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8th November 2004, 9:30pm Huddersfield Sports Centre

Minutes from Meeting
 

1	Apologies Received from Andy Waugh, Pete Edwards All other committee members present except Trish Holmes Also present, Richard Manning and Gary Exton
2	Matters Arising Compressor We still seem to be chasing our tail with the Sports Centre.  Colin is still trying to gain approval for the electrical works, etc. Octopush T-Shirts Andy Briggs is receiving the design from Dave Colley tonight and will forward to Stewart Leahy who will scan and distribute. 50th Anniversary Dry Dive - There are two dates, 18th and 25th November with one place available on each Dinner - There has been an excellent response from previous members of the club....current members need to get their tickets ordered.  The tickets are now printed ready for distribution.  It was suggested that we could hold an auction rather than a raffle for the dinner and efforts are to be made for prizes. T-Shirts - It was pointed out that divers should 'stake their claim' if they believe they are eligible for a t-shirt.  All other members will be able to purchase a t-shirt / sweatshirt at cost should they wish to do so.
3	Membership Secretary 67 Diving members, 13 due to renew, 1 overdue 30 Snorkel members, 4 due to renew, 3 overdue
4	Diving Officer's Report There have been a lot of reports recently about the sad deterioration in the condition of coral reefs and depleting stocks of fish and other marine life. Divers regularly reminisce about how the dives used to be, “You should have seen that reef when I first went there…” Wrecks, too, have suffered, more at the hands of thoughtless divers than the pounding of the waves and the passage of time. As BSAC 18 has been around for nearly fifty years, there must be many club members who will remember the famous sites, both round Britain and abroad, when they were less damaged. Is there anything we can do? I don’t know much about writing to MPs or joining conservation groups, but I do know how every member of our club can make a conscious effort to do their best. We can all fine-tune our buoyancy so that we don’t accidentally damage the delicate environment in which the fish live. We can all respect the environment. The old “look, don’t touch” adage is still the best. It is good that so many people are now keen on photography as this will hopefully promote ‘looking’. We have no right to disturb, annoy, play with or feed sea creatures. We’ve all done it but it’s time to stop. They need to be allowed to live their own lives while we watch. Personally I have decided not to eat trawled fish as I am aware not only of the depletion of stocks but the desperately sad by-catches of everything from dolphins to dogfish that die so that we can have fish and chips. On a brighter note our most recent trip to St Abbs showed me that there are still some areas where the fish are surviving. Being a marine conservation area, sites such as Ebb Carrs are in excellent condition and the fish are flourishing. Hooray. Kate Falkingham, Diving Officer
5	Training Officer's Report Currently have 8 trainees in the pool at various stages....with 2 Sports Divers to finish and 2 Ocean Divers nearly there (although one has had to postpone training due to heart problem!) Our regional skill development course coordinator (Judy Kenyon - judykenyon@aol.com) is currently organising Advanced Diver and Dive Leader training sessions and all interested parties should contact Judy direct. Octopush - The Octopush players have asked to have the whole pool from 9:00pm on Committee Meeting nights in order to arrange games, etc.  The Committee agreed, in principle, as the instructors will be getting out then anyway to attend the meeting.
6	Treasurer's Report £238.14 for October 2004 leaving a Year to date figure of (£47.24) although we are in an improving position with funds coming in for the dinner.
7	Equipment Officers Report We appear to have lost 3 cylinders at the moment.....these are probably out on loan, etc but need to be returned as soon as possible as we are close to a shortfall for training purposes.  People borrowing cylinders are reminded to ensure they 'book out' the cylinders in the book and to return them in plenty of time for the Monday evening training.  If this system fails then so shall the lending of cylinders!!!!! Andy Briggs will aim to apply BSAC18 club stickers to all club cylinders to aid identification, etc.
8	Welfare Officer's Report Ray Dawson has prepared a procedure document for diver training of vulnerable people.  Gary Exton will e-mail this to all committee members for consideration prior to next month's meeting.  The aim being to approve the procedures to then gain BSAC HQ certification to enable us to be able to get police / CRB checks, etc. To be added to the agenda for next month's meeting
9	Club Marketing (S Leahy) Stewart Leahy had distributed a document outlining the roles a 'marketing focussed' committee member could take on (includes reviewing web site, coordinating between all committee members, gaining PR, coordinating try a dive marketing, etc).  The committee agreed, in principle, to make this role become available from next AGM as 'Ordinary Committee Member with responsibility for communications and marketing'. It was also suggested that this person could look to co-ordinate a bid for new kit grant funding from the lottery.