BCRA Information


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	About BCRA Membership Fees Contact Us Summary Info Constitution History BCRA Home Page	Publications Publications Info Newsletter Speleology Cave & Karst Science Cave Studies CREG Journal	Special Interest Groups SIGs Info Biological Recorder Explosives Users Cave Radio & Electronics Cave Surveying BCRA Surveying Grades	Grants, Prizes, Awards Grant-aid Info Research Fund (CSTRI) Ghar Parau Foundation (GPF) Cave Conservation (UKCCEF) National Awards BCRA Photo Salon	Events & Meetings Events Info Science Symposium Tech. Symposium Regional Meetings Annual Conference	Library National Caving Library Journal Exchanges Cave Science Index Insurance Travel Public Liability

BCRA > Information

Summary information about BCRA's activities is given below. Many of the entries have links to pages with more detailed information.

BCRA Information
	Membership and Subscription Fees
	Shortcuts: Subscribe to BCRA publications \| Join BCRA or renew your membership
	You do not have to be a member of the BCRA to take part in its activities or to purchase its publications. However, if you do want to join BCRA, please note that membership of BCA is handled as an 'option' to our parent body, the British Caving Association. The shortcuts, above, take you directly to application forms for membership and subscription to BCRA periodicals.
	For more general information, including lists of fees and benefits please see the BCA Membership Information pages. Our membership benefits vary slightly depending on the category of membership. Individual members receive our periodicals Speleology (3 per year) and Cave & Karst Science (3 per year), as well as reduced admission fees to meetings, a discount on BCRA publications and a discount on the BCA travel insurance scheme. BCRA membership fees are now handled by BCA but, for some historical information on BCA v. BCRA Membership Categories, Standing Order Payments to BCRA, etc. please see here.

	Travel Insurance BCRA's Travel Insurance scheme is now managed by the British Caving Association. The policy is specifically written for caving expeditions, and includes cave rescue costs, as well as loss or damage to baggage and personal effects. You do not have to be a member of BCA to take advantage of the competitive rates, but there is a discount for Individual members of BCA and for Personal members of BCRA. Because the policy includes benefits typical of any travel insurance policy, the period of insurance must cover the entire period you are outside the UK otherwise it may be declared invalid, so make sure you complete the application form in plenty of time

	Public Liability Insurance BCRA's Public Liability Insurance scheme has been replaced with one offered by the British Caving Association. Some notes for BCRA members can be found here

	Publications We publish a brief newsletter to keep in touch with our members. Additionally, we publish a range of books and periodicals...
		Periodicals: We publish the magazine Speleology for BCRA and BCA members and the peer-reviewed science journal Cave & Karst Science. Speleology replaces the earlier publication, Caves & Caving. Undergraduates (whether or not members of BCRA) can purchase C&KS at a discount of 50%.
		Books: We regularly add titles to the Cave Studies series, and we produce other occasional publications. We have a two volume index to the Cave Science publications of BCRA and its predecssor organisations. This is also available via an on-line article search facility (See Cave Science Indexes)
		Special Interest Groups: Our SIGs issue their own periodicals. These include the Cave Surveying Group's Compass Points newsletter and the Cave Radio and Electronics Group's journal, which is probably the leading journal of its kind in the world.

	Grant Aid
		The Cave Science and Technology Research Initiative (CSTRI) was announced in September 2005. The initiative aims to provide £25,000 over the next five years towards cave research – in both science and technology. This fund absorbs the previous BCRA Research Fund, which was established to promote research into all aspects of speleology. CSTRI applicants do not need to be students or qualified researchers.
		The Ghar Parau Foundation (GPF) exists to grant awards to overseas caving expeditions originating from within the UK, with an emphasis on scientific research or exploration in a remote or little-known area
		The UK Cave Conservation Emergency Fund (UKCCEF) was established to provide financial assistance for sites of speleological significance, which are under threat.

	Prizes (also see National Caving Awards)
		The Arthur Butcher Award is an annual award of £100, given by BCRA for contributions to cave surveying. BCRA also issues the Bryan Ellis Award
		The E.K. Tratman Award is an annual award of of £50, given by the Ghar Parau foundation (a subsidiary charity of BCRA) for the best piece of caving literature.
		The GPF also issues the Alex Pitcher Award. Alex Pitcher was a young caver who became lost on an expedition to the Gouffre Berger in the late 1980s. His memorial fund was established to support young cavers going on their first expedition. It is usually put towards training costs for such individuals, for example in SRT. One or two awards are made each year, of the order of £100 each
		BCRA's Cave Radio & Electronics Group issues an annual trophy to recognise achievements in the field of caving electronics.
		There is one other of what might be termed the 'national caving awards'; the Giles Barker Award, for achievements in cave photography. This award is not administered by BCRA, but we keep an archive of the winners and the citations, just as we do for the other awards.

