Crew Handbook

Quick Reference

First trip with us?

You’ll need to do a Giggletrip first – no exceptions, even for experienced cavers.

Want to borrow gear?

Available on many Crew trips. Select the gear hire option when you sign up.

Got feedback?

Email [email protected], message us on Facebook, or attend the first 15 minutes of any committee meeting.

Emergency underground?

Make the scene safe, provide first aid, call for help if needed (999 → Police → Cave Rescue). Contact the committee as soon as practicable afterwards.

Something go wrong?

Report incidents and near misses through NeoCrew within 24 hours. Don’t admit liability or speak to media – refer to the committee.

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Part 1: Going on Trips

Your First Trip – The Giggletrip

Everyone’s first trip with The Caving Crew is a Giggletrip. This applies to complete beginners and experienced cavers alike – there are no exceptions.

Why we do this:

The Giggletrip isn’t just a skills assessment. It’s how we introduce people to our club culture. Our trips are supportive, collaborative, and welcoming. Experienced cavers on Giggletrips are expected to make friends with beginners, chat with nervous newcomers, and model what Crew caving looks like. This sets the tone for everything else.

There are practical reasons too. People – especially experienced cavers being vouched for by friends – have a tendency to overstate their ability. The Giggletrip lets us see how someone actually caves, not how they describe their caving. And it lets newcomers see whether they like how we do things before committing further.

The Giggletrip lasts a lifetime. Once you’ve done one, you don’t need to do another – even if you’ve been away from the club for years. That said, anyone is welcome to come on another Giggletrip anytime. Many members enjoy them.

For BCA members from other clubs: You can attend a Giggletrip at member prices. The Giggletrip requirement still applies – it’s about getting to know us, not questioning your competence.

After Your Giggletrip

Once you’ve completed a Giggletrip, you can sign up for any trip you believe you have the skills for. The Giggletrip is our cultural gate; after that, progression is largely self-directed.

How this works in practice:

• Look at the trip listing – it will show required skills and gear
• If you’re unsure whether you’re ready, ask the trip leader
• For your first SRT trip with us, expect a conversation about your previous experience
• The trip leader has responsibility for everyone’s safety – if they think you’re not ready for a particular trip, they’ll let you know and suggest alternatives

This system relies on honesty and good communication. If in doubt, ask.

Types of Trips We Run

Tuesday Evening Trips

Our regular caving events, running most Tuesday evenings throughout the year. Mainly caves and mines in Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and Cheshire, with occasional trips further afield. Available for signup by members on our website.

All evening trips take a Caving Crew Leader Bag. If they’re SRT trips, they use Caving Crew ropes, carabiners, and PPE.

There are different signup costs for members and non-members. Non-members pay more, partly to encourage them to join the club and reflect the different contributions members have already made towards gear, running costs, and the club’s operating challenges.

Giggletrips

These are our introductory trips to Bagshawe Cavern, designed for people new to caving, returning to caving, or new to the Crew. Open to members and non-members. We run these regularly – usually every 1-3 months on Tuesday evenings, and we’re working to run them on Saturdays too.

Giggletrips are open to anybody who can walk up several full flights of stairs. There are no other prerequisites in terms of gear or ability.

Why Bagshawe? We’ve perfected this trip over many iterations. Bagshawe offers a progressive approach to showing people the basics of caving in a nice environment. It includes water, small passages, and mud – giving a representative view of what Crew caving is actually like, rather than just the easier or harder trips.

The trips are designed so people have very positive memories as they leave the cave, which encourages them to return and do more caving. And because we run Giggletrips so often here, participants are rarely gutted if their personal trip doesn’t go quite as far as hoped due to a complete novice’s pace – many people have done it many times.

The next step after somebody has done a Giggletrip is for the leaders on that trip to encourage them onto an appropriate trip they might enjoy next. All members should see it as a goal to be involved in running a Giggletrip at some point.

Weekend Trips

Overnight trips to caving huts around the UK – Mendip, Wales, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and beyond. These happen on the last weekend of most months.

Everything is included: accommodation, food, gear hire, and access fees. This includes communal meals – breakfast (usually a full English so everyone has energy for the day) and evening meals, including for people with different dietary requirements such as vegan, gluten-free, lactose intolerant, and any specific allergies. We do this to make everybody feel welcome.

Plans are made on Friday evening at the hut, so you need to arrive for planning to be included. It’s difficult for people to join after this point because if they don’t arrive at the hut, they can’t be part of the planning process and their wishes, desires, and skills can’t be taken into account.

Late arrivals and drop-ins: People turning up late need to arrive as early as possible to help figure out what the plan will be for that day. It’s the duty of the person who’s not present to make themselves present, and the responsibility of those not present to figure out the plans for themselves rather than expecting others to accommodate them.

