The Mountaineering Council of Scotland – Annual Report 2010-2011

Download the Annual Report 2010-2011 in pdf format

Contents

President’s Report by Chris Townsend

Treasurer’s Report by John Irving, Income and Expenditure Account (pdf) and Charts: Members’ Subscriptions: the relative contribution to MCofS expenses

Chief Officer’s Report by David Gibson

Access & Conservation by Hebe Carus

Club Affairs & Development by Ron Payne

Mountain Safety by Heather Morning

Further Information

President’s Report by Chris Townsend

This is my final report as President as my term of office ends at the AGM. The last four years has gone quickly and there have been many changes in the MCofS, changes that will continue as there is much that still needs to be done. The organisation can always be more efficient and more in tune with the membership. It has been a privilege to serve as President and I have throughout been impressed by the dedication and hard work of both our staff and our volunteers. The MCofS has a great team of people. My thanks to everybody.

The MCofS exists to represent mountaineers and every aspect of mountaineering in its widest sense. We hope to inspire those entering mountaineering and provide information and support for those already committed. To this end we carry out a wide variety of work from supporting climbing competitions and indoor climbing to mountain safety.

Especially important in my view is our access and conservation work. Without the freedom to access the mountains as and when we like and without a healthy and attractive mountain environment there is little future for mountaineering. Whilst the access battle is largely won vigilance is still required to ensure the legislation that grants our rights isn’t slowly nibbled away. The camping ban on the roadside section of the West Highland Way on Loch Lomond should not be a precedent for similar bans elsewhere, as some anti-access people would like.

Conservation is a much bigger problem and here the picture is far less positive. Wind turbines and their associated roads are set to destroy the solitude and beauty of the Monadh Liath, once the largest mountain mass uncrossed by a road and unspoilt by industry in Scotland, and other plans may see turbines visible from many summits and even encroaching on the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park. Campaigning against these and other threats to the mountains is essential work and will continue but, given our overall lack of success, we do need to think of new methods and come up with new ideas to combat the despoliation.

In some areas we are making progress. Hebe Carus, our A&C Officer, deserves credit for the work she has put into the hill tracks campaign which has resulted in a government consultation on this important issue. Our magazine, The Scottish Mountaineer, has excellent coverage of this and other issues and is a great way to spread news of our work.

Working with other organisations, especially through Scottish Environment LINK, is important. We cannot win battles on our own. We collaborate with a wide region of bodies with similar interests and this does give us a louder voice that is more likely to be heard. It is important that we go on doing so.

The new President and the new Board will have much to do in the coming years. They have my very best wishes. Whilst I will no longer be a Board member I am not retiring from involvement with the MCofS and will continue to be involved with Access and Conservation.

Finally, the MCofS is about mountaineering and mountains not campaigns, magazines, meetings and paperwork – essential though these may be. Going out into the hills and casting off the tensions and stresses of the urban world is essential for sanity. I wish you all many marvellous days in our marvellous mountains. See you out there.

Treasurer’s Report by John Irving

In contrast to the last few years, 2010-11 was a year of consolidation which resulted in a small deficit of £2,702; the corresponding deficit in 2009-10 was £35,212. The following report is based on the accounts certified by our accountants, Johnston & Co.

Moving the subscription year for clubs to a fixed period linked to the financial year and to the payment of the civil liability insurance premium has simplified administration both for clubs and for the office in Perth. The previous system of tracking the subscription year to the date of the AGM did result in uncertainty and some doubt as to the validity of the insurance cover. It seems to work well and I am appreciative of the number of clubs who pay the affiliation fees well before the end of December.

