Charity name: Belfast Climbing Club
Registered charity number 108958
Trustees report for financial period: 2[nd] November 2022 to 1[st] November 2023
Charity contact details: Email: info@belfastclimbingclub.co.uk Charity website: https://www.belfastclimbingclub.co.uk/
Principal Address: 3 Villa Wood Court Dromore BT25 1GQ Primary telephone number: 07919 108010
Current Trustees: Mr. Owen Largey (Treasurer) Dr Eva Grew (Secretary) Mr. Michael McCracken (Chairperson)
Trustees during the reporting period: Ms Aimee Smith
Dr Ronan Kernan Dr Jamie Roberts (Chairperson)
Statement:
The trustees are aware that they are legally obliged to have regard to the Commission’s Public Benefit requirement statutory guidance. During this reporting period, the trustees have had regard to the commission’s Public Benefit requirement statutory guidance.
The work of the charity:
Belfast climbing club exists for the advancement of amateur sport. It exists for the public benefit and the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for climbing in the Belfast area. Belfast Climbing Club carries out its purposes through offering the general public the opportunity to join a community of like-minded individuals who share a love for the outdoors and specifically enjoy the recreational sports of rock climbing, hillwalking and related activities.
The club facilitates regular indoor climbing meetings at a local Belfast indoor climbing wall all year round. We have a varied social calendar of regular non-climbing events that allows social relationships to develop. Both the indoor climbing and social events are open to the general public (non-members as well as members) and allow anyone to interact with the community we are trying to develop in Belfast.
Membership of the Belfast Climbing Club gives an additional benefit of the opportunity to engage in outdoor recreation throughout Ireland and the UK for an affordable cost. We also provide provision of low-cost accommodation in the Mourne Mountains, for members and other like-minded organisations, allowing greater access to the area.
Belfast Climbing Club, while it does not formally teach people the basics of climbing, is run by a committee of experienced climbers who can advise on the best practices of rock climbing and promote environmentally responsible outdoor recreation. Having an experienced committee and membership allows individuals to both enjoy climbing outdoors without incurring high costs hiring private mountain guides, share expertise and equipment, and promote safe practice among individuals.
Additionally, we manage a community online with members and the general public via a regularly updated website and social media, which allows an easy way for members and likeminded people of the general public to enjoy climbing related content and organise outdoors activities between themselves.
The Belfast Climbing Club further carries out its purposes through cooperating with and supporting other charitable groups and climbing/mountaineering clubs with similar purposes.
The benefits of Belfast Climbing Club:
The benefits which flow from our organisation's purposes include improved physical and mental health and resilience, opportunities to develop socially, an increased opportunity to avail of outdoor recreation safely at low cost, and increased awareness of sensitive mountain and coastal environments.
These benefits are evidenced through the retention and increase of club members and use of our accommodation by like-minded organisations, as well as the feedback received from members. Additionally, members can be observed to improve physical and mental health and resilience through taking part in challenging outdoor activities.
Potential harm can arise from promoting climbing and mountaineering; activities that carry a risk of personal injury and injury to others. However, through promoting safe and responsible climbing, improving skills of members and encouraging safe and responsible activities in the mountain environment, the health and social benefits of these purposes outweigh the potential risk.
The charity’s beneficiaries are people living in the Greater Belfast area as well as outdoor enthusiasts from farther afield seeking affordable accommodation in the Mourne Mountains to use as a base when climbing or hillwalking.
A private benefit to trustees may arise from opportunities to teach and develop skills and grantfunded training courses. Through these trustees gain skills, experience or grant aid which are transferable to other settings and which may benefit other groups. Our own trustees receive information in the same way as other beneficiaries and are assigned support and/or apply for
grant aid the same as other beneficiaries. These benefits are incidental and necessary to ensure the benefit is provided to our beneficiaries.
Outputs:
Belfast Climbing Club held organised indoor climbing sessions every Tuesday evening and every Thursday evening, hosted by a designated committee member, throughout the reporting year. These events are open to members of the public as well as club members are advertised on social media. These are typically attended by 10 to 20 participants.
Belfast Climbing Club members also held or attended several outdoor climbing events. These were also well attended, typically by between 10 and 20 participants from the club.
