UK&I TCC events 2008

[Buzz]

It's to pay for the venues I think we spoke to Paul Searle the other day and he was saying how much some venues are charging. 50.00 is far to much though and will defo put people off !

[Colin Bashford]

Just had a look at the entry form for this years TCC's, i was stunned at the price that non-members will have to pay £50 a comp. but if you join the ISA UK-I chapter for £85 then you only have to pay £25.

 

I fear that the new climbers will be put of by the cost.

 

 

what your view on this? constructive replys only about this post.

 

Hi Stuart and the rest of you climbers out there.

I can advise that the UK/I are about to announce a probable 25% reduction in this years joining fee, seeing that a quarter of the year has already gone.

 

That would mean that on joining now for a likely fee of around £64 you will get your reduced entrance fee of £25 for climbing comps and all other benefits.

 

In addition in following up my support of you gals and guys, who form by far the greatest percentage of our profession I am proposing to the Chapter that we have a 'climbers and treeworkers' section of our membership that will cater for your specific needs and will be without some of the other bells and whistles currently offered. In that manner I see a lower joining cost and the opportunity to have a considerable 'voice' in our profession.

 

Hope that this is encouraging for you but would like to hear your comments as these issues will be raised at the UK/I AGM at Capel Manor and at the Celebration of Trees.

 

Best wishes

 

Colin

[Craig Johnson]

I'd be interested to know what happens to that money and why its changed.

 

Are there problems with sponsors??

 

It just seems like a backwards step to me. Surely, the climbers are the focus? We're putting on a show for the ISA really aren't we?

 

Were ISA members consulted on this?? I certainly don't remember being asked? It wasn't so long ago I sat in on AGMs where we were asked for suggestions for the future of the comps...

 

so would others!

 

HB are not sponsoring any more since martin has left

 

Yep

 

that was when it was a idependant PA and not a sub committee as it is now.

[Amelanchier]

Hi Stuart and the rest of you climbers out there.

I can advise that the UK/I are about to announce a probable 25% reduction in this years joining fee, seeing that a quarter of the year has already gone.

 

That would mean that on joining now for a likely fee of around £64 you will get your reduced entrance fee of £25 for climbing comps and all other benefits.

 

In addition in following up my support of you gals and guys, who form by far the greatest percentage of our profession I am proposing to the Chapter that we have a 'climbers and treeworkers' section of our membership that will cater for your specific needs and will be without some of the other bells and whistles currently offered. In that manner I see a lower joining cost and the opportunity to have a considerable 'voice' in our profession.

 

Hope that this is encouraging for you but would like to hear your comments as these issues will be raised at the UK/I AGM at Capel Manor and at the Celebration of Trees.

 

Best wishes

 

Colin

 

Thanks for stepping in Colin. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that I appreciate the approachable and accessible nature of your use of this forum. It goes a long way to dispelling the feelings of disconnection and isolation that can occur between organisations and the people they aim to represent.

 

The comps have long suffered from low uptake of new competitors and although many are put off by a lack of confidence, it takes new climbers to encourage new climbers. Additionally, without wishing to detract from the considerable achievements of the top guys & gals, I think that its actually the middle and lower ranks that draw these new competitors in. They show that its possible and achievable to compete. Quite how many of those ranks are ISA members I do not know but I'm sure that not all are.

 

I'm concerned that this increase of competition fees acts too bluntly to encourage ISA membership. I appreciate it for its transparency but think there maybe a danger of pushing too hard to secure ISA membership with counterproductive results.

 

There are also issues for those who choose to only compete in one competition as the numbers just don't play out favourably. (Unless the revised membership rates are below £25!) Again, as this is exactly what many novices do, the increase seems to me to hit the future of the comps at its most vulnerable point.

 

A full and detailed explanation of the mechanism behind this increase might be beneficial to lessen the blow, as I'm sure many will not be aware of the increase until they turn up on the comp day!

 

Just a few thoughts as I'll be unable to attend the AGM.

[nod]

Hi Tony

 

I think you've asked some interesting questions & thrown up some comments to which I'll respond.