	BCRA Photo Salon
		The BCRA Photo Salon is an annual event where cave photographers can display their work. Prizes are awarded by a team of judges. The photo salon usually takes place at Hidden Earth, the national caving conference. The BCRA Photo Salon is organised for BCRA by the Cave Photography Group
		Annual Art and Video Competitions also take place at Hidden Earth. The Art competitions are organised for Hidden Earth by the International Society for Speleological Art.

	Events and Meetings
		Science Symposiums: These one-day meetings allow researchers to present cave science papers, which may appear subsequently in one of our periodicals. The symposiums usually take place annually, in March. They are informal events; undergraduates and interested amateur cave scientiists are very welcome to attend and to give presentations. For further information, see the diary section on our home page.
		Technology Symposiums: In 2007 the BCRA Special Interest Groups (Cave Radio & Electronics, Cave Surveying and Explosives Users) jointly organised our first 'Cave Technology Symposium'. This event will be repeated in 2008. For further information, see the diary section on our home page.
		Regional Meetings: These are normally organised by local cavers in their own region, who may be assisted by one of the BCRA's Special Interest Groups . The events are usually weekend events combining 'classroom' talks and field studies. Unless there is a specific, specialised 'science' theme, the organisation of regional meetings has now passed to BCA
		National Caving Conference: Hidden Earth Each year, for over 30 years, a national caving conference has been held in the UK. At present the conference (as much a social event as a serious 'conference') is under-written jointly by BCRA and BCA and, since 1996, has been known as 'Hidden Earth'. There is a packed programme of presentations on British caving, including expeditions, new discoveries, technical updates and audio-visual shows. There is also an exhibition hall where you can meet caving clubs, UK caving equipment suppliers, and browse the photo and art salons. The weekend also features SRT races, competitions, club meetings, and the Saturday-evening late bar and "stomp". The conference is an ideal place for the exchange of ideas, the planning of new ventures, and for meeting old friends.

	National Caving Library A reference library is maintained in the Local Studies Department at the County Offices, Matlock, Derbyshire. (For our librarian's address see page Contacting Us). The library consists of a large collection of books and journals on caving topics from Britain and abroad, which is frequently updated. The Association maintains journal exchanges with many caving clubs world-wide. BCRA manages the library on behalf of BCA.

	Special Interest Groups BCRA supports a number of Special Interest Groups that allow BCRA members to associate and communicate in a more detailed way than would be possible amongst the general membership. Most of the BCRA SIGs produce a regular newsletter. Some of them also produce more substantial publications. Also see BCRA Grading System for Cave Surveys.

	BCRA Structure (Constitution, AGM, History and Links)
		BCRA is a UK registered charity, and a consituent body of the British Caving Association, undertaking charitable activities on behalf of BCA.
		BCRA Constitution \| BCA Constitution BCRA is responsible for two restricted funds (the BCRA Research Fund and the UK Cave Conservation Emergency Fund) and one subsidiary charity (the Ghar Parau Foundation). BCRA Research Fund UK Cave Conservation Emergency Fund Ghar Parau Foundation
		Annual General Meeting. BCRA's AGM is usually held in September, at the national caving conference, Hidden Earth. AGM notices and AGM minutes are posted on the BCRA web site.
		History: The BCRA arose from a merger of the BSA and the CRG. When the NCA was formed, BCRA became one of its constituent bodies. (See Origins of BCRA and A description of the NCA). Now, some years later, we have finally completed another change: In 2005 NCA was dissolved and the new British Caving Association took over the 'national body' services from NCA and BCRA. At the start of 2006, we announced a new membership structure for BCRA, which limits BCRA membership to BCA members, who pay a supplement to join BCRA. See The BCRA / BCA 'Road Map' (103K PDF. Speleology 5, pp42-43). In 2008, BCRA is now able to focus entirely on cave science, technology and 'heritage' matters; the latter involving the cataloguing of the vast amount of library and archive material that BCRA has collected over the years.
		Links: For some caving links see the BCRA home page. Aliases for UK Caving Information: british-caving.co.uk \| britishcaving.co.uk \| britishcaving.org.uk

This page, http://www.bcra.org.uk/info.html was last modified on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:42:50 +0100