Club Christmas Dinner 10[th] December 2022
New Year hike 8[th] January 2023
Indoor climbing trip to Foyle Arena 12[th] February
Hiking trip to Sligo 25[th] & 26[th] February
Introductory Climbing Series Sport Climbing 4[th] March
Introductory Climbing Series Bouldering 11[th] March
Introductory Climbing Series Traditional Climbing 18[th] March
Climbing trip to Wales 6[th] to 10[th] April
Donegal Climbing Festival 28[th] April to 1[st] May
Belfast Climbing Club 6[th] Birthday Climbing and BBQ 6[th] May
Fairhead Climbing meet 2[nd] to 5[th] June
Gola climbing trip 12[th] to 16[th] July
Mourne Mountain Climbfest 5[th] to 7[th] August Donegal Climbing trip 26[th] to 27[th] August
Wicklow climbing trip 29[th] September to 1[st] October
AGM 6[th] October
Belfast Climbing Club also operates Henry’s Cottage, a mountain hut, supporting access to the outdoors. The hut was busy during this reporting year with club members and non-members staying there and using it as a base in the Mountains of Mourne.
Financial review:
Belfast Climbing Club had an income of £6119 and spent £6281 during this reporting period. The club finances are healthy, held no debts, and the club held a small balance of funds at the end of the reporting period. This is in the event of unforeseen cottage repairs being required .
Belfast Climbing Club’s income is derived from a nominal membership fee of £10 per year. Those members that require insurance are charged £41.50 at the start of the membership year, £10 to support the activities of the club and the remaining £31.50 paid to Mountaineering
Ireland for membership of that sporting body and includes insurance. Other income is derived from donations that members and non-members give to support the upkeep of Henry’s cottage. We occasionally make up some club t-shirts and other clothing merchandise, but this is cost neutral. We try to run our trips on a break even basis and where there money left over we tend to refund to those who paid to go on the trip.
Structure, Governance and Management arrangements: The club is run in accordance with its agreed constitution.
CONSTITUTION OF THE BELFAST CLIMBING CLUB
November 2023
1. Name
1.1 The name of the Charity shall be ‘Belfast Climbing Club’, hereinafter referred to as the Club.
2. Objectives and Charitable Purposes of the Club
2.1 For the public benefit and the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation by the provision of facilities for climbing in the Belfast area.
2.2 To act as the collective voice of Club members.
2.3 To assist in the work of Mountaineering Ireland aimed at maintaining access to, conservation of and protection of the cliff and mountain environment.
2.4 To encourage and promote safety and good practice in all aspects of climbing.
2.5 To make information on responsible use of the mountain environment available to club members.
2.6 To promote amateur climbing, mountaineering and associated skills by providing opportunities to share and gain expertise and access hills, mountains and crags, and to minimise the costs associated.
2.7 To help develop the local climbing community through the development of local climbing, sharing information on events, access and opportunities, and organisation of social events.
3. Carrying out the Purposes
3.1 In order to carry out the charitable purposes, the trustees have the power to:
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raise funds, receive grants and donations;
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apply funds to carry out the work of the Club;
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co-operate with and support other charities with similar charitable purposes; and
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do anything which is lawful and necessary to achieve the Club’s purposes.
4. Membership of the Club
4.1 Membership of the Club shall be open to all climbers capable of safely belaying a lead climber. Evaluation of this competence shall be at the discretion of the committee.
4.2 Membership of the Club shall only be open to individuals who recognise that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Members shall be aware of and accept these risks and agree to be responsible for their own actions and involvement.
4.3 Club Membership shall be open to persons of the age of 18 or over.
4.4 The Committee shall have the power to remove a member from the Club who has been in violation of the Club Rules.
5. Management of the Club
5.1 The Club will be controlled by its members through decisions made at General Meetings. One of these meetings will be the Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which the Committee and Trustees of the Club will be elected.
5.2 Elections for Trustee and Committee positions at the AGM will be conducted in the following format:
-Any member can nominate one or more members (including themselves) for one or more of the Trustee/Committee positions (Trustee/Committee roles are detailed in Appendix 1). Nominations can commence any time before the AGM, until just before the vote for a specific Trustee/Committee role is held. All nominations must be seconded by another member.
