Oxford University Cave Club

Meet Co-coordinator's Crib Sheet

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Congratulations on volunteering to co-ordinate a meet. You are a Caving Star. This is the stuff that needs doing - feel free to delegate any or all of it, just make sure someone responsible is doing it.

A week / 10 days before the meet

Have a rough idea of who's going from Oxford. This will enable you to plan transport for Oxford people. (People coming from elsewhere tend to sort themselves out.) Depending on the number of people and number of car owners/van drivers, choose from 3 options as outlined below:

  1. Use members' cars. Write down who owes who how much petrol money, *if* you want it to go through the club accounts; otherwise get people to settle it between themselves.
  2. Rent a van from Hotson's Eurodrive, the company the University has a deal with. Drivers need to have passed the University's minibus driving test - several club members now have. "Over 25" is OK, but it costs more unless they have taken the test. Please note that a Hotson's minibus may have been pre-booked by the meets sec, find out and, if you're not using it, you need to cancel them a.s.a.p. by e-mailing Hotson's: eurodrive@aol.com. (Hotson's officially require 48 hours' notice for cancellations, but to avoid hassles give them as much notice as you possibly can.) (
  3. Hire a car/cars - there are couple of places in Oxford that hire out 2nd hand cars, and they're reasonably-priced. Oxford /Hatchback Hire (Old Road, Headington, 763615, £40-45-50 for small-med-large car) and Fransman (Lyme Walk, Headington, 763979, prices about the same I think) are two we have used. The earlier you book, the more likely you are to get (a) a car (b) a cheap car - ringing the day before has sometimes worked in the past, , but often it doesn't, so leave time. Also Spareacre Hire, 881316 (but it's in Eynsham, just outside Oxford - buses go there). For hire cars the driver almost invariably need to be over 21 (in fact almost invariably need to be over 23, but 21 for these 3 firms).

The week before a meet

Thursday / Friday

Trip Registration with OUSF

Let the Meet Sec know and he or you must will enter the trip on http://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/sportsfed/safety/, hit the "Trip/Fixture Registration Form" (top left), fill in the mandatory fields (*) and do your best for the remainder. Common driver reg's and mobiles, also first aiders on additional sheet. At a pinch, Email the OUSF Safety Officer, Howard Jeffs [howard.jeffs@sport.oxford.ac.uk] giving the location and contact details for all club trips (e.g. see list of club huts below) together with the names, and if possible colleges, of everyone going on the trip. It is not expected that this name list be 100% accurate, a best effort will suffice. This is useful for the University in the event of an incident.

Buy Food.

First check the food box in the hut - use whatever you can from there, especially semi-perishables, before buying more stuff. The Hut Has Spices (and usually some marge, tea, coffee, sugar, cooking oil, pasta, often other stuff too). Club policy is normally to be relatively skinflintish on shared food (some of us don't have incomes, and people with money can treat themselves individually!) - so mainly go for Value brands etc.

You'll normally need 2 breakfasts and 1 evening meal.

Tips on what food to buy - ignore this if you know what you're doing

Friday

Pick up group gear from the hut. Depending on what trips you're doing, you'll need a mixture of ropes / ladders / spreaders / wires / tapes / hangers / maillons / tackle bags. You always have too much, except when you think "we always have too much" and go minimalist - take lots! The club helmets / lampsets (don't forget some spare batteries).

On the weekend itself

Just-possibly-useful phone numbers

Yorkshire
Bull Pot Farm phone: 015242 71837
Greenclose: unlucky - no phone!

Mendip
The Belfry phone: 01749 672126
MCG hut phone: 01761 462797
MNRC hut phone: 01761 241 609
Wessex hut phone: 01749 672310

Wales
SWCC hut phone: 01639 730613
WSG cottage phone: 01685 811080
Whitewalls phone: 01873 811510

ENJOY!