello,

Here at Durham we've recently decided to change from the Athletics Union to the Student Union (DSU) who seem to be more understanding of our non-competative nature (i.e. they give us more money). (£200 a year as opposed to £100 a year WOW! (The rugby club get's £5000 pa to clean their kits btw, as well as a similar amount of money to spend on socials (ie. the chance to act like a complete bunch of tw@s)

This might be worth looking at for other clubs too as there's clearly a general (misguided) trend amongst Athletics Unions towards getting rid of, or at least giving no money to, the non medal waving clubs.

I think the real cause of the problem is lack of members though - more members = more money, and we got 6 new members last year. I know even the once mighty LUSS has collapsed due to lack of members, aswell as lots of the small uni clubs - Why does nobody want to go caving any longer??? I suspect the real question though is - Does it matter? - perhaps all the crap and incompitent clubs will vanish, and the strong clubs will remain?

Anyway, I hope Derbyshire's premier caving club had a good time in the 'partie d'initiation' of the Ecouges, whilst the NE's finest caving club enjoyed the 'Haute' part :wink:

Appologies for rambling slightly btw

George.