PLEASE READ - We are experiencing an unprecedented situation in our society and we as a club need to do our part to protect each other, our families, friends and the community at large. To that end we are cancelling all meets until further notice, this includes all weekly indoor climbing meets and all club trips/events.
The club hut is now closed to ALL users. Also, all club members are requested to heed the advice from the government and The British Mountaineering Council about participating in outdoor activities.
Come and share the adventure with the Bowline Climbing Club! Rock climbing, bouldering, mountaineering, cycling, walking; based in the Leicester area we welcome new members, with or without experience. For more information please contact our chairman.
E-mail sent by Andrew Potter, Tuesday, 24th March 2020 @ 11:36am
Hello Bowliners,
I had hoped that today I'd be writing to you with something light hearted to keep everyones spirits up. But sadly following the latest government advice I am writing to inform you that the club hut is now closed to all users. Club members and external users must NOT visit the club hut until further notice.
Also, all club members are requested to heed the advice from the government and The British Mountaineering Council about participating in outdoor activities.
Stay safe and well everyone, I hope we can all get together again for some adventures soon!
E-mail sent by Andrew Potter, Tuesday, 17th March 2020 @ 5:10pm
Dear Bowliners,
We are experiencing an unprecented situation in our society and we as a club need to do our part to protect each other, our families, friends and the community at large. To that end we are cancelling all meets until further notice, this includes all weekly indoor climbing meets and all club trips/events.
We are not taking any new external bookings for the club hut and we would strongly encourage members to NOT go to the club hut for the foreseeable future. We have the situation under continuous review and we may provide further guidance regarding the hut as the situation evolves, this may well result use of the hut being banned.
With the situation likely to get much worse before it gets better I'd like encourage everyone to consider carefully the risks to themselves and to others before undertaking any of the activities that I know we all love. The more we do to help now, the sooner we can all get together again as a club and share more fun and adventures.
We will continue to publish a weekly update via email every Tuesday. If anyone has anything they'ed like to include please do share with us.
E-mail sent by Michael Jones, Monday, 16th March 2020 @ 8:31pm
Sorry its me again,
To add to my previous email I can confirm that there will be a refund.
Right now this will be £65. There was a deposit paid which was slightly under £20.
There is discussion as to whether this deposit is recoverable, I at present do not know which way that will go but I will communicate this information once it is known.
E-mail sent by Andy Railton, Saturday, 14th March 2020 @ 7:36pm
Dear Club Member,
Due to the rapidly escalating number of people being diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus we have concluded that it would not be responsible for the Club to hold its AGM at the end of March, which would involve bringing together upwards of 40 people in a relatively confined space.
Although we realise that the Club's Rules of Association require us to hold a General meeting in March, under the current circumstances it is better to postpone the AGM, rather than running the risk of potentially further spreading the virus to our nearest and dearest and wider in the community.
Therefore this Email gives formal notice to postpone the AGM.
We are postponing the date of the AGM until late June or early July, as soon as we have a practical date we will let you know. If nearer the time of June/July it looks like an AGM at this time is not feasible then we will postpone the date again till September, after the summer holidays.
E-mail sent by Andrew Potter, Tuesday, 10th March 2020 @ 11:12pm
It looks like those on the Scottish Winter meet are having a good time judging by the photos and updates in the Bowline Members Facebook group. Good to hear that some more club members have been introduced to the 'joys' of winter climbing, congratulations to Andy Harper who has got his first winter lead climb under his belt.
You should all have received the email with the Formal Notice of the club AGM on Saturfday 28th March. We need as many club members to attend as possible so please make every effort to come along. It's your club and it needs you to help ensure its future!
A little sooner than the club AGM is the next BMC Midlands area meeting which is coming up next week on Thursday 19th March starting at 19:30 in Solihull. The meeting includes free food courtesy of the BMC and an excellent talk from John Edwards about 'A cheap long weekend in Longyearbyen'. Full details on the BMC website. A number of club members are part of the BMC area committee so there will be familiar faces present, I may be able to offer lifts from Leicester.
Hope those of you who went to our Tuesday evening bouldering at The Climbing Station had a great time, goo training for those going on our trip to Fontainebleau next month. With the outdoor climbing season approaching now is the time to join our Thursday evening roped climbing at The Tower climbing wall in Beaumont Leys and get in shape ready to hit the real rock.
E-mail sent by Andy Railton, Saturday, 7th March 2020 @ 9:27pm
Hey Bowliners!
It's Annual General Meeting time again - this is your club and the AGM is a great opportunity to get involved in shaping the future of the club. Your committee have been busy responding to member's suggestions and feedback over the past year and we have proposals to discuss and where appropriate vote on;
· Family membership - a recommendation from the committee to create a Family Membership scheme to allow members kids (and grandchildren) to join formally so they become more closely associated with the club and can be covered by the BMC's third party liability insurance.
· Membership fee updates - proposals for the new Family Membership rates for under 18s and refinements to membership fees of other categories to reflect a year's experience of these and help address some anomalies – to be fully discussed at the AGM and voted on of course.
· Some updates to the Byelaws the committee think will better reflect today's club
· Charnwood Hills Race – a full discussion of the impact to our finances of not being able to run this year's race and the steps we plan to take over the coming months to try and protect next year's event
· We also need to elect Committee officers and members for the coming year (another great way to get involved - the current membership secretary is standing down next year and we will need to elect a vice chair for next year - so if you're interested in joining the committee team please let us know!).
To comply with our rules, we need at least a quarter of eligible members to attend the AGM but in reality, we want as many as possible to ensure discussion and voting reflects the views of the wider club. To help with this we're holding it again at "Peter (Pete's) Pizzeria" - the venue for last year's successful AGM. Sadly club funds don't stretch to subsidising either beer or pizza but we hope you'll stay on and enjoy both with fellow members after the event - there's a link on the website to register interest for food so Peter's team know roughly how many want to stay on.
Attached you'll find the formal agenda with helpful explanatory notes on the all the motions being voted on, the changed Byelaws and of course the Club’s Income & Expenditure account for 2019. Please remember, whilst only paid up full members can vote at the meeting, we welcome views of all so come along and get involved. And don't forget - if you can't attend in person please take a moment to complete a Proxy Voting form to ensure you have a say in the future of your club
So, can you please mark in your diary to attend the AGM on the 28th March.
NOW THE FORMAL BIT
This is the formal notice of the Bowline Climbing Club AGM at 16:00 at Peter Pizzeria, Leicester LE1 6ZH on Saturday 28th March.
Under the Club's Rules of Association we are only allowed to vote on Motions at the AGM that have been circulated at least 14 days prior to the AGM. Club Subscriptions, Hut Fees and Votes to elect committee members are standing items on the AGM agenda and don't need to be proposed as a Motion.
If you can't attend the AGM you may either vote on the Motions that are appended to the attached AGM Agenda on the Proxy Voting Slip OR nominate someone to vote in your place (also on the Proxy Voting Slip) as a proxy who is going to attend the AGM and is ELIGIBLE to vote. You MUST however send in your completed Proxy Voting Slip to the Club Secretary either by Email or Post within 48 hours of the date of AGM, that is by 16:00 on Thursday the 26th of March.
PS - All the files attached are PDF so they should be easy to download and view, the Modified Byelaws are also attached as a WORD file, because they print better in that format.
Fun times at the club bouldering competition