I quoted a few figures to the BBC during an interview for an article on caving. The reporter was very keen to know how many people in the UK went caving. It's not a simple question to answer - how long is a piece of string - and really depends on how you answer the question of what is a caver. Anyway I have done some research on this issue and given it a deal of thought over the last few years. I have concluded the following but am quite happy for others to contradict me. In any recent given year I think there are..
2-3000 active cavers who cave regularly and have a current high interest in the sport.
10-15,000 people who would describe themselves as cavers. Who once have been active but of more limited interest now.
150,000 (approx) per year participate in caving as an activity. The vast majority are individuals who go on an instructor led trip, school kids, outdoor centre groups, cadets, etc.
The BBC quoted me as saying there are 70,000 individuals on instructor led trips per year in the Dales area. This figure does have some credibility to it. A few years ago, with the help of some outdoor companies and instructors, I came up with this figure. Some of the companies gave me their actual figures for the number of individuals they took caving in the year. We then looked at the relative size of other companies operating in the area and made estimates of how many they would likely take too. 70,000 was the figure I came up with. Probably much larger than most people realise and demonstrates a low level of upwards recruitment to our sport
2-3000 active cavers who cave regularly and have a current high interest in the sport.
10-15,000 people who would describe themselves as cavers. Who once have been active but of more limited interest now.
150,000 (approx) per year participate in caving as an activity. The vast majority are individuals who go on an instructor led trip, school kids, outdoor centre groups, cadets, etc.
The BBC quoted me as saying there are 70,000 individuals on instructor led trips per year in the Dales area. This figure does have some credibility to it. A few years ago, with the help of some outdoor companies and instructors, I came up with this figure. Some of the companies gave me their actual figures for the number of individuals they took caving in the year. We then looked at the relative size of other companies operating in the area and made estimates of how many they would likely take too. 70,000 was the figure I came up with. Probably much larger than most people realise and demonstrates a low level of upwards recruitment to our sport