-Voting for Trustee/Committee positions will commence in the following order: President, Secretary, Treasurer, Cottage Secretary, Membership Secretary, Meets Secretary, Social Secretary, Webmaster, Ordinary. If a nominee has been voted in for a Trustee/Committee position, thereafter, they cannot be voted in for additional positions. For example, if a member is nominated for President and Secretary, and they are voted in as President they cannot run for Secretary.
-Anonymous voting by all present at the AGM will decide Trustee/Committee positions by majority vote. If a draw is reached, then the drawn nominees for said
Trustee/Committee position should decide between themselves who gets the position. If a decision cannot be reached, the outgoing President will decide who, amongst those drawn, should get the position. At the outgoing President’s discretion, they may decide to either hold another vote, flip a coin, choose who they think is suitable or some other method deemed appropriate.
5.3 At the end of the voting, if there are any unclaimed Trustee/Committee positions, any member can nominate themselves for unclaimed positions and automatically claim it. Additionally, members currently holding a Trustee/Committee position can also nominate
themselves for unclaimed Trustee/Committee positions in the same way and, therefore, hold multiple Trustee/Committee positions simultaneously.
5.4 Management of the Club between General Meetings shall be entrusted to the elected Trustees, assisted by the other members of the Committee, who must act in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of the Club. They may make decisions on matters not covered by Constitution or Rules but these must be approved by the next General Meeting.
6. Trustees of the Club
6.1 The Trustees of the Club shall be elected by the members at an Annual General Meeting and shall be the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer. Trustee Roles are detailed in Appendix 1.
6.2 Trustees will serve for a term of one year. If a Trustee wishes they may seek re-election to either the same role or another role on the Committee.
6.3 Trustees are eligible to serve for a continuous period of no longer than three years in the same position on the club committee. After three terms, Trustees must step down.
6.4 Trustees may step down at any time. If a Trustee steps down the Committee must appoint a replacement to serve until the next General Meeting.
6.5 A trustee may not appoint anyone to act on his or her behalf at a meeting of the trustees.
6.6 No one may be appointed a trustee if he or she would be disqualified from acting as a trustee under the provisions of clause 7.
7. Disqualification and Removal of Trustees
7.1 A trustee must cease to hold office if he or she:
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Is disqualified from acting as a trustee by virtue of section 86 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision);
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Ceases to be a member of the Club;
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In the written opinion, given to the Trustees, of a registered medical practitioner treating that person, has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a charity trustee and may remain so for more than three months;
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Resigns as a trustee by notice to the charity (but only if at least two trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation is to take effect); or
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Is absent without the permission of the trustees from all their meetings held within a period of six consecutive months and the trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated.
8. Committee of the Club
8.1 The President of the Club will normally preside at and chair all meetings of the Committee
and General Meetings of the Club and shall be responsible for reporting to the Membership at the Club's AGM.
8.2 The Committee shall be composed of the Trustees of the Club as well as the Social Secretary, the Membership Secretary, the Meets Secretary, the Cottage Secretary, the Webmaster and the Ordinary Committee members (Committee roles are detailed in Appendix 1). All of the Committee are also classed as voting members.
8.3 The Committee shall nominate representatives of the Club to attend Mountaineering Ireland General meetings to represent the views of the Membership and vote on behalf of the Club.
8.4 The Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional non-voting members.
8.5 A quorum for a meeting of the Committee shall be half of the voting members (excluding Ordinary Committee members) rounded up to the next whole number, including two Trustees. The Committee shall hold at least four meetings each year.
8.6 Committee Members may step down at any time. The committee may appoint a replacement to serve until the next General Meeting.
8.7 A meeting of the Committee may be held either in person or by suitable alternative means agreed between the Committee in which all participants may communicate simultaneously with all other participants.
8.8 If Trustees have a conflict of interest they must declare it and leave the meeting while this matter is being discussed or decided.
8.9 The Committee may make reasonable additional rules to help run the charity. These rules must not conflict with this constitution or the law.
8.10 Decisions will be taken by simple majority of those present. In the event of a tie, a majority of the Trustees will decide.
9. Written Resolutions
9.1 A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees on a matter will be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Committee duly convened and held and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more Trustees. The date of a written resolution will be the date on which the last Trustee entitled to vote signs.