Caving Crew overnight trips are for the people who are attending them in full and paying to be on them. People who happen to be in the area and want to join our events but aren’t members or don’t wish to attend the full weekend are generally not encouraged on these trips.

Training Events

Courses to help members learn and develop skills. Run as needed and advertised on the website.

Training events fall into two categories:

Internal training (run by club members) usually costs a small fee. This money is usually used to buy cake to share within the group and to offset any costs of gear or equipment required for that training.

External training (run by professional instructors) is subsidised by the club. Members pay a token amount rather than a percentage of the cost, because the training is usually something the Crew wants people to be skilled in to facilitate more activity for everyone.

The rationale: if more people can do SRT, more SRT trips can happen and it reduces pressure on leaders to run only horizontal trips. If more people can rig SRT, more people can make SRT trips happen. If more people can second trips, more people know what to do in an emergency and everybody is safer. Training is subsidised by surplus from weekend trips so we can run more events and ensure more people gain skills faster and safer.

Socials

Organised informally through our Facebook group or The Social Clan (shared with our sister club, The Climbing Clan).

Signing Up for Trips

All official Caving Crew trips are advertised on our website. Your place is only confirmed once you’ve signed up and paid through the website.

When you sign up, you’ll choose whether you:

• Have all your own gear
• Need to borrow some or all gear from the Crew

The gear hire cost is deliberately kept low and is a one-size-fits-all fee that covers everything or anything you might need to borrow: helmet, light, undersuit, oversuit, SRT kit, wellies, the lot. We’d rather you borrow a proper undersuit for a small fee than try to manage without one.

Bringing a Friend

Members can bring non-member friends on a Giggletrip – that’s the context for introducing people to the club. Everyone needs to be properly booked on through the website.

We’re not set up to accommodate experienced cavers visiting from other clubs as one-off guests. If someone wants to cave with us, we’d like them to go through a Giggletrip first and then become part of the Crew. This isn’t about being unwelcoming – it’s about making sure everyone’s on the same page about how we do things, and avoiding situations where expectations don’t match.

Trip Costs – Where Your Money Goes

We charge for trips because running a safe, well-equipped caving club costs money. Here’s what trip fees cover:

Leader Bags and Safety Equipment
Every official trip takes a Caving Crew Leader Bag containing first aid kit, emergency shelter, spare lights, batteries, and water. These need regular maintenance and restocking.

Gear Replacement
Club equipment wears out and must be replaced. PPE items like harnesses have fixed lifespans. We budget around £2,000 per year to keep our gear current and safe.

Access Fees
Many caves charge entry fees. Your trip fee covers these.

Occasionally, a cave’s access cost may exceed the lowest trip fee. For example, if Peak Cavern charges £4 for entry but the trip cost for someone with their own gear is £3, the Caving Crew pays the extra £1 for everybody and technically takes a loss on that trip. This is then covered by other trips running at a surplus.

For access-controlled caves and mines where it’s diplomatic to make a small donation to the digging team or access provider (such as Holme Bank Chert Mine or Goodluck Mine), we make donations from trip costs in line with their requests.

Insurance
Using our signup system ensures everyone has appropriate BCA insurance coverage.

Training Subsidy
Surplus from trips helps subsidise training courses for members.

Who gets paid?

No one in the club receives payment for sharing caving skills. This is a constitutional requirement (Section 6.14 states: “No member is allowed to personally accept money, goods, or services for sharing skills and experiences with members within the club. All donations must go to the club.”) and an insurance condition. Leaders and seconders pay exactly the same as everyone else.

We do pay:

• External professional instructors (for training courses)
• Hut owners (for weekend accommodation)
• Access fees to cave owners
• Equipment suppliers
• Gear maintenance costs

How access fees are handled: When there’s an access fee, it can be handled two ways:

1. The person who paid submits an expense to the Treasurer using the standard expense form, or
2. They provide bank details of the people who need paying to the Treasurer via the trip form, and the Treasurer pays directly

Borrowing Gear

Who can borrow Crew gear? Anyone on an official Caving Crew trip. Select the gear hire option when you sign up.

How does gear get allocated? When demand exceeds supply, gear is allocated by trip priority:

1. Weekend trips (booked furthest in advance)
2. Giggletrips (bringing new people into the club is crucial)
3. Training events
4. Day and evening trips

Can I borrow gear for personal trips? No. Caving Crew tackle is only available for official Crew trips advertised through our website. It’s not available for personal trips or trips with other clubs.

On the day – Giggletrips: The leader helps everyone get changed, sized up, and into the right gear.

On the day – Other trips: The person who’s brought the gear distributes it. If you have sizing issues or problems, speak up – it’s your responsibility to flag issues, and you and the leader work out fitting together.

Reporting gear problems: If you notice damaged or worn gear, either message the Crew to let the Tackle Manager know, or tell the Tackle Manager in person after the trip.