As part of the investment agreement with sportscotland, a formal management audit was undertaken by an external consultant, Moore Stephens of London. The auditor had the misfortune to arrive in early December when road and rail connections north of Edinburgh were difficult due to heavy snow; his office advised him to return immediately, rather than be lost in an arctic wilderness! He successfully returned in March to complete the audit. The report to sportscotland concluded: “there is reasonable governance and financial framework in place to enable the organisation to achieve its objectives and ensure public funds are properly managed and accounted for’’. This is the highest grading possible and contrasts with the previous report in 2004. I am grateful to Denise Logan (accountant and bookkeeper) and our Chief Officer, David Gibson for the extensive work in preparing for this 2 day assessment. The significant improvement in the conclusions of the auditor is attributable almost completely to David Gibson. The Treasurer and the Board are most grateful to him for this achievement over the past 5 years.

sportscotland has confirmed future investment of £155,300 for both 2011-12 and 2012-13 The Board will soon commence production of a strategic plan for 2013 to 2017 and assuming no major changes in government policy, sportscotland hope to move to longer term rather than annual investment for mountaineering. One of the criteria for continued investment is demonstration of increased membership and participation in mountaineering. It is encouraging that membership has continued to increase (see below). Access and conservation work has been supported by both the Scottish Mountaineering Trust and the BMC. We are very grateful to both organisations.

Income

Investment and grant income was similar. Increase in membership income is largely due to the reduced club member rate in 2009-10 when the change in the subscription year was implemented. Individual membership income increased by just over 10%. MLTS registrants continued to show a steady decline in numbers, and we believe this is due to reductions in local authority and defence spending. Other income includes bank interest, donations, and sales of courses, books and DVDs.

Expenditure

Among the increases, salaries were higher due to increments in the salary scales and full year costs in 2010-11 for Heather Morning and Mike Dales, who worked for only 10 months in the prior year. No increase to salary scales was awarded last year and expenses were closely monitored. Professional fees were higher as the MCofS part-funded a joint research study with the BMC and Mountaineering Ireland. Volunteer expenses continue to fall due to increased use of e-mail and fewer meetings. Courses and competition costs decreased, partly from increased charges and partly from trust funds taking over some of the courses.

The civil liability insurance premium increased by just over 10% for the year. The premium paid provided cover until 31 December 2011. The cost of insurance between 1/4/2011 to 31/12/2011 appears in reserves as a prepayment. Office and overhead costs increased due to a combination of factors; increased VAT for 3 months, database costs, and a full year of office costs at Glenmore Lodge for the Mountain Safety Advisor and increased hours for bookkeeping and database handling.

Feedback from some clubs indicates a desire for fuller financial information on how the MCofS income is spent and the pie charts included with this report aim to provide such information. A more detailed breakdown of the accounts, showing how your subscription is used is available from the Company Secretary on request.

sportscotland investment funds expeditions, coaching, MLTS and MWIS as well as supporting salaries for our administrative staff, the Chief Officer, Mountain Safety Advisor and the Mountaineering Development Officer. The Access & Conservation Officer is funded in part from grants by the SMT and BMC.

Reserves

The Finance Advisory Group and the Board agreed to adopt the worst-case scenario to establish a minimal level of reserves of £75K to cover statutory expenses. The capital and reserves as at 01/04/2011 stand at £144,004, including cash in hand / at bank £107,356, debtors £33,611 and stock of £3,037.

Strategic Plan 2013-2017

Our current Strategic Plan runs until March 2013. The intervening period is the time for members to influence and assist the Board to create a robust plan for the next 4-5 years linked to adequate financial resources.

The current investment agreement with sportscotland no longer ring-fences any funds but expects the MCofS to meet agreed targets. For 2011-12 and 2012-13 these include provision of coaching courses, mountain safety courses, an internet-based Scottish mountain weather forecast with agreed numbers of downloads, the development of 3 new kids climbing clubs, and the achievement of total membership growth of 11% over the 2 years to March 2013.

Subscriptions 2012/13

Members demonstrated some reluctance to increase subscriptions at the last AGM, and the Board has focused on achieving a balanced budget for 2011-12.

We have increased the cost of mountain safety courses for both members and non-members, although members benefit from a discounted rate; the increase will enable full cost recovery.