 

"I'd be interested to know what happens to that money and why its changed."

 

Although I do not know (& don't care to Know) the exact figures that come & go in terms of the organisation & completion of any TCC. I am sure that it is an aweful lot more than most people would care to assume. If you bare in mind that all the preorganising (which takes many months & goes on relentless in the background), set up & pruning of trees prior the actual comp day is done on a purely voluntary basis, the £600 odd that might come from entrants fees would not even cover the insurance for an event. That's before anybody might consider asking for costs. Each entrant & judges/techs etc get a t-shirt & lunch for 2days, & a place to put it after the digestion process. Placed climbers get medals, cash, products, hand shakes & pats on the back. £25 barely pays for the t-shirts & lunch if at all.

 

 

"Are there problems with sponsors??"

 

No problem here Tony, we/I have tried to support TCC in various ways for a few years now & don't suppose that it'll stop overnight.

 

I do understand that as an organisation, (ISA TCC) it can be difficult to keep going cap in hand to the same usual suspects each year to ask for dosh, especially when it's really difficult to tell people exactly what their gonna get for that dosh. Sponsorship would come from an advertising budget & like with any advertising, if you think it's not working then only the wrong minded individual would carry on putting funds into it? Unless of course it was done purely for the pleasure of being involved with such an organisation.

 

We are sponsoring the Students TCC at Capel Manor next week & I'm really pleased to be doing this as I feel that any encouragement that can be given to those setting out within our industry is a good thing. As I'm sure most are aware that there exist great disparities between the way in which treeworkers approach their daily tasks. These vary for all manner of reasons but the one that I have difficulty with is that as students we are shown (mostly) what we need to achieve NPTC levels of competance. These do tick certain boxes but also leave very many untouched, so we enter industry competant to do what? I feel that the Student TCC offers the opportunity for the whole of the student peer group to see & experience great variety in approach to the same task & all encompassed within a single event over two days. There is very much to learn for us all & to support that at whatever level is surely okay.

 

"It just seems like a backwards step to me. "

 

It may be a backward step Tony, but sometime it is necessary to go back to go forward. As someone somewhere else once said, 'The wise man don't build his 'ouse on the sand!'

 

"Surely, the climbers are the focus? We're putting on a show for the ISA really aren't we?"

 

I think the organisers & volunteers, some ISA members & some not, put on the show. The climbers turn up on the day, pay their pennies & climb trees. Some of them walk away with goodies & others take their memories (if of course the're still intact), some take both. When the competitors start getting involved with organising at some level then it's possible to say that we put on the show. But, if & when that happens the question will be asked loud & clear, & probably answered 'Why do we need the ISA?' But until such time comes when that actually happens the ISA will be the one that puts on the event. I think!

 

"Were ISA members consulted on this?? I certainly don't remember being asked? It wasn't so long ago I sat in on AGMs where we were asked for suggestions for the future of the comps..."

 

My only recollection of AGM's were close to Macs place in Wednesbury (the Manor Arms if memory serves), a dozen or so people turned up each time to chat the day away, try to resolve any issues & make a plan for the following years comps. It worked, of a kind, but since then there has been nothing apart from a few individuals working to continue bringing a handful of events per year to those that care to be a part of it.

 

We will all look back on our own personal involvement in TCC's with different views & with different emotion. One year will be different from the next from the next from the next, but the potential for people to learn how to go about their daily life as a tree surgeon, tree worker, cutter, climber, arborist or however we see ourselves as, in a more efficient manner can be born from an involvement with climbing championships. Whether as a climber or a spectator & on this basis alone I think that it's worth as much support as is possible.

 

Cheers

Nod

 

You can see from this why it is so rare that I post on forums. I simple don't have the time to talk so much ****. Nod:tee:

[Andy Collins]

Not a member of the TCC, merely been a spectator at a couple of competitions, and thoroughly enjoyed it, (even in the pouring rain at Cardiff last year) As a spectator, would it not be possible to pay to watch? An entry fee or maybe a donation towards the TCC? I personally hate the idea of a bucket being rattled under my nose, but would willingly make a donation to watch, say £5. I understand that as these comps are held in public places anyone passing can stop and observe for free, so maybe how about a voluntary donation pot? Alternatively, for the climbers, how about they collect sponsorship forms and seek their own sponsors to fund their sport, much the same as other sportsmen and women? Local saw shops, companies may be interested?

Sorry for the ramblings, thinking out loud.

[Amelanchier]

Nod,

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

I had some vauge comprehension of the costs and I hope my query wasn't interpreted by anyone as some sort of righteous freedom of information request! I was just interested in the mechanism behind the change itself.

 

I'm currently organising an event and if I imagine scaling it up to an ISA TCC level I know that I'd make a horrible mess of it - so my hat is officially off to all those involved in that process!

 

I take your point about who's "...putting on the show..." - If I had been a bit more reflective before posting, maybe I might have realised that myself.

 

I still think there is a danger in pricing new climbers out of the comps. I suppose we'll have to see - I hope I'm wrong mate.

[Amelanchier]

Not a member of the TCC, merely been a spectator at a couple of competitions, and thoroughly enjoyed it, (even in the pouring rain at Cardiff last year) As a spectator, would it not be possible to pay to watch? An entry fee or maybe a donation towards the TCC? I personally hate the idea of a bucket being rattled under my nose, but would willingly make a donation to watch, say £5. I understand that as these comps are held in public places anyone passing can stop and observe for free, so maybe how about a voluntary donation pot? Alternatively, for the climbers, how about they collect sponsorship forms and seek their own sponsors to fund their sport, much the same as other sportsmen and women? Local saw shops, companies may be interested?

Sorry for the ramblings, thinking out loud.

 

Not a bad idea Andy, cheap to implement. Though I'm not sure it would generate significant amounts but I suppose everything helps.

 

The problem with personal sponsorship is that the sponsors would reasonable want their brands/logos represented and the climbers/techs shirts have to represent the main sponsors. Could be a clash of interests. I don't think there are any straightforward solutions

[Alex]

Entry Fee Changes April 2008-04-30

 

Dear All

 

 

We have received some feed bake from some of you and have also read the posts on forums. We are in a different position to the previous years due mainly to the changes in sponsorship. This year the chapter will be funding directly all costs and expenses relating to the TCC in the UK&I, from humble ball points to get your scores on the score sheets to flight for the chapter champs on their way to St Louise in July. To this end we have to make ends meet. It was also clear that very few competitors where becoming members and seeing as 50% of the running costs of the comps are funded by the chapter we felt it was important to try and encourage climber to join the chapter.

 

In refection the increase from £30 for none member to £50 was a big leap for some, the chapter is currently looking at the pricing for the membership options, and might even create on for Tree Climbers. At present the deals we are offering are good and much better than years before, getting you access to nearly all the trade magazines free gifts and benefits card that is now up and running. If you are currently studding at a college either full or part time, then joining the chapter is no brainier, as you will get all this for just £25.

 

I have now had chance to look at the budgets and we will reduce the entry fees to £40 for none members and keep the Members entries at £25. The down fall of this is climbers will have to from now on feed them selves during the day, the judges and techs will still get a lunch but seeing the amount of food that climbers never eat, it would seem more sensible if you all brought what you want to eat with you while competing. I will however try and organise food for the evenings in the form of BBQ’s or hog roast, as we would like to encourage more climbers to camp and have time to chat and share ideas and experiences.

 

In the future, if we change or upset you guys by the decision we make please come and tell us. We are trying hard to pull these comps together for you and as ever the work is done by a few, who will be committing a lot of time and effort for your benefit. So if you want to help and be part of that decision making please step forward and volunteer your time, or at least do us the courtesy of addressing you grievance with us before you start winging and moaning behind closed doors. These are the kind of things that will make people working hard for free giving days at a time for your benefit the urge to walk away.

[Amelanchier]

Cheers for that Alex. It goes a long way mate.