We will hold 3-4 meetings each year. The meetings will be open to all parent members . We will appoint a small number of officers each year at the Junior Club’s AGM which will be held in November. We will appoint a Membership Secretary a Chair and a Meets co-ordinator. The club’s Child Protection Officer will be invited to attend.
The regular meetings will have a set Agenda
1.CPP - have we complied with it, if not why not - opportunities for cp officer to advise best practice
2. Health and safety – any concerns
3. Equipment
4. Membership list - review current members , new members
5. Meets - plan meets for next 3/4 months
6. Rotas - organise volunteer rota for next 3/4 months
7. Finances
8. Development - welsh team, grass roots etc. or other club developments.
9. Anything else (relevant) that people want to talk about
Saturday Morning Sessions – How we organise them
The club runs supervised sessions on Saturday mornings, these are usually held at WICC but occasionally we climb at other indoor walls or outside. The club meets list will be emailed to members.
Any last minute changes to club meets will be emailed out on Friday evening prior to the event . If you can not check your emails on a Friday then you need to telephone the Duty Coach to confirm arrangements.
The club is run by parents and volunteers and parents must help out with the running of the club, parents who wish to help but who have not yet passed their belaying test will be provided with training.
Children and young people between the ages of 8-17 who have already completed basic climbing training can apply to join the junior section of the club.
Those wishing to join should contact the membership secretary email nhojmarshall@onetel.com or telephone 01633 413174 who will arrange a suitable Saturday for him/her to come along and climb with us, if after 2 sessions s/he would like to continue attending they will be invited to join the club providing they can show that they are prepared to abide by the club rules. Parents as well as children will need to join the club as this then provides them with 3rd party liability insurance.
The membership list of names(Parents names only – Juniors details will not be shared) address telephone numbers and emails will be shared between members of the group, if you do not wish your details to be shared you must inform the membership secretary in writing.
Parents who have passed their belay test are able to sign in and supervise up to 2 children. The club may ask other parents to sign in other children belonging to the club.
If you need the club to sign in and supervise your child you will need to arrive by 10.45 to arrange registration and equipment – you will need to ensure that s/he is suitably dressed and wearing appropriate footwear and a climbing harness – volunteers will be available to help if necessary and check that the harness is fastened correctly. The child will then be allocated to a suitable volunteer coach for the morning’s climbing session. The session will end at 1.00 if you can not avoiding leaving the centre please ensure that you are back by 1.00 to collect your child.
You should be aware that club members running activities are experienced climbers rather than formally trained coaches.
The club has very limited equipment of its own.
Harnesses boots and helmets can be hired at centres for use in those centres, for outside climbing these items will need to be provided by you. The clubs officers can provide advice regarding most suitable places to purchase equipment of this sort.
Most equipment used by the club(especially on outdoor meetings) is personal equipment belonging to club members. To the best of the clubs members knowledge it is safe and suitable for the task, however it is not subject to formal logging of use and checking which it would be if it belonged to an outdoor centre or club. If you have any concerns regarding a piece of equipment please raise it with the member who owns it or the duty coach.
Other trips
Climbing by the nature of the sport is an activity that often takes place with small groups making their own ad hoc arrangements.The club will attempt to arrange at least 3 official outdoor meets each year for its junior members, if parents make arrangements amongst themselves to climb outside together with young climbers, we will expect those parents to observe the clubs child protection and other polices.
The SWMC expects the following of its junior members
Always behave sensibly – climbing is a dangerous sport
Always wear your harness properly – the buckle should be on the waist not the hips.
Belaying is a very responsible job – please be careful and look after your climbing partner check each others knots and Karabiners before climbing, do not distract other members who are belaying.
Always wear a helmet when climbing/belaying outside
Make new club members feel welcome remember you were a beginner too!
Treat all equipment with respect ( eg don’t walk on ropes or drop helmets) Ensure all equipment is returned and help to tidy the equipment at the end of the session (eg coil ropes).
New starters volunteer – Bring membership forms and Register - meet new members – take details and inform them of how we operate – help with harness if necessary or check harness and then hand over child to duty coach. also to note down in register all members who attend session. At end of session – add any new milestones (eg belay on top rope or is now 14 and has passed belay test) to register. hand register to next weeks new starter volunteer at end of session.
We will plan training sessions for the experienced youngsters to encourage better technique rather than concentrating just on strength and stamina. Focus on balance, reading new routes, looking for resting positions, clipping, good use of lower body – perhaps for 1 – 1 ½ hours at beginning of session and then general climbing. Make sessions varied to sustain interest .