Courses for students and the salary for the part-time Scottish Students’ Mountain Safety Officer have been funded for the last 2 years by charitable funds; these may not be available next year and discussion with the relevant trustees continues.

Looking forward, additional costs anticipated for 2012/13 include VAT (£3,000); increments in salaries (£3,000); and increases in travel expenses (£4,000) due to an increase in mileage rates agreed by the Board - the first such increase since 2007.

In addition, we understand from the brokers that there is likely to be an increase of circa 10% in the civil liability insurance premium, and we know that insurance costs will also increase due to Insurance Premium Tax moving from 5 to 6%. The total increase in costs attributable to insurance is therefore expected to be circa £5000, bringing the total anticipated increases in all costs to £15,000 or the equivalent of approximately £1.45 per registered member.

Currently the MCofS shares the same per capita insurance premium with the BMC and Mountaineering Ireland, based on a combined total membership of over 100,000. The basis of the current agreement with the broker is that all active members of the three national councils are registered for insurance purposes, with no provision for opt-out. The benefit of this arrangement is that the cost to clubs and individuals is much reduced. From the experience of the insurance brokers, those at greatest risk to claims for negligence are the office bearers of clubs.

The charts included in this report demonstrate not only how subscription income is spent but also that there is a discrepancy in the recovery of expenditure with members of clubs effectively being subsidised by individual members to the extent of £2.83 per member.

The Board has to anticipate cost increases at the time of the 2011 AGM with the aim of achieving a balanced budget in 2012/13. Unless subscriptions are increased, there will inevitably be a reduction in services provided to members. Members are asked to bear in mind that any subscription increase agreed by the membership at the 2011 AGM will not take effect until April 2012, and for clubs this potentially means up to the end of December 2012, due to the timing of the club subscription year.

We remain highly dependent upon investment from sportscotland; this in turn provides services for our members and the wider mountaineering public, but its continuity is dependent upon achieving planned increases in membership levels, which requires the MCofS to promote its activities and services to potential members.

The charts demonstrate where your subscriptions and sportscotland investment is spent. Within our clubs and individual members there will be a variety of views about the value of our activities and the relative benefit derived from say, Scottish Mountaineer, membership of Scottish Environment LINK and climbing competitions for young people. The MCofS is the sum of its parts and whilst removal of one of these parts might be seen as justifiable by a section of the membership, it may disadvantage another.

Such is the challenge faced by the Board in proposing subscription levels for your approval. The proposed subscription increase of £1.25 to be applied to all membership categories, excluding those applicable to under 18s, will help to offset the increases anticipated for the next financial year, and enable continuity of current benefits and services.

As to the future, we will undertake research with members during the lifetime of the current strategic plan to assess the relative importance of all our activities and consider the results when setting priorities for future expenditure and cost reduction.

Chief Officer’s Report by David Gibson

I hope members will find the time to read the annual report and the key messages from our contributors. The reports demonstrate some real achievements and are the result of much hard work. Whilst we have the equivalent of 5 (and a half) full-time staff, much of the credit for the progress made in 2010-11 goes to the many volunteers who give their time to the MCofS and its members’ interests.

Let me assure you that we continue to strive for improvements in efficiency and effectiveness, and we aim to achieve a balanced budget in 2011-12. When developing the budget, and in the search for cost reductions, the Board had considered withdrawal from membership of Scottish Environment LINK, but has since decided to continue with membership for the current year, pending a strategic review of our access and conservation work.

Our total membership has grown to over 11,000, including members of clubs, with a significant increase in individual membership during the year. Such growth is essential from the viewpoint of financial sustainability. There is an inherent decline in membership of clubs, and we are seeking ways to work with clubs who want to grow, with the aim of attracting more members who wish to enjoy the hills in good company and experience the companionship provided by clubs. We will also reach out to those who are setting out on what will hopefully be the passion of a lifetime, but prefer their own company or that of their immediate network of contacts, through recruitment of individual members.