9.2 A resolution which is approved by email in accordance with this clause will be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a Committee meeting duly convened and held, provided the following conditions are complied with:
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such a resolution must be approved by email by all the Trustees entitled to vote on the matter;
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approval must be received by the person nominated in advance by the Trustees for that purpose (the “Recipient”); and
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approval from a trustee must be sent from an email address previously notified in writing (not using electronic means) by that trustee to the Club as intended for use by that Trustee for the purpose.
10. Money and Property
10.1 A General meeting shall have the power to set membership subscription levels for the Club.
10.2 Money and property must only be used for the charitable purposes of the Club.
10.3 Trustees must keep accounts. The most recent annual accounts can be seen by anybody on request.
10.4 Trustees will be signatories to the club’s bank account. All financial transactions must be approved by a minimum of two Trustees.
11. Rules of the Club
11.1 A General meeting shall have the power to set Club rules. Such rules shall be in accordance with the articles of the Club's Constitution and the policies of Mountaineering Ireland.
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11.2 Any paid up member of the club is entitled to vote at General meetings.
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11.3 Votes will be conducted by secret ballot.
11.4 A General Meeting may be called at any time by any five club members submitting a request to the Trustees, or by the Trustees at any point. All members must receive 14 days’ notice for any General Meeting.
11.5 A quorum of 10 people or 10% of the membership (whichever is larger) will be required at a General meeting to allow voting.
11.6 All motions to be voted on at a General Meeting must be delivered to the Trustees no later than 7 days before the meeting and proposed by a minimum of two members.
11.7 Any Officer or Committee member may be removed from their position by a two thirds majority of those present at a General Meeting provided that the motion has been proposed in accordance with 11.6 above.
12. Amendments to the Constitution of the Club
12.1 This Constitution may be amended by a two thirds majority of those present and voting at a General Meeting. Notice of any proposed amendment must be delivered (see 11.6 above)
12.2 The Club rules may be amended by a simple majority of those present and voting at a General Meeting. Notice of any proposed amendment must be delivered. (see 11.6 above)
12.3 No amendment shall be made which would have the effect of making the charity cease to be a charity at law.
13. Dissolution of the Club
13.1 The Club can be dissolved by two thirds majority vote carried out in accordance with Article 10 whereupon the Trustees will arrange to discharge any assets to a charity with similar purposes to the Club. Any liabilities at the time of dissolution shall be the joint responsibility of all Members.
14. Adoption of the Constitution
14.1 This constitution was adopted on 01th November 2023 by the people whose signatures appear below. They are the first members of the charity and will be the trustees until the AGM, which must be held within one year of this date.
Michael McCracken
Eva Kočičková
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Owen Largey
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Appendix 1 – Trustee and Committee Roles
Trustees
1 The President is the chair of the Club Committee and should promote the aims of the Club. The President is the public face of the Club and should understand the club’s constitution, its aims, policies and ambitions and financial situation. The President is responsible for the overall planning and running of committee meetings and encouraging full participation from all committee members and ensuring all topics for discussion are covered and appropriately recorded. If there is a tie in a vote and there are only two Trustees present, the President shall have a casting vote.
2 The Secretary is responsible for the Club’s administration. The Secretary is responsible for communication between the committee members, with Club members and with Mountaineering Ireland. They are responsible for recording minutes of the Club’s meetings and for making these available to the Club’s membership, as well as notifying Club members of General Meetings. The Secretary shall maintain the records of the Club and manage the club’s correspondence, as well as any insurance matters and reporting of incidents.
3 The Club Treasurer is responsible for the financial affairs of the Club. They shall ensure that the Club’s financial activities are legitimate, transparent and in keeping with the aims of the Club. The Club Treasurer is responsible for the income and expenditure of the club and maintains accounts of these. The Treasurer must be informed of all financial activity carried out in the name of the Club.
Committee
4 The Social Secretary shall be responsible for organising the Club’s non-climbing social events such as the Christmas dinner, lectures and regular social meets.
5 The Membership Secretary shall oversee welcoming new members to the Club. They will collect subscriptions, keep records of the Membership of the Club and report the details of members to Mountaineering Ireland as required.
6 The Meets Secretary shall be responsible for the calendar of the club’s climbing events for the year and overseeing organisation and management of trips and climