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General Climbing Discussion

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ACA call for Blood!!! 16-Sep-2009 At 11:25:03 PM MrKyle

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First of all, thanks to all the people who have indicated they would or are willing to help - and in particular the individual that has already contacted us directly. Second, I apologise for the delay - I can't reply to every question or point, and I can't do it every day.

> Cogsy: If someone were to nominate to take on one of the roles, what exactly (in concrete terms) would they be required to do? (apart from maintaining the website).

In regards to the specific roles that need filling, these are the roles of the central committee:
President: Responsible for organising and chairing committee meetings (1 meeting every 3 months), and also providing general leadership.
Vice President: Attend the meetings and support the president.
Treasurer: Attend the meetings, responsible for administering funds and accounts, and compiling the annual report.
Secretary: Attend the meetings, responsible for submitting paper work and keeping records of members etc.
Webmaster: Not part of the committee but a key role these days. Currently preformed by Dan Roe - who seems happy to continue it.

Beyond these, any other roles are at the discretion of the committee and reflect the strategy of the organisation. And at this point in time, the strategy is pretty much a blank slate. Exactly how the new committee wants to take the ACA forward will be up to them. However, I am inclined to think that at least 1 person should be focused on pushing the climbing festival along. Representatives from each state would be good too - to focus on working with individual clubs.

So, 5 motivated people at a minimum and preferably more. Importantly, those who join up must be committed to participate.

> Cogsey: And secondly, why would this be done better through the ACA than through the allready established clubs (such as VCC and SRC)?
There are many things that make sense to tackle at a state level through existing clubs. But I think some things don't make sense at a state level. For example: even if they could, it isn't logical for the SRC or the VCC to run the Australian Climbing Festival. Another example: Federal sports funding requires a national body of a certain size (which we might be able to achieve with an affiliation programme). Also, some things, like magazines and insurance, require numbers to make it work.

On the subject of the festival: The reality is that running the festival is very difficult and draining. The problem with the festival in the past was that it was privately owned - and hinged on the motivations and availability of the owner. This made it hard to transfer the running of the festival from one party to the next - largely because of difficulties around invested IP, assets, and brand. What we wanted to do was make the festival publicly owned and managed (through a public association). Adam and Claire appreciated this, which is why they came to us. The festival is by no means dead - it is simply parked and waiting for a suitably keen person (or group) to take it on. Indeed, Adam and Claire are free to do so again if they want.

>Sara: Where do the ACA meet?
Sydney at the moment. But there is no reason why it couldn't be done virtually, using online meeting tools.

> $500 It's a waste of bloody money and could be spent in much better ways.
The fact of the matter was that Garth asked for a $500 grant via another organisation. Two members of the ACA decided to make a special donation to make it happen. In return, the ACA planned to run a publicity event with Garth (such as a slide-show) . This event never happened but I'm sure the goodwill still exists with Garth.

In regard to Richard's question on the approach to the VCC, it was by way of a direct email to the secretary (Jim) on 05/03/2008. My aim is not to be critical of the VCC, which does great stuff, but just to shed some light on what's been happening with us.