On behalf of the MCofS I want to thank the many volunteers who have supported the work of the MCofS since its inception in 1970. The efforts of volunteers – from those founding members such as Bill Murray and Irvine Butterfield - to the many involved at the present day – enable the MCofS to achieve much more than we would through reliance on staff alone. 2011 is the European Year of the Volunteer, and your contribution, from corporate governance, to belaying a young climber at a climbing competition, or responding to a wind farm environmental impact assessment, is really appreciated.

I must also express appreciation to sportscotland for their continued support for mountaineering in Scotland. Their investment enables the MCofS to have critical mass, function effectively, and provide a range of services to our members and a wider audience, examples being the Scottish mountain weather forecasts and the work of our Mountain Safety Advisor to promote safe practice.

During the year, the MCofS Board renewed our commitment to promoting Equity within Mountaineering and we recently received confirmation that we have achieved the Foundation Level of the Equity Standard for Sport. Many regard mountaineering as being open to all, however, there remain barriers to involvement in the activity we all enjoy, and the MCofS will continue to work to address those barriers.

I would like to highlight one area which is really encouraging: the enthusiasm and achievements of Scotland’s young climbers, supported by the commitment of their parents, who regularly volunteer to organise and run the MCofS’ climbing events. Scottish athletes now make up almost 50% of the Great Britain team: something that we should all be proud of and one which bodes well for the future of Scottish climbing – sport climbing is a potential Olympic sport and one in which the Scottish contingent has the potential in which to excel.

Finally, this year’s AGM sees the departure of our President and Treasurer, and I would extend our grateful appreciation to Chris and John for their hard work, commitment and also for putting their head above the parapet, when necessary. Both have contributed a great deal to the MCofS during their tenure of office, although I suspect that neither was fully aware of the commitment required when they stepped forward to take office. With incorporation, the Treasurer’s role, which comes with a range of ex-officio duties relating to three charitable trusts, and two mountaineering huts held in joint ownership with the BMC, has become most challenging.

Challenge in wild places, rather than at a computer, is what we all seek and thrive upon. I hope that I may meet you sometime soon on the hill. Enjoy the mountains or your time at the climbing wall and thank you for your continued support for the MCofS.

Access & Conservation by Hebe Carus

The MCofS wishes to thank the Scottish Mountaineering Trust and the BMC for their continuing financial support for our access and conservation work.

Access

102 unique access enquiries (10% less than last year) were raised and addressed. Securing continued access continues to be a priority in response to planning developments such as renewables.

The MCofS continues to support Local Access Forum (LAF) members that represent mountaineering interests, including recruiting and training a new representative on the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park LAF. The MCofS would like to thank all LAF members that continue to represent mountaineering interests.

We also have active involvement on the National Access Forum (NAF). Through the NAF Stalking Communications sub-group, the pilot for the Heading for the Scottish Hills website ran in the 2010 season and was well-received by users. Work has started on improving the facility for estates with the aim of attracting more to sign up to the website.

Spring 2010 was the first year for a pilot attempt at proactive information provision for climbers such that they can take bird nest locations into account in advance of planning a trip. A working relationship has been established with the RSPB to ensure development of the service for 2011 to supplement information received from climbers. The relevant MCofS Access and Conservation (A&C) website pages were restructured to clarify access advice, including up to date information on bird nest conflicts with climbing interests during the breeding season.

Conservation

Responses to renewable developments in core mountaineering areas remain an important, though time-consuming area of work, along with responses to the new Local Development Plans. All planning and consultation responses have been posted on the MCofS website and may be accessed by clicking on the A&C menu tab on the home page.

We have urged all mountaineers through the website and magazine to involve themselves in consultations and local planning applications to add general public voice to that of the MCofS.