Using Your Own Gear

We encourage members to use their own gear on Crew trips. When people have their own helmet, oversuit, undersuit, SRT kit, and other personal PPE, it reduces pressure on club equipment – which is one of our ongoing challenges. If you’ve got your own gear, please use it.

For shared equipment like ropes and carabiners, we prefer these to be supplied by the Caving Crew. This gives us a clear chain of responsibility and means we know the gear has been properly inspected. That said, we don’t explicitly forbid personal ropes – but we’d warmly encourage you to use Crew equipment for rigging.

Standards and checking: You’re responsible for making sure your own gear is safe and suitable. The leader may also check, particularly on SRT trips.

If a leader thinks your gear isn’t adequate – for example, a cobbled-together climbing harness instead of a proper SRT kit, or a boiler suit instead of caving gear – they’re within their rights to ask you to borrow Crew gear instead, or in extreme cases, to remove you from the trip. This isn’t about being difficult – it’s about everyone being safe.

Our priorities, in order:

1. Everyone is safe and well-equipped
2. People use their own gear where possible
3. Both – people are well-equipped with their own gear

We’d always rather you borrowed club gear than went underground with inadequate equipment. Gear should inspire confidence. If yours doesn’t – or if you see someone else’s that doesn’t – let us know.

Why we encourage gear ownership: Pooling resources for shared equipment like ropes is efficient – we don’t all need to buy our own ropes. But personal PPE is different. The more members who own their own helmet, oversuit, and SRT kit, the more trips we can run and the less pressure on volunteers managing the tackle store. Check the AGM reports for more on why this matters to the club.

Cancellations

We have a cancellation policy that you agree to when signing up. Check it before booking if you’re unsure you can make it.

When you cancel late, you’re usually stopping someone else from taking that place, and sometimes plans fall apart entirely as a result. Late cancellation is defined in the cancellation policy, and consequences for repeated late cancellations are covered in the Code of Conduct.

Obviously sometimes cancellations have to happen – but please give as much notice as you can.

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Part 2: Leading Trips

Leadership Roles

Every Caving Crew trip has a clearly defined Leader and Seconder, even in experienced groups.

The Leader is in charge of the trip. They may delegate tasks, but responsibility stays with them.

The Seconder supports the leader, usually by looking after less confident group members, keeping spirits up, and being capable of getting help if something goes wrong with the leader.

Who Can Lead?

We have a training levels system with specific levels for trip leaders:

Horizontal Leader – Required to lead any horizontal trip. You need the skills in our horizontal leader syllabus.

SRT Leader – Required to lead SRT trips. You need at least SRT Basics level, with more advanced levels for more complex trips.

These levels are self-assessed or community-assessed. The syllabuses are publicly available, so you can judge for yourself where you’re at – or ask the Training Officer or experienced leaders for their view.

The path to leading:

1. Cave regularly with the Crew and get to know how we do things
2. Go on several trips to understand what we expect of leaders
3. Attend horizontal or SRT leading training (we run these regularly)
4. Start leading in calm, familiar environments – Giggletrips are excellent for new leaders
5. Build up to more challenging trips as your confidence grows

If you’re already experienced from another club: You may well be competent in the technical skills, but we’d encourage you to go on several Crew trips before using your leader skills with us. This helps you understand our culture and what we expect.

Ultimately, deciding when you’re ready to lead is a personal decision – but starting somewhere you feel comfortable and working up from there is wise.

Leader Responsibilities

Before the trip:

• Choose an appropriate cave for the group and conditions
• Check the weather forecast
• Arrange access and confirm any permits
• Locate surveys and route descriptions
• Set up a callout with someone reliable
• Ensure you have access to a Leader Bag
• Check group tackle requirements (ropes, etc.)
• Confirm the group has appropriate skills for the trip
• Communicate meeting time and location clearly

At the meeting point:

• Deal with access gates, keys, or permissions
• Check everyone has appropriate gear, fitted correctly
• Brief the group on the trip (the cave, hazards, the plan, what to do if separated)
• Get a sense of how people are feeling – address any concerns

Underground:

• Navigate to the entrance and through the cave
• Manage rigging or coordinate it with capable group members
• Keep the group together and manage pace
• Make decisions about when to turn around
• Handle any incidents calmly
• Delegate to the Seconder and others as appropriate

After the trip:

• Cancel the callout immediately
• Confirm everyone can get home safely
• Ensure gear is being returned to the Tackle Manager
• Mark the trip as complete in NeoCrew
• Report any gear issues or incidents through NeoCrew
• Encourage the group to share photos and highlights in chat

Seconder Responsibilities

A good Seconder is usually a Leader-in-training or an experienced caver. The role involves:

• Supporting struggling or less confident group members
• Keeping morale up, especially when things get tiring
• Being capable of getting out alone to raise the alarm if the Leader is incapacitated
• Escorting someone out if they need to leave early – never leave someone to make their own way out alone (people get cold and disoriented very quickly)
• Helping the Leader with any tasks they delegate

Working with a Seconder

When managing many things, a Seconder is an incredible asset. Good Seconder-Leader communication can reduce the Leader’s workload by at least half. Delegating different tasks to the Seconder can be extremely helpful.

