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Post by thecolm on Jun 25, 2010 8:06:33 GMT
Can the club buy a 100m ab rope. Necessary for anyone wanting to head up to fair head (which we'll hopefully be doing early this coming semester).
Also, the way club racks are organised could maybe be looked at, as they have too much of some stuff and not enough of others i.e. crazy ammount of slings and crabs but only one set of nuts. Obviously this is so that they can be suitable for a variety of different activities, but can leave them lacking at times.
One possible solution would be to have basic racks, and then seperate sets of extra gear (sets of nuts/slings/cams/hexes/whatever). The person looking for gear could then sign out a rack plus what ever else they think they'd need.
This would also free up more gear for use by others, as people wouldn't be forced to take out a load of gear they dont need to get the gear they do need.
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Post by cillian on Jun 25, 2010 10:28:38 GMT
a suggestion i would make for the re-organisation of club racks would be introduce a third colour i.e distinguish the 5 club racks from each other with an additional tape colour on all the kits i.e yellow, blue, green,red and pollisbly earthing tape. then it would be very clear when racks get mixed up and to help organise them better... the gear would also have the tradtional club black and white marking
gear has been signed out as a rack plus extras if required.
however in my opinion once you start stroipping racks it will get very confusing and labour intensive for the club gear officer. its probably best for fergal if gear is signed out and back in as an easily verifiable unit i.e. a full rack...
naturally if others on a given weekend can be facilitated by splitting so be it but in general if demand is not high a full rack is the easiest way to sign out gear in my opinion
there are six slings and three spare crabs on a full rack which is not really crazy i think...
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Post by thecolm on Jun 25, 2010 12:03:32 GMT
Ah, the different tapes is a good idea.
The slings and crabs are not a problem, it was more the lack of a second set of nuts that mean the racks aren't suitable for long trad routes.
I guess what I was suggesting is that things like extra sets of nuts could be bough and kept seperately, being taken out when required, rather than getting 5 sets for each of the 5 racks. I wouldn't have thought there would be much extra work involved if everything is stored in an organised way (an extra line on a form?).
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Post by Ginge on Jun 25, 2010 16:38:29 GMT
At the moment (The coming year) the budget is stretched as is and the gear being bought has already been planned. So there may not be a lot of money to buy a few extra sets of nuts.
It is at the discretion of the new committee though whether or not they want to alter the clubs 3 year gear plan.
If there is a lot of demand for these extra large racks then definitely something to look into. If not other areas could do with the money.
Edit: Question on the 100m ab rope. Does it give access to a variety of different grades of climbs? High/Low? I'm not too familiar with Fairhead.
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Post by Darragh K on Jun 25, 2010 16:48:46 GMT
Hey Colm,
Thanks for your suggestions. As Cillian mentioned we will have a better system of organising the racks in future.
RE the ab rope and extra nuts, I think the extra nuts that are kept off the racks are a great idea. We have a bunch of random extra nuts in the gear locker but I dont know if these are still useful.
After the Alps, our surplus money for this year will have to be spent. Your suggestions will come into play when we decide what to purchase with the excess money.
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Post by Keith on Jun 26, 2010 6:31:53 GMT
Not to put a downer on things, but the absolute first and foremost priority of ALL club gear is for club trips, and for them the racks are pretty damn perfect. New gear bought should be to make the weekly/regular club trips better and not the odd one or two. If there's money left afterwards, then maybe. But I think areas like tents and the wall could do with more of the leftover budget.
It's an unbelievable facility that the club loans out gear to members at all and it should remain a privilege not an entitlement. Most clubs in UL don't do this and I'm pretty sure most other colleges don't.
These are just my two cents but I think our resources should be put into making the club better, not just some of it's current members.
At the end of the day, if anyone wants something specific badly enough, they can go buy it themselves. If not then they can be happy with the amazing amount of gear available as it is to loan from the club.
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Post by thecolm on Jun 28, 2010 11:11:55 GMT
"After the Alps, our surplus money for this year will have to be spent. Your suggestions will come into play when we decide what to purchase with the excess money." Sounds good Darragh  ''Not to put a downer on things, but the absolute first and foremost priority of ALL club gear is for club trips, and for them the racks are pretty damn perfect.'' The racks are pretty damn perfect until someone wants to get on a decent length trad route, and with many strong climbers comin through the club, this isn't something that should be overlooked. Extra nuts would be used on many club trips. "These are just my two cents but I think our resources should be put into making the club better, not just some of it's current members." The club is made up of members. Members having access to the gear they need is surely and improvment to the club? In terms of nuts needed, we're talking maybe two sets, so roughly 120 euro. Hardly a massive figure by any standards. Anyway it was just a suggestion. You wouldn't be aware of any issue the racks had with regards trad climbing in the same way that I'm not the person to claim they're perfect for trips to the alps. |
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Post by cillian on Jun 28, 2010 11:42:50 GMT
extra nuts are something to look into alrigth but Keitho makes very valid points about the fact we sign out gear at all, and that the club racks are a good all rounder for most routes that the majority of the clubs climbers would need starting off and progressing their skills.
Those most interested in the clubs activities would be expected to start investing themselves as they progress through the club and buy some of their own set of gear complementing what they can borrow from the club...remember how much saving you get with your membership being able to borrow racks, maps, books, helmets rope etc....
As a relevant aside Paul Lee has requested a full review of our gear sign out policy and Feargal is working on it at the moment... the policy will be brougth ionto line with our Constitution and our health and safety statement...
in terms of gear being available for members it always has been and always will be available for those who are competent to use it. having nearly five full racks in the club and being able to sign them out , along with ropes helmets harnesses etc is a great facility. its a voluntary club and as health and safety is paramount therfore professional training is required to keep members skills up to date and trips run safely
Is Mise Le Meas
Cillian
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Post by Ginge on Jul 1, 2010 18:51:43 GMT
The Clubs priority should be gear for the masses and not the minority. We are here to facilitate development and the club does this with the gear it has. There are plenty other areas in the club that could use the money.
I agree that as people progress themselves, they should start investing in their own gear also.
If there is money leftover, consider gear for the minorities, but until then we need to try and perfect our large club trips and make them as enjoyable as possible for everyone because they are the only reason any of what we have is currently there. That is where the income comes from that makes everything possible. Unless of course people want to start paying the club for taking out gear ;-)
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