48 responses were made to local and national issues that would potentially affect the mountaineering environment (up 37% on last year). We contributed to other responses through Scottish Environment LINK, in order to increase our sphere of influence, and the MCofS was represented on two LINK task forces: Biodiversity and Planning (by Hebe Carus) and Landscape (by Beryl Leatherland). The MCofS would particularly like to thank Beryl for the huge amounts of assistance she offers in responding to renewable developments, and work on the Landscape Task Force.

Our successful hill tracks campaign resulted in a government consultation on alteration to the automatic permissions for their construction in many circumstances.

We also published the Minimal Impact Mountaineering Advice (MIMA) booklet, which has received very positive feedback, and 3 ‘MIMA’ hill days were organised for summer 2011. Numerous informative articles were written for the magazine and the website.

Representation on other bodies

The MCofS is a small organisation with many interests. Volunteers and the A&C Officer continued to represent the MCofS on a wide range of external bodies. In addition to LINK, mentioned above, these are: Deer Management Round Table, Local Access Forums (Argyll & Bute, Fife, Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park, Cairngorms National Park, Ross& Cromarty), MoD Scottish Liaison Committee, Montane Scrub Advisory Group, National Access Forum, National Trust for Scotland Council, Nevis Partnership, Scottish Natural Heritage NGO Recreation Liaison Group, Traprain and North Berwick Law Advisory Group, and Upland Path Advisory Group.

Through these bodies we advise and use our influence for the benefit of mountaineering interests.

Club Affairs & Development by Ron Payne

This is the second year of operating the Club portfolio at Board level. It has not been as frenetic as the first nevertheless it has been busy. Our first Club Seminar was held at the Annual Meet and AGM in Aviemore. It was a beautiful day outside so would anyone want to sit indoors attending the Seminar? Well they did and when we had to put out more chairs it was clear it was going to be a successful event.

After I welcomed everyone and gave a summary of the year, David Gibson talked first about Children and Young People in Clubs followed by Peter Willimott on the Membership Database. This was followed by Richard Johnson on Promoting Your Club and David Gibson on Data Protection. The Civil Liability Insurance, an ever popular subject, was covered by Andy Goulbourne of Perkins Slade, and the seminar finished with David Hallam of Summit Financial Services speaking about Life Insurance for Climbers.

Our work on a Child Protection Policy for Clubs was put out to consultation with members in March this year. Following feedback from members and further discussion with our insurers, we have decided to issue guidance for clubs, rather than introduce a new or amended policy. The guidance will also apply to vulnerable adults and will be the subject of a seminar at the AGM to which all members are invited.

The BMC Clubs Seminar was held at Plas y Brenin in North Wales. I was invited to give a presentation on Partnerships with Clubs within the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

I am fortunate to be supported by the Clubs Advisory Group (CAG). They represent a range of clubs and their views do have influence with the Board. In the main we carry out our deliberations by email.

The Huts Advisory Group, (HAG), chaired by John Leftley, continues to provide information and advice that is relevant to the operation of mountain huts. To this end the group collaborates closely with the BMC’s Huts Group in the production of a series of guidelines. One of the most important services provided by the HAG is the publication of the huts directory, which is updated regularly and is downloadable free from the MCofS website. Members of HAG participate in the management of the three national huts (Alex MacIntyre, Glen Brittle and Mill Cottage) either as trustees or committee members.

Hut Seminars on subjects related to hut operation are held on a regular basis. These meetings provide an opportunity for managers of club huts to discuss operational matters and share experiences, as well as listening to the formal presentations. The eighth in the series of seminars held over the past 10 years took place in November 2010. The main topics were a review of current legislation applicable to hut operation and an overview of the new building regulations, with an emphasis on increased standards of insulation now required.

Karin Froebel joined the Board at the last AGM and has taken on the task of speaking to individual clubs to ascertain their views on the MCofS. This is an ongoing project and she has meet with six clubs during the year. While they are supportive of the MCofS concerns centre on governance, the range of activities undertaken and accountability. Clubs wish to have a better understanding of how their subscriptions and other sources of funding are utilised.

