Club Membership

We have two categories of membership; full and associate.

All BCA-member clubs, and recognised cave rescue organisations are automatically considered associate members. This classification of membership exists as many historic access agreements (some of which predate the BCA) necessitate CNCC membership as a requirement for access. This category of membership does not include any voting rights.

Full membership is the category of membership which requires a specific application.

All responsible caving clubs with a significant involvement in northern caving can apply to be a full member of the CNCC. Full member clubs can propose motions and vote at our General Meetings, and hold overall the highest level of authority. All full member clubs can send one representative to vote at our General meetings, although we welcome as many non-voting representatives, either individuals or from any club, as the room can accommodate. These voting representatives should provide a letter (signed by a club official) to the presiding officer to say that they have authority to vote on their clubs behalf. The individual may be instructed by their club on how to vote on planned proposals, but should ideally be empowered to make decisions and get involved in debates that stray slightly from the agenda. They must remember that any proposals that they put forward or any votes they deliver, they are doing so on behalf of their club and not themselves personally.

All full member clubs may propose motions (notice at least eight weeks before the meeting is required to put the proposal on the agenda), make suggestions or simply deliver a vote and to have their say on all CNCC-related matters.


Club Membership FAQs

Why should our club become a full member?

All clubs with a significant involvement in northern caving can get involved with the CNCC by applying to becoming a full member. Being a full member of the CNCC allows you a vote, and enables you to propose or second motions at our General Meetings. Full members also have the opportunity to stand for our Committee. Full members receive email updates from the CNCC on all matters relating to northern caving and have a login to the members’ area of our website.

Is our club too small / too far away / too new to be a full member club?

As you can see from our list of current full member clubs, we have members ranging from the very large and well established northern clubs, to much smaller or newer clubs, student clubs, and clubs geographically based outside of the traditional ‘northern caving’ region. They all share a desire to work with the CNCC to help improve northern caving, whether that be through access, training, conservation or any other means.

What are the requirements to be a full member?

The requirements are that you are a properly constituted club and that you demonstrate a significant input or involvement in northern caving (this can be through existing digging, conservation, or other projects, or simply very regular sporting trips in our region).

What does it cost?

Membership incurs no charge.

Do we have to be a BCA-member club to be a full member of the CNCC?

Although most of our full members are BCA member clubs, there is no constitutional requirement for this. For example, some clubs choose not to be BCA club members, but instead their members prefer to obtain direct individual BCA membership. Note that some of our access agreements specifically require a club to be a BCA-member to allow you to apply for permits.

What is expected of us once we are a full member club?

Full member clubs are encouraged to discuss the agenda for our General Meetings and to send a representative to deliver a vote and discuss/raise any topical items on your clubs behalf. You are also welcome to propose or suggest any ideas your club has to help improve northern caving, and are encouraged to stay abreast of all topical matters. We encourage all our full member clubs to dissociate all relevent CNCC communications with their members. All full members are expected to adhere to the CNCC constitution and to respect all access agreements.

Do we need to apply every year?

No, application for full membership is a one-off event. Periodically the CNCC may contact full members (in particular those who do not take any involvement for several years) to query whether they wish to remain a full member or to identify if the club even still exists. Clubs which cannot be contacted or which do not wish to maintain a regular involvement with the CNCC may have their membership revoked. This is to ensure our membership is kept current and relevant.

Which clubs are current members?

You can find a full list on the member clubs page.


Applying for Full Membership

To become a full member of the CNCC you will need to do the following:

  1. Get in touch
    Get in touch with the CNCC Secretary (by email ideally) to register your interest. He/she will help you through the application process and answer any questions that you have.
  2. Read our constitution
    And make sure we have access to yours.
  3. Seek a proposer and seconder
    Identify two existing full member clubs, one to propose and one to second your application. This can be done either through existing contacts you have with any of these clubs, or simply by approaching them. The CNCC can provide assistance with this if necessary. An officer of the proposer and seconder clubs needs to send an email or write to the CNCC Secretary to confirm their clubs intentions to propose or second your application.
  4. Submit application
    Submit an application form to the CNCC Secretary to tell us a bit about your club. You can use the online form or download a paper form to send to us by post or email.
  5. Check timings
    Ensure the CNCC Secretary has received your form and the confirmation from your proposer and seconder at least eight weeks before our AGM (see our meetings page for the date, typically around February/March).
  6. Come along
    Send a representative of your club to our AGM. Your representative can be anyone (and can be a different person at each subsequent meeting), but they must bring a letter signed by a club officer to authorise them to represent your club, and vote on your clubs behalf if your application is successful. Your application will be voted upon as a first agenda item and if successful you will become a full member with voting rights immediately.
Apply Online Download Paper Form
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