BUMC 23/24 AGM Meeting Minutes
Date:22nd Feb ‘24
Minute Taker: Helene Rittscher
Location: Ring ‘O’ Bells
Committee:
Amy Gonclaves (AG) - Chair
Helene Rittscher (HR) - Secretary
Tom Morgan (TM) - Gear Secretary
Emma Wilkes (EW)- Media Secretary
Jack Ingram (JI) - Social Secretary
Heather Dalgleish (HD) - Walking Secretary
Hanna Williams (HW) - Walking Secretary
Beth Burnett (BB) - Climbing Secretary
Anissa Mayouf (AM) - Climbing Secretary
William Garnett (WG) - Orienteering Secretary
Josh Nicholas (JN) - Orienteering Secretary
Agenda
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Committee Introduction
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Financial Report
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Survey Overview
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BMC Insurance
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Discounts
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Transport
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First Aid
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Welfare and Inclusivity
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Communication
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Trips
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Engagement
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Socials
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Learning Opportunities and Transfer of Skills
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Club Growth
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Running
-
Constitutional Changes
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Any Other Business
2. Financial Report presented by Joseph
- Joseph presented gear budget breakdown. In total £650 was spent on gear (mostly on helmets, ropes, and crampons).
- Trips budget – most of this is still remaining for Font, Summer trip, and Portland (2/3)
- Brit Rock made a profit of £37.50
3. Survey Overview
- 28 responses
- Good split on gender (was previously very male dominated)
- Large fresher uptake this year
- People mostly participate in walking and climbing
- General comments that the club has been welcoming and inclusive this year but there was also a comment that people would like more opportunities to learn some more mountaineering skills outside of ISB
4. BMC Insurance
- Helene gave an overview on what is included in the insurance however members are urged to read up on the terms of this insurance themselves
- It was also highlighted that people will need extra insurance for Font and Conville courses.
5. Discounts
- Tom highlighted the discounts people receive as members of the club (e.g 20% off at Cotswold Outdoors)
- Tom also mentioned that he can reach out to different companies if people are interested in additional discounts
6. Transport
- Beth spoke about how we need more drivers to run trips
- We think that part of the reasons for this dip in drivers is due to people’s driving tests being cancelled during COVID
- However we have seen interest amongst the current freshers so hopefully the club will be less impacted next year.
7. First Aid
- Josh presented this section
- We require one first aider per group on trips
- It has been very difficult to source an instructor for first aid training. In past years this has been done by Vicky at a very low cost however this has not been possible this year.
- First aid courses are very expensive, and the SU does not supply a budget for this. However we can apply to a sports education fund offered by the SU
- Josh has been dedicated this year to find an affordable first aid course and there have been dates booked but was cancelled by the instructor
- We still aim to offer a course by the end of the day
- Reuben mentioned that it may be useful to ask people if they are first aid trained when they join the club so we have a list
- We should also check with the SU whether having first aiders in every trip group is still required in the risk assessment.
- We voted on whether we should approach the SU about taking the first aid requirement out of the risk assessments
- 24 people voted YES
- 2 people voted NO
- 2 people ABSTAINED
8. Welfare and Inclusivity
- Good general feedback that the club has been inclusive and welcoming this year and has improved from previous years
9. Communication
- We are currently in a Semester 2 trial period with the WhatsApp group. This has received very positive feedback so we aim to keep this as well as the Facebook group.
10. Trips
- Amy has designed a Trip Planning Framework to be used by future committees
- This should ensure that all trips are planned and communicated on time with members and the SU
- Beth also spoke about how there has been a different structure to trips this year. Reducing the number of ‘leaders’ needed based on previous years’ feedback and a lot of ‘leaders’ graduating. We have had some pushback as fewer leaders means there are fewer pre-sign spaces. As these trips are so competitive, pre sign-ups will only be given to drivers and those contributing to the running of the trip and its activities.
- It was suggested that we should include asking people if they are experienced trad climbers in the initial membership survey
- It was suggested to include one more trad trip in the calendar
- It is worth refining the definition of what is required from a first aider, and whether people should be given pre sign-up
- It was suggested to have ‘meets’ instead of trips to boost the number of outings per year. Summer Trip will be planned in more of a meet style.
11. Engagement
- The club is low on postgrads – we are reaching out to the SU about how we can improve our postgrad uptake
- We also do not have many international students. It was suggested that we could include more icebreakers in socials to make people feel more welcome.
12. Learning Opportunities and Transfer of Skills
- Beth and Anissa have sorted dates for learn to lead and learn to belay
- Amy mentioned how ISB grew by 4 spaces this year. Learn to trad is now in the calendar. There are only so many of us and so many dry days. Not many appropriate teaching venues nearby. Recommended guides on the website.
- Amy is determined to set up a learn to trad session (outside!) and may be able to recruit a guide for this. (Possibly in avon carpark ?).
- Will spoke about learning how to use a compass and a map, maybe also about leave no trace principles
13. Club Growth
- We need to ensure that there is a retention of skills as members graduate. We need people with skills to teach skills and run trips. As an attempt to keep skills in the club, we will be running learn-to-trad sessions on campus and will hopefully get in a day trip to South Wales to put skills into practice
14. Running
- Will presented the new (trial) addition of trail running to the club! The first one will run this Saturday (Feb 24th 2024).
15. Constitutional Changes
- That it will no longer be required for social sec to be responsible for all social events (e.g Christmas Meal)
YES that it will no longer be required for social sec to be responsible for all social events (33 votes)
NO that it will no longer be required for social sec to be responsible for all social events (0 votes)
ABSTAIN that it will no longer be required for social sec to be responsible for all social events (0 votes )
- To change the Voting member to a dedicated Welfare and Inclusivity Officer that will still carry a voting member role but with a different title
YES to changing voting member to welfare and inclusivity (27 votes)
NO to changing voting member to welfare and inclusivity (2 votes)
ABSTAIN to changing voting member to welfare and inclusivity (3 votes)
16. Any Other Business