SO WHAT CHANGES ARE BEING PUT FORWARD AT THE AGM?
National Council is putting forward a series of revisions which will: • Update the constitution in line with the Companies Act 2006, • Improve the layout and wording to make it more understandable • Clearly define control structures and responsibilities in the organisation
• Enable continued recognition – by government – of the BMC’s role as the umbrella body for mountaineering, and continued grant funding.
Alternative scenarios are also likely to come forward from members. The full resolutions are on our website:
www.thebmc.co.uk/agm.
WHAT EFFECT WILL THIS HAVE?
With the changes in place, the BMC should be better run, better structured, and our members will be able to see it. Organisational transparency should improve – what we do and why should be much clearer – the Directors will be accountable to the membership and decision making will be clarified. The views of members will be integral to overall direction of travel and responsibility for climbing and mountaineering ethics, and key access and environmental policies will remain vested in the members’ body: the National Council.
WOULD THERE BE ANY DRAWBACKS?
Many people care deeply for the BMC and some are concerned about the impact on organisational democracy, the feeling of becoming a ‘governing’ body rather than a ‘representative’ body, the impact of competition climbing and the Olympics and a loss of member control. The fact is that under a new structure the bulk of our core work – access, conservation, environment, clubs and membership services – will continue much as it is now, and our remit as a ‘representative’ body will remain enshrined in the constitution. As we go to press some significant improvements have also been agreed, amongst other things guaranteeing a majority of BMC members on the Board.
HOW MUCH DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FUNDING?
Sport England is important because of the recognition and credibility it gives us and our partners, and there’s the funding too. The BMC is the umbrella body for mountaineering and National Council considers it very important we remain as such. Mountain Training England, Mountain Training UK, the ABC and ABCTT are linked in with our funding bid so it’s extremely important to them too.
WHAT IF THE BMC STEPPED AWAY FROM SPORT ENGLAND FUNDING?
We’ve had a relationship with the Sports Council since the early 1970s and received consistent funding in one form or another since then, so it’d be quite a change. Without the funding we would have to review our income streams including a rethink on membership subscriptions rates and staffing priorities, and seeking more commercial partnerships. It wouldn’t be catastrophic but the impact would certainly be felt, especially if members want us to continue supporting such a wide range of work (competitions, hill walking, youth development, equality, guidebooks etc.) as we do now.
But this possibility is something we’re already working on. Last year we consulted members on the idea of exploring new commercial partnerships, and the feedback was broadly supportive. We took on a Commercial Manager and have already entered into several mutually beneficial arrangements.
WHAT’S ALL THIS GOT TO DO WITH THE OLYMPICS?
There are plenty of theories on this one, but my short and honest answer is – very little. The inclusion of climbing in Tokyo 2020 was a big surprise and UK Sport funding for climbing is being channelled through the English Institute of Sport – not the BMC. A key recommendation of the ORG was to create a new subsidiary for competition climbing and we’ve started investigating the legal and structural options for doing just that. This is a specialised and complex area and a new way of working is definitely needed in my view.
...AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE COMING OUT OF ALL THIS?
It’s extremely important that the BMC remains a member-led organisation. My job now is to ensure a professionally executed AGM in which everyone feels they’ve been able to have their say. This is a genuine members’ debate and I will be as neutral and balanced as possible throughout. We’re holding a special Open Forum event on 15 May and extended the deadline for AGM resolutions and amendments to provide opportunity for further improvements and ideas to be thrown into the mix. Whatever the decision in June, bridges must be built and there must be a coming together of the mountaineering world.
The BMC has had a torrid time this past two years, but lessons have been learnt and it’s time to bury hatchets. As a former BMC President once said to me, quoting Ernest Hemingway I believe, ‘there are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.’ The BMC and its members are the guardians of this great pursuit with its rich history, legendary characters and internationally respected ethics. We are a broad church with a bright future: a well-respected, welcoming organisation in which everyone is free be involved, speak their mind and do their own thing whether it be indoor climbing, hill walking, Himalayan mountaineering, pottering away at Stanage or anything in between.
WHY SHOULD BMC MEMBERS VOTE?
This is the BMC’s most important AGM in 25 years. Big changes are being proposed and it’d be great to get as many members as possible involved in the decision making process. That way the outcome will be truly reflective of what members want. Look at the website –
www.thebmc.co.uk/agm – read the resolutions and agenda, and find out about our online proxy voting system.
SUMMIT#90 | SUMMER 2018 | 31
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