Looking forward, and if we are re-elected, I will be looking after the Access and Conservation brief on the Board next year with Karin taking over Club Affairs and Development.

My thanks go to the Clubs Advisory Group and to Karin, John Leftley and the Huts Advisory Group without whom my task would be that much harder.

Mountain Safety by Heather Morning

In the second year of my role as Mountain Safety Advisor the biggest highlight and definitely the most inspirational and enjoyable part of my job has been spending time with YOU: Members of the MCofS who have signed up for the wide range of mountain safety initiatives on offer over the last 12 months.

This year has been the busiest ever in the history of the mountain safety programme:

That’s a staggering 1379 people who benefited from the mountain safety programme last year!

Without the help of our sponsors it would be very difficult to continue to provide such a varied level of skills courses. I offer grateful thanks to Anatom who continue with their valuable support for the avalanche courses and Buff who continue to support the Winter Lecture Series. Last year also saw the introduction of several new partners: Silva and Garmin have kindly provided compasses and GPS units respectively to support the navigation programme. Alongside the existing partnership with the Mountain Cafe, Aviemore and the Clachaig we now have a new partner on the Winter Lecture Series. Tiso Stores across Scotland came on board to joint host the series this winter and I look forward to a continued partnership with them over the coming winter seasons.

Another of the highlights of the year for ten lucky MCofS members has to have been the Ice Climbing trip to Norway. This seven day trip provided the opportunity for participants to gain the expertise and skill they needed to feel confident to get out there on Scottish Winter Climbs and pass on their skills to others. Last winter’s course was kindly supported by the Mountain Safety Trust and Glenmore Lodge.

The mountain safety programme is not just about the provision of courses and talks (of which I was delighted to visit over 10 clubs and schools this year;) it’s also about getting sensible and safe advise across to folk who wish to get out there and enjoy our fantastic glens and mountains. Subsequently part of my role is to work with the media to promote enjoyable and safe practice. I’ve been working with the BBC Scotland Out of Doors programme and regularly producing articles for Trail magazine, Mountain Rescue England and Casbag the Scottish mountain rescue magazine. The ‘Milly Stories’ have captured folks imagination; although a little ‘different’ (the stories are written from a ‘dogs eye view’) I’m sure many of you have learnt a wee bit more about mountain rescue and search dogs through these ‘light- hearted’ stories.

A big thank you to those who have supported me from our Perth office; also to my colleagues at Glenmore Lodge, Rosie Goolden the MCofS Director of Mountain Safety and Training who tirelessly gives up her time with support and guidance and finally to the instructional staff who have worked alongside me this year who have, without exception, delivered an excellent standard of courses.

Mountaineering Development by Kevin Howett

We continue to support the initiatives that have led to so much success in attracting young people to climbing, and to some great performances in national and international competitions. However, we are also widening our scope to further develop outdoor activity in the hills, in particular to help those who are beginning to explore the Scottish hills through hill walking.

Participation Improvement

We produced a fourth free FactFile concentrating on Hill Walking for beginners. This has been distributed through climbing walls and will also be distributed through the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Scotland. It is also available as a download from the website.

The year also saw the establishment of more climbing clubs specifically geared for children with Young Explorers Scotland (28 members) and The Orkney Climbing Club (38 members).

Ruairidh Mackenzie retired from his position as Area Youth Coordinator for the north region after ten years, and the position remains unfilled. Both he and Neil McGeachy were honoured at the 2010 AGM with Honorary Membership.

We supported a series of development events including:

· REALrock indoor sessions at Alien Rock in the winter followed by outdoor sessions in association with Transition Extreme, Aberdeen, EICA: Ratho and our AYC’s offering a total of 50 individual sessions.

· A series of 6 coaching days for the Scottish Teams and GB Team members organised by Neil McGeachy, Robbie Phillips and Ruairidh Mackenzie, both indoors and out.

· Supported 28 children from the kids clubs to take up the NICAS Scheme; supported 8 elite children for core training sessions at Heriot Watt University and an introductory session at Ratho Gym for 10 beginners.