It may also be possible to get other competent cavers in the group to help in some places, further spreading the load.

Caving with Novices

Generally, the greatest risk when caving with novices is people overstating their ability or the Leader pushing someone beyond their comfort zone.

Ultimately, the aim is a fun day out where everyone will be happy to go on another trip with you.

Leader Authority

Leaders have the authority – and the responsibility – to make decisions about whether someone should participate on a given trip. This covers three areas:

Skills: If someone has signed up to a trip they’re clearly not ready for, the leader needs to let them know and suggest alternatives. This isn’t about being harsh – it’s about keeping everyone safe.

Gear: If someone turns up with inadequate equipment – a cobbled-together harness instead of a proper SRT kit, a boiler suit instead of caving gear, or personal equipment the leader considers unsafe – the leader can require them to borrow Crew gear instead, or in extreme cases, remove them from the trip.

Fitness: If someone turns up visibly unwell, significantly hungover, or clearly not up to the trip they’ve booked onto, the leader needs to have a conversation. Sometimes that means suggesting an easier alternative. Sometimes it means sitting this one out.

These conversations are handled sensitively, but the leader’s decision is final. The safety of the whole group depends on everyone being able to participate safely. Our priorities are:

1. Everyone is safe
2. Everyone has a good time
3. Everyone wants to come back

In that order.

Decision-Making Underground

The Leader makes the ultimate decision about turning back, but we encourage everyone to use principles from crew resource management: voice concerns early, point out things you’ve noticed, suggest alternatives. Good leaders welcome this input.

If someone wants to leave mid-trip: The Seconder usually accompanies them out. People should never be left to find their own way back alone – they can get cold very quickly and easily become disoriented. This is much easier to manage on a Giggletrip in Bagshawe than on a complex trip elsewhere, which is another reason Giggletrips work well for cavers who are new to us.

Objectives and Flexibility

Your planned objective is the ideal scenario. Good leadership means being willing to change the plan when conditions, group ability, or circumstances require it.

Rigidly sticking to a plan when turning around would be better for the group is one of the biggest causes of callouts.

The cave you’re visiting should not significantly challenge you or the Seconder in expected conditions. Save pushing your own limits for trips where you’re not responsible for others.

Group Dynamics

Emphasise before starting that you’re doing this as a team. Chat with everyone beforehand to understand their expectations – some want adventure, some want a gentle bimble. It’s easier to accommodate preferences when you know about them in advance.

Where possible, keep the group together. Try to complete the trip as a team, even if that means reducing the objective. The only time someone should cave alone is in a genuine emergency.

Ratios

As a rule of thumb: 1 Leader and 1 Seconder to 4 novices for horizontal trips.

For SRT trips, ratios should be tighter. Use judgement and err on the side of caution.

Example scenarios:

Scenario 1: Simple SRT introduction
Trips with very little SRT or mini trips just intended to get novices doing some SRT can get away with larger Leader/novice ratios – for example, Suicide Cave or Alum Pot just going down Dolly Tubs pitch.

Scenario 2: Full SRT trips
For longer trips or situations aiming to carry out a “full” trip, the ideal ratio would be closer to 1:1 – that is, Leader + Seconder to 2 novices.

In complex vertical environments, ratios should be close to 1:1, if at all. Exercise caution before letting people into more complex environments before they’re ready.

Working with Fear and Weakness

Leaders can have weaknesses – fear of squeezes, discomfort with free climbs, limited SRT experience. The key is knowing your limitations and working around them:

• Choose to lead trips that don’t focus on your weak areas
• Take a Seconder or group member whose strengths complement yours
• Don’t let yourself be talked into leading trips where your weakness is central to the challenge

It’s fine to push yourself a tiny bit if the group can support you. It’s not fine to push beyond that.

Leaders and Seconders Pay Their Way

Leaders and Seconders pay exactly the same trip costs as everyone else. This is a constitutional and insurance requirement – no one can receive benefit in kind for sharing caving skills with club members.

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Part 3: Official Trips vs Personal Trips

What Makes Something a Crew Trip?

There are two types of trips: Caving Crew trips and personal trips.

Caving Crew trips are organised through the Caving Crew website and our official communication channels. They’re clearly Crew trips.

Personal trips are not organised through Crew channels or the website. Members can and do organise these informally – that’s fine and can even be encouraged – but they’re separate from official club activity.

If you’re advertising a personal trip anywhere on Crew channels, you must make it extremely clear that it’s a personal trip, not a Crew trip. You should also make clear what equipment and skills people need – we have a lot of beginners in our club who may not realise what’s required.

