*I'm posting this in a PERSONAL capacity (just like everything I post, but feel the need to emphasise it with this one!) and NOT in my capacity as CNCC Y&D*
York's request to maintain their training facility is very reasonable as the facility is clearly of great benefit to them, they are a very active club and the proposal very clearly outlines the necessity. I agree that 5k is a lot - though the BCA certainly has the money to fund it.
Agreed, the fact it will only benefit one club may be problematic. In recent history York have not been involved with CHECC or attended many joint uni club events as lots of other student clubs tend to (most frequently run joint training trips etc). So I'm not entirely convinced how this benefit for other clubs will be put into practice. Will York make an effort to extend olive branches to support training with other clubs? Or will the facility be made available for CHECC to use for free for nation-wide training every year? Perhaps, if this is clarified / figured out, it may benefit the application further.
There are indeed lots of other uni clubs struggling at the moment. Newcastle, for example, are of great need of new kit and will be putting in a proposal for funding for this imminently. That funding needed is most likely going to be at least 1k. They desperately need this kit and without it cannot run sufficient trips, ultimately a lack of usable kit will lead to the club folding. I know that this is not an isolated case and other clubs have similar struggles, though I am not aware of any others applying for funding as of yet. It could be argued that having necessary caving kit is more essential than a training facility, as mentioned by others trees, quarries and caving huts all provide good enough training for most student clubs in the UK.
I think we need to be careful that the funding for York does not happen at the cost of not providing funding to other clubs. Ie. If the BCA turn around and say 'we've just given 5k to York, we can't give any funding to other student clubs now' that will probably cause a lot of problems. Hopefully this is not the case, but it is a risk I'm aware of. It's difficult when there is no clear system through which student clubs can access funding. How much funding is the BCA willing to donate each year? Can a similar situation to Ghar Parau be set up to fund student clubs?
I think many don't realise how dire the situation is for most student clubs post-covid. The consequences of lockdown mean a lot of uni clubs are suffering from a knock on lack of experience, loss of skills (such as leading, rigging, SRT), loss of funding to buy kit, etc etc. Several are on the brink of folding.
The York issue is good as it has brought many of these issues to light, and highlighted the fact that the BCA and regional councils alike are capable of supporting student clubs far more than they currently do. Student clubs are large feeders for many adult clubs and very valuable for the wider caving community.
Despite some of the concerns I have mentioned above I'm in full support of York getting this funding. I'm also in full support of other uni clubs getting the funding that they need (and there is a lot of discussion amongst the wider student caving community at the moment about how the decision for York will impact them - will it mean they can get funding too?). There is certainly money in the BCA bank for York to get the support that they need, along with all the other clubs too.
*By 'York' here I'm talking about YUCPC and not York Uni.
*I have conflicts of interest in being Newcastle Uni alumni and heavily involved in CHECC committee for the last 3 years.
