BCA Conference, September(?) 2018

Les W

Les W

Active member
Maj said:
Pitlamp said:
I take it the weekend (28-30 September) is pretty much fixed but the venue is very much TBC - have I got that right?
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Ideally the date would probably be 21st - 23rd Sept (+/- a w/end or 2  :(  ), but this will depend on availability of a suitable venue. The date will only be announced once a venue has been found and confirmed with a contract  :coffee: with the venue, until then only guesses  :confused: can be made of the date.

Maj.
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Actually Maj, the date we try to aim for is the last full weekend in September, so Pitlamp pretty much has it nailed.
The last full weekend this year is 28th to 30th Sept.  :tease:

RichardB1983 said:
Is there a tick-list of features that HE would require? Or perhaps a tick-list of features that would rule somewhere out? I.e. what has happened to Leek to rule it out? (note: I've only been to HE at Churchill). Must be plenty of similar size schools near-ish to Derbyshire
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I'm presuming the list would include;
* Large high school
* In the vicinity of a caving area
* Large sport hall for trade stands
* Large assembly hall for main presentations
* Other classrooms or smaller halls for other presentations
* Alcohol licence possible and somewhere for a bar
* Catering facilities on site
* Camping available

Is that close to the right list? Genuine question by the way - just wondering if we can help by suggesting possible venues. And would easy road/rail access be better than rigidly sticking to caving areas if a suitable venue was found?

E.g. Wilmslow, Macclesfield & Poynton just to the west of the Peak District have quite large high schools with sports halls (or a leisure centre hall on site) around 18-22 miles from Castleton. There are probably quite a few more in the south Manchester area. Not sure if these will grant an alcohol licence, but you can always ask.
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Pretty much on the nose there Richard

We require a large trade area (Sports Hall)
A large main theatre seating around 300 people (typically a school hall)
A second large hall seating around 200 people (usually a second hall, or gymnasium)
A third smaller hall, seating around 50 to 80 people (Drama studio or similar)
Camping permitted on site
Catering on site is a bonus (ideally using the schools caterers, but we could always bring in outside caterers if necessary).
Alcohol permitted on site (Some schools don't allow this...)
We organise our own license so that's not an issue

Typically, a school site will not have all the required facilities unless they are at least a thousand pupils in size or larger.

The venue at Leek (Leek High) has converted one of their large spaces into a building skills centre so it is no longer available. For us, this means losing lecture 2 so really we can't host there without reducing our lecture program by a third...

The venue doesn't have to be in a caving area, in fact, very few people go caving during the HE weekend, but it seems to make a difference on numbers at the event, so I guess it's important to some degree.
good connections to the UK transport network are an advantage.

We are actively seeking suitable venues around the Peak region, but it's not straight forward and once suitable venues are identified we need to visit site, meet with the school, negotiate our budget and what we are hiring.
I personally have to take several days off and travel to view venues and meet with the staff to determine suitability, and although I can claim mileage I still have to lose working days (I'm self employed).

I don't mind this too much but it all adds up quickly...
 
Maj

Maj

Active member
Les W said:
Actually Maj, the date we try to aim for is the last full weekend in September, so Pitlamp pretty much has it nailed.
The last full weekend this year is 28th to 30th Sept.  :tease:
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Ooops!  :-[


Maj.
 
M

moletta

Member
Have you approached F.E. colleges? Some have on site sports facilities, catering departments and events where alcohol is served. They should have some large lecture/ teaching spaces too.
 
J

Jenny P

Active member
Don't forget that the University of Derby has a secondary campus in Buxton.  This includes the former F.E. College at Harper Hill as well as the facilities in Buxton itself.  I have been to a conference at the Harper Hill site which does (or did) have its own sports hall and lecture theatres and does have a sports field. 

Their other site in Buxton includes the huge domed hall of the former Devonshire stables (which does theatre in the round performances), and is smack next door to the Pavilion Gardens, which also has at least two lecture halls / theatres, restaurant, cafe, etc. 

Derby University run an outdoor sports degree course (forget its official designation), and much of this is run from the Buxton campus, including a caver training course so you might get a sympathetic ear.  However this might be a bit pricey.

Buxton does have a train service from Manchester as well as bus services.

I know H.E. did use the Buxton High School some years ago but don't think this was altogether suitable.

There is also Pooles Cavern Show Cave, which is now being linked to BCRA as a cave science venue and that's run by Buxton Civic Society so you may have a sympathetic ear there.

Not sure if any of this is helpful but may be worth checking if you've not already done so.

 
Tim Pickering

Tim Pickering

Member
Why not approach HE establishments? I know our uni often hosts conferences. The only thing missing from the list would be camping but if it's not during term time then halls are available. There's also a posh hotel on campus for the more discerning traveller! I should imagine most HE institutions have similar facilities. Maybe worth trying University of Sheffield or Sheffield Hallam? The Peak District is easily accessible from Sheffield. They have a uni caving club so it might be worth dropping them a line?
 
M

moletta

Member
I've had a think about the idea of only having regional events. Great idea which gets people to visit different caving areas. Happy to support them, but suspect I wouldn't go to all of them.

I have been going to Hidden Earth since the UMIST days, and value the chance to see what people are doing both at home and abroad, and meet cavers from all over ( and a bit too closely if you remember the days of the ceilidh and stomps!). I'd miss it if it didn't happen.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Is there any update possible yet on the likely location of this year's BCA conference? (Just asking as it'd be useful to know which part of the country it's likely to be in.)

Thanks.
 
badger

badger

Active member
as I understand the organisers are still talking to potential venues. But maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel, although this is third hand info, so would need some one from the committee to confirm
 
Badlad

Badlad

Administrator
Staff member
Rumour in the cafe this weekend was that Hidden Earth was going to be in Mold, North Wales, but that is just rumour.
 
Laurie

Laurie

Active member
Badlad said:
Rumour in the cafe this weekend was that Hidden Earth was going to be in Mold, North Wales, but that is just rumour.
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Heard the same rumour a couple of weeks ago.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Badlad said:
Rumour in the cafe this weekend was that Hidden Earth was going to be in Mold, North Wales, but that is just rumour.
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There used to be a right good fish and chip shop in Mold; a handy spot to know when on the way back from a weekend's climbing in Snowdonia. Apparently (so I heard recently) it's still there.
 
cavemanmike

cavemanmike

Well-known member
It's called the big fish, there is also a family run butchers called hulsons who make the best pies in the area
 
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