The Differences

	Caving Crew Trip	Personal Trip
Leader Bag	Yes – always taken	No – cannot use Crew leader bags
Club gear	Can borrow ropes, tackle, equipment	Cannot use Crew gear
Access fees	Sorted for you	You arrange and pay yourself
Access arrangements	Usually arranged for you	You arrange yourself
Meeting location	Clearly communicated	You figure it out
Trip report	Usually written up on website	No website trip report
Leader	Always an experienced leader	May not have a formal leader
Callout process	Standard process in place	You work it out yourselves
If someone gets hurt	Standard process to follow	People on trip notify insurers and handle admin
Preparation culture	Expectation of being well-prepared	Nothing stopping people being under-equipped
Insurance	You know everyone has BCA cover	You may not have that assurance

Both types of trip are covered by your BCA membership for third-party liability claims.

Club Equipment is for Crew Trips Only

To be explicit: Caving Crew equipment cannot be used on personal trips. This includes:

• Leader bags
• Ropes and rigging gear
• SRT kits
• Oversuits, undersuits, helmets
• Any other club tackle

This isn’t about being stingy – it’s about accountability. Club equipment is logged, inspected, and maintained through our systems. When it goes out on a Crew trip, we know who has it, where it’s going, and that there’s a responsible leader in charge. None of that applies to personal trips.

If you’re organising a personal trip, you’ll need to source your own equipment or make sure everyone brings their own.

How to Run a Personal Trip

Personal trips are fine – caving with friends is part of what makes this hobby great. But when you organise one, you’re taking on responsibilities that the Crew normally handles for you.

Things you’ll need to think about:

• Access: You’ll need to arrange this yourself. Do you need permission? Keys? A permit? Who do you contact?
• Equipment: Everyone needs their own gear, or you need to arrange borrowing from somewhere other than the Crew. Is everyone’s kit adequate?
• Who’s leading? There may not be a formal leader, but someone needs to make decisions. Who’s that?
• Callout: You’ll need to set one up yourself. Who holds it? When do they raise the alarm?
• Route and survey: Do you have one? Does everyone know the plan?
• Skills: Is everyone actually capable of the trip you’re planning? Who’s checking?
• Insurance: Everyone should have their own BCA membership for third-party liability, but you won’t have the assurance that everyone definitely does.
• If something goes wrong: There’s no standard Crew process to follow. You’ll need to handle incident reporting, insurance notification, and any aftermath yourselves.
• First aid: There’s no Leader Bag. Do you have a first aid kit? Emergency shelter? Spare light?

Advertising in Crew spaces: If you mention a personal trip in any Crew channels (Facebook group, WhatsApp, etc.), you must:

• Make it extremely clear this is a personal trip, not a Crew trip
• Specify what equipment people need to bring
• Specify what skills are required
• Be aware we have lots of beginners who may not realise what’s involved

Don’t let people assume it’s an official trip with all the usual support.

Why This Distinction Matters

The Crew invests in leader bags, safety equipment, gear maintenance, and building a culture of good preparation. These resources are for Crew trips.

Personal trips operate under different conditions. That’s not a problem – but be aware of the differences and plan accordingly.

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Part 4: Safety & Risk Management

Caving involves inherent risks that cannot be entirely eliminated. Our approach to safety is about managing those risks sensibly – not pretending they don’t exist, and not being so cautious that nobody ever goes underground.

Risk Assessments

We maintain written risk assessments for the Bagshawe Giggletrip, and no other trips.

Written risk assessments can’t cover everything. Conditions change. Water levels rise. Someone turns up feeling unwell. The group dynamic is different from expected. Leaders are expected to continuously assess the situation throughout the trip and adjust plans accordingly. This is sometimes called “dynamic risk assessment” – it just means paying attention and making sensible decisions as things unfold.

There’s no formal “go/no-go” checklist. It’s leader judgment, supported by the route-based assessment and the knowledge that turning back or changing plans is always an option.

Medical Disclosure

When you join the Caving Crew, we ask about medical conditions that might affect your participation or that leaders should know about in an emergency. This includes things like asthma, previous dislocations, medications where missing a dose would be serious, and any conditions that might affect your ability to take part in heavy physical activity.

This information is visible to trip leaders, seconders, and the committee – so they can support you properly on trips and know what to tell emergency services if something goes wrong.

If your circumstances change, please update your profile. And if there’s something you’d rather discuss directly with a leader before a specific trip, that’s fine too – just get in touch.

First Aid

Every official Caving Crew trip carries a Leader Bag containing a first aid kit in a Daren drum, spare head torch and batteries, glucose tablets, eyewash, an emergency group shelter, and usually water. They’re specifically designed for underground use and the kinds of incidents that can happen in caves – hypothermia from getting lost, injuries from falls or rockfall, extended stays underground.

Leaders don’t need formal first aid qualifications, but first aid training is recommended and we run courses from time to time. The more people in the club with first aid skills, the better – talk to the Training Secretary if you’re interested.

Incident and Near Miss Reporting

We have an Incident and Near Miss Procedure that covers what to do if something goes wrong – from immediate response through to reporting, insurance notification, and learning from what happened.

The key points:

• If there’s a serious incident, the priority is making the scene safe, providing first aid, and calling for help if needed (999 → Police → Cave Rescue)
• The trip leader should contact the committee as soon as practicable
• An incident report should be completed within 24 hours
• Near misses should also be reported – they’re valuable learning opportunities
• Don’t admit liability or speak to media – refer everything to the committee

The full procedure is available separately and covers all the detail, including what needs to be reported to insurers and the BCA.

Insurance and BCA Membership

All participants on Caving Crew trips must have appropriate insurance. For members, this is handled through your BCA membership (which the club arranges when you join). For guests on Giggletrips or taster sessions, we ensure appropriate cover is in place.

This is one reason why all official trips go through our booking system – it ensures everyone participating is properly covered. Running trips outside the official system, or claiming something is a Crew trip when it isn’t, creates real problems because insurance may not apply.

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Part 5: Checklists

Pre-Trip Checklist: CASSETTE

Use this before every trip:

Letter	Item	Questions to Ask
C	Callout	Who has my callout? Do they know when to raise the alarm?
A	Access	Do I have permission? Keys? Gate codes? Landowner contact?
S	Survey & Route Description	Do I have a survey? Do I know the route?
S	Skills	Does everyone have the skills this trip requires?
E	Entrance Location	Do I know exactly where the entrance is?
T	Tackle (group)	Ropes, rigging gear, Leader Bag – all sorted?
T	Terrain & Weather	What are conditions like? Meeting place confirmed?
E	Equipment (personal)	Does everyone have appropriate personal kit?

Insurance Reminder

All Crew trips must be organised through the Crew signup system. This ensures everyone has appropriate BCA insurance and liability coverage.

Running trips outside this system while calling them Crew trips is a bad idea – for you and for everyone involved.

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Part 6: How the Club Works

Why We’re Organised This Way

The Caving Crew sits at the more organised end of the club spectrum, similar to student caving clubs and scout caving groups. This is deliberate.

Our constitutional aims include actively giving non-cavers opportunities to try caving, welcoming new cavers, and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all abilities and ambitions. That requires structure: proper gear management, consistent trip organisation, clear expectations.

We want anyone – regardless of background, connections, or existing equipment – to be able to experience caving safely with us.

Leader Bags

Every official Crew trip takes a Leader Bag containing:

• First aid kit in a Daren drum
• Emergency shelter
• Spare head torch and batteries
• Glucose tablets
• Eyewash
• Water

These kits are specifically designed for underground use and logged in our gear management system. Trip fees contribute to maintaining them.

Tackle Management

The Caving Crew owns a substantial tackle store – around £7,000 worth of equipment at replacement cost – which enables us to welcome people into caving without requiring them to buy their own gear first. Managing this equipment properly is essential for safety, accessibility, and the club’s long-term sustainability.

What we have:

• 5 complete SRT kits (named: Badger, Fox, Mole, Rabbit, Squirrel)
• 4 SRT leader kits (colour-coded: Blue, Green, Red, Yellow)
• 26 oversuits across multiple sizes and manufacturers
• 23 undersuits
• 10 headlamps, 6 helmets, 11 pairs of wellies
• 12 ropes ranging from 10m to 100m (478m total)
• 4 Leader Bags with first aid kits, group shelters, and spares
• Assorted carabiners, tackle sacks, ladders, and other equipment

Everything is logged in GearLog, our asset management system, which tracks each item’s condition, location, and lifespan.

Gear inspection: We conduct a full inspection of all tackle annually, typically near the start of the year. This involves going through every piece of equipment, checking condition, logging any issues, and identifying items that need repair or retirement.

These tackle audit days are a volunteer effort – the committee provides food for anyone who helps out, because many hands make light work. Watch for announcements in the members’ group if you’d like to get involved.

Between annual audits, gear is checked informally each time it’s used. If you notice any damage or problems with club equipment, report it to the Tackle Manager.

Retirement criteria: We follow manufacturer lifespans strictly. If a harness has a 10-year lifespan, it gets retired at 10 years regardless of how it looks. This isn’t negotiable – PPE safety requirements exist for good reasons.

Equipment is also retired if it’s clearly damaged, worn beyond acceptable use, or otherwise compromised – even if it hasn’t reached its manufacturer lifespan. When in doubt, we retire it.

Cleaning and maintenance: All gear must be washed clean and completely dried before storage. This prevents decay, allows damage to be spotted, and ensures equipment is ready for the next trip.

Different gear types have different requirements:

• Undersuits and gloves: Cold rinse (double rinse preferred), drip dry only – no heat
• Oversuits: Warm rinse, fast spin, can be tumble dried
• Belts: Hand rinse only, hang to dry, no heat (PPE requirement)
• Harnesses: Cold rinse, hang to dry, no direct prolonged sunshine, no heat
• Wellies: Jet wash, dry thoroughly
• Helmets: Remove batteries, air dry, quarterly wash in approved cleaning solution

Getting this right matters. Improperly cleaned gear degrades faster, smells worse, and creates a poor experience for the next person who wears it.

Depreciation and replacement

To illustrate why ongoing replacement matters: a carabiner might have a replacement cost of £5 and an expected lifespan of 10 years. To calculate how much we need to save every year to replace that carabiner, we divide the cost by the lifespan – in this case, 50p per year. Scale that across all our equipment and you can see why we budget around £2,000 annually.

It’s worth noting that Brexit and the energy crisis have driven up the cost of Petzl items and other equipment we source from mainland Europe, including some oversuits and rope. Costs may continue to rise.

Current process and sustainability

Currently, gear comes back to the Tackle Manager (Judith) after trips. She sorts, washes, dries, folds, and stores everything at her home in Glossop. This is an enormous amount of work, and Judith does it brilliantly.

However, we should be honest: this represents a significant single point of failure for the club. If Judith needed to step back for any reason, we would face a real challenge in maintaining our current level of activity.

The committee is aware of this dependency and actively thinking about how to make gear management more sustainable and scalable – finding volunteers to share the load, better documentation of processes, and ensuring the knowledge doesn’t live in one person’s head.

If you’re interested in helping with tackle management – even occasionally – please get in touch. It’s one of the most valuable contributions you can make to the club.

Tackle Manager support

The Tackle Manager may claim reasonable costs to assist with cleaning, repairing, washing, and other maintenance of the tackle store. This budget is drawn from money generated from trip fees and membership fees.

Reporting gear issues: If you notice damaged or worn gear, either message the Crew to let the Tackle Manager know, or tell them in person after the trip.

Getting Your Own Gear

While we’re happy to lend gear to help people try caving, the long-term aim is for active members to acquire their own equipment. Currently, about 63% of our members rely on club gear – which shows we’re successfully welcoming new people, but also puts significant pressure on the tackle store and our volunteers.

We have a Personal Gear Guide on the website to help you figure out what to buy and where to get it. If you’re caving regularly, investing in at least basic personal kit (helmet, light, oversuit, wellies) makes a real difference – both to your own experience and to the club’s ability to support even more people.

Committee and Decision-Making

The club is run by an elected committee. Monthly committee meetings are open to members.

Prospective and potential committee members are strongly encouraged to attend several committee meetings before being nominated, to see how things work.

How to Give Feedback or Raise Concerns

Concerns about a person

Contact the committee via Crew Messenger (Facebook) or speak to a committee member directly. There’s also a specific process in the Code of Conduct.

Ideas about how the club is run

Find the relevant officer and talk to them directly. Or – and this is probably the most effective route – come to a committee meeting.

Committee meetings

The first 15 minutes of each meeting are set aside for member Q&A. This is an excellent opportunity for in-depth discussion about how we do things. People who attend committee meetings tend to have the most influence on how the club is run.

Meeting dates are posted in the Members Facebook group.

Contact details:

• Committee: [email protected]
• Secretary: [email protected]
• Chair: [email protected]

Money and Finances

Core principles:

1. Don’t let trips or committee members make losses
2. Finance exists to support caving – not the other way around
3. Keep good records and pay promptly for transparency and trust

Approach to budgeting: A small surplus is much better than a small deficit. Losses are extremely bad and represent a learning opportunity to avoid repeating. The Crew should always budget generously and then watch the numbers carefully, making savings where possible.

If a small weekend trip budgets at least £10 profit/leeway per person, then even stressful unexpected situations are rarely that stressful. Trips running very close to budget can be very stressful when things don’t go to plan.

Finance is here to help the Caving Crew run trips and do good things. Heavyweight processes probably aren’t appropriate. We’re aiming to find ways to help people do the things they want to do. Even if we don’t have the money for something now, we can often suggest ways it might be done.

Any surpluses go back into the club – equipment, training, improving what we offer members. As per the constitution, surpluses must be put back into the club.

Weekend trip pricing structure: We add a percentage to weekend trip costs towards club operating costs, training, and caving investment:

• Two-night trips: 30%
• Three-night trips: 20%
• Seven-night trips: 10%

There’s also a £50 per trip contingency budget, and card processing fees of 1.2% + 20p are added to each trip.

Regular known outgoings:

• Beginning of January: BCA membership for everyone
• Access fees for caves throughout the year
• Website costs and infrastructure
• Tackle replacement and maintenance

Policies and Procedures

The current location for our policies, processes, and procedures is our Google Drive.

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Part 7: Quick Answers

Do I need to do a Giggletrip?

Yes, everyone does – including experienced cavers. It’s how we get to know each other.

I’m an experienced caver from another club. Do I really need to do a Giggletrip?

Yes. You can attend at member prices if you’re a BCA member. The Giggletrip is about culture and getting to know us, not questioning your skills.

I did a Giggletrip years ago but haven’t been active. Do I need to do another one?

No. Once done, it’s done for life. But you’re welcome to come on another if you’d like.

Can I bring a friend who isn’t a member?

Yes – on a Giggletrip. Book them on properly through the website. That’s the route for introducing people to the club.

Can my experienced caver friend from another club just join us for a trip?

We’d like them to do a Giggletrip first, like everyone else. We’re not really set up to accommodate one-off visits from experienced cavers – we want people to become part of the Crew.

Why do leaders pay the same as everyone else?

Insurance and constitutional requirements. No one can be compensated for sharing caving skills within the club.

How do I become a leader?

Cave with us regularly, attend leader training (we run horizontal and SRT leading courses), and start leading in calm environments like Giggletrips. The training levels and syllabuses are publicly available so you can see what’s involved.

How do I give feedback or raise concerns?

• Concerns about a person: Message us on Facebook or speak to a committee member
• Ideas about the club: Talk to the relevant officer, or come to a committee meeting (first 15 minutes are Q&A)
• Email: [email protected]

What if I need to cancel?

Check the cancellation policy. Cancel as early as possible via the website to let others take your place. Repeated late cancellations have consequences (see Code of Conduct).

What’s a Leader Bag?

A kit containing first aid supplies, emergency shelter, spare lights, and other essentials. Every official Crew trip takes one. Personal trips cannot use them.

What’s the difference between a Crew trip and a personal trip?

Crew trips are organised through our website – they come with leader bags, club gear, arranged access, and experienced leaders. Personal trips are informal arrangements between members – they can’t use club resources. See Part 3 for full details.

I noticed some damaged gear – what do I do?

Message the Crew to let the Tackle Manager know, or tell them in person after the trip.

Something went wrong on a trip – what do I do?

Report it through NeoCrew within 24 hours. For serious incidents, contact the committee immediately. Don’t admit liability or speak to media. See Part 4 for the full procedure.

Do I need to tell you about my medical conditions?

Yes – please update your profile with anything that might affect your participation or that leaders should know in an emergency. This information is visible to leaders and the committee so they can support you properly.

Can the leader stop me going on a trip?

Yes. Leaders have authority to make decisions about participation based on skills, gear, or fitness on the day. This isn’t about being harsh – it’s about keeping everyone safe. See “Leader Authority” in Part 2.

I want to help with tackle management – who do I contact?

The Tackle Manager (currently Judith) – email [email protected] or speak to any committee member. Even occasional help makes a real difference.

Can I use my own gear on Crew trips?

Yes – we encourage it! Using your own helmet, oversuit, and SRT kit reduces pressure on club equipment. For shared gear like ropes and carabiners, we prefer Crew equipment for inspection and accountability reasons. See “Using Your Own Gear” in Part 1.

Can I advertise a personal trip in Crew spaces?

Yes, but you must make it extremely clear it’s a personal trip and specify equipment and skills required. See “How to Run a Personal Trip” in Part 3.

Can I borrow Crew gear for a personal trip?

No. Crew equipment – including leader bags, ropes, SRT kits, and all other tackle – is only available on official Crew trips.

Who can come on a Giggletrip?

Anyone who can walk up several full flights of stairs. There are no other prerequisites.

I want to join the committee. What should I do?

Attend several committee meetings first to see how things work, then put yourself forward at the AGM.

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Document History

Version	Date	Changes
1.4	January 2026	Added Part 4: Safety & Risk Management (risk assessments, medical disclosure, first aid, incident reporting, insurance). Added Leader Authority section covering removal for skills/gear/fitness. Expanded Tackle Management with full inventory, inspection procedures, retirement criteria, cleaning procedures by gear type, single point of failure acknowledgment. Added “Getting Your Own Gear” section with Personal Gear Guide reference. Updated Quick Reference with emergency procedures.
1.3	January 2026	Added personal gear policy (encouraged for personal PPE, Crew gear preferred for ropes/rigging). Added explicit rule that Crew equipment cannot be used on personal trips. Added “How to Run a Personal Trip” section with responsibilities checklist. Restored detailed content from v1.1.
1.2	January 2026	Added Official vs Personal trips section, clarified leader requirements and training levels, added guest policy, expanded cancellation information, gear reporting process, feedback mechanisms.
1.1	[Previous]	Initial published version.

Questions about this handbook? Email [email protected]