The British Caving Association

Cookie wrote:The idea behind the questionaire is to see if there is a demand for this change.

I assume from this that you and the CSCC officers have not had people badgering them in the pub or writing in demanding change.

That being the case, why do you think that anyone might be demanding this?

DaveGrosvenor wrote:I would question whether there was a need for the CSCC.

Apart from everything else CSCC tries hard to assist with conservation and access, Dave!



"... trying hard to find the wooden spoons of the underworld...."

Graham M wrote:That being the case, why do you think that anyone might be demanding this?

It doesn't follow that an idea is bad because there is no demand for it. Often it has to be made available before people realise they want it. For example the founder of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, famously said “I think there is a world market for about five computers.” How wrong was he?

Obviously canvas opinion but I think this idea should be judged on its merits. Not on the result of a questionnaire. That's the path of Focus Groups, Straw Polls and lowest common denominator politics so favoured by our press and politicians.


BTW I rather like this other quote by TJ Watson as well:

“Follow the path of the unsafe, independent thinker. Expose your ideas to the danger of controversy. Speak your mind and fear less the label of 'crackpot' than the stigma of conformity.”

Not that I think the proposal is particularly radical

Cookie wrote:[Not that I think the proposal is particularly radical

No, what would be radical would be to think about leaving the organisational structure alone for a while.

This thread is wonderful.

Almost 30 years after I last dangled head-first out of Blue Pencil, this argument is still going on.

I can hear the spirit of Eric Catherine whispering from the rafters, as the ghosts of the CSCC assemble at the Hunter's..."Everyone should have a licence...."

And it'll probably still be going on when you're Richard's Grandad but this doesn't mean useful things aren't being achieved regularly.

Excellent!

And people still get shirty at every imagined slight.

I iron mine with starch on the collars, RD!

Graham M wrote:That being the case, why do you think that anyone might be demanding this?

Ahem, 14576 views of this thread suggest that perhaps it is of some passing interest.

Also, as a non-club member but as a CSCC Officer is my position tenable or is it a pre-requisite that Officers must be a member of a club in order to fulfill a role within a Council of Caving Clubs? Discuss.

Canda@CSCC wrote:

Graham M wrote:That being the case, why do you think that anyone might be demanding this?

Ahem, 14576 views of this thread suggest that perhaps it is of some passing interest.

Interesting. Well spotted.

Also, as a non-club member but as a CSCC Officer is my position tenable or is it a pre-requisite that Officers must be a member of a club in order to fulfill a role within a Council of Caving Clubs? Discuss.

Hmmm.

To it's credit, the CSCC has never let its Constitution get in the way of doing the right thing.

Our Equipment Officer is in a similar(ish) situation in that he is an Officer, but has no vote. Only Clubs Reps have a vote, and the Wessex Rep. is me not Les. (For many years Les was the Wessex Rep and I had no vote. I eventually got pissed off so we've swapped for the time being.)

My Individual Member proposals would have provided one possible solution but they were buried under a great pile of dinosaurs droppings. I currently have a vote so I'll let someone else fight this particular battle.

Maybe it's a battle that doesn't need fighting - why push at an open door? If UK/Regional Caving administration is peopled by volunteers, are these volunteers barred from helping because they've not got the right footwear on for hoop-jumping? I warrant that being a member of BCA/BCRA is bona fide enough.

Over 18,000 views!