Coaching in Climbing

After years of discussion the MCofS, BMC and Mountaineering Ireland agreed a UK-wide course content for the FUNdamentals workshops. Graeme Morrison and myself have worked to produce a syllabus and guidance notes, sanctioned by sportscotland, and the MCofS will now take these forward in 2011 across Scotland.

Following on from Dave MacLeod’s dedicated series of ‘CoachWise’ articles, we commissioned young climbing coach Robbie Phillips to give his insights to coaching for a magazine series entitled “Robbies Beasting Sessions”. We have also started a series on sport psychology by Dr Ross Lorimer from the University of Abertay who is also involved in developing coaching for MCofS as a volunteer.

Competitions and Elite Development

The Scottish Tooling Series organised by Pete Hill and Neil Silver was again highly successful and saw an increase in participants with, ironically, a superb final at Ratho in the height of the December snow storms. The MCofS supported these events to encourage more children to take part and the junior winners were Sophie Harper and Greggor McGillvrey.

The Scottish Schools Competition organised by Glasgow Climbing Centre was supported for its 2^nd year. With 4 participating walls a total of 75 competitors from 20 schools across Scotland took part. On the day of the final families from Aberdeen & Inverness were battling blizzards to get to Glasgow’s Cliff Hanger wall… There’s dedication for you.

The Youth Climbing Series (YCS) 2010 had 42 (north) and 57 (south) children take part. The final at Ratho in June saw some 4 podium places for Scottish climbers from the 187 children who competed from across the UK and Ireland.

The Scottish Youth Climbing Championship was held at Ratho in May with a new age category for 17-19yr olds. 62 children competed and Scottish Champions crowned in all categories.

The British Lead Climbing Championship was also held at Ratho in October with Rachel Carr gaining 1^st in the girls Youth B, Angus Davidson 1^st in the Youth C and Robert Mackenzie 2^nd in the Youth A. Natalie Berry was 1^st in her category.

The highlight of the year was the IFSC World Youth Championships again at Ratho. 366 competitors from across the world gathered to find the world’s best and although the GB Team only managed a best of 10^th place (from Natalie Berry), hosting the event at Edinburgh was a great success. A superb video of the Team was produced and in all nearly half the members were selected from Scotland!

Bursaries

The archive of all Expedition / Bursary Reports went live on the MCofS website (over 70 reports). This year there were more applications than usual for the MCofS bursary and awards were made to:

• Expeditions
  • Edinburgh University Tougarat-Too Expedition
  • SMC Sikkim Expedition (A group of ‘older’ and wiser climbers)
  • Olly Metherall (Antarctic Expedition)
  • Alan Halewood (Afghanistan Wakhan Corridor Expedition)
• Climbing
  • Ross Kirkland (Spanish Sport Rock trip)
  • Jonathan Stocking (Dolomites and competitions)
  • Jonathan Field (Europe Rock trip & competitions)
  • Paul Williamson (Europe Rock Trip & competitions)
• Competitions (European competitions and World Youth Cup)
  • Ellen Macaskill, Dylan Mackenzie, Robert Mackenzie, Eleanor Hopkins, Stephen Addison, Nikki Addison

Facilities Development

With our strategic focus now on grass-roots facilities, we have given advice to numerous climbing wall projects in schools (primary, high school and community sports facilities) including Perth High School. Lottery grant funding for Gairloch was finally approved and the wall opened in October 2010. We have also advised on the design of a wall at Abernethy to increase the bouldering available in the area.

Equity

The annual Visually Impaired Course saw 8 people participate this year with an equal number of sighted volunteers. Thanks to Norma Davidson for co-ordinating the course and Glenmore Lodge for administering and hosting it. We also supported a climbing session for 7 deaf children at Ratho with NDCS.

Further Information

All communications concerning the Annual Report should be addressed to David Gibson, by email to davidg@mcofs.org.uk or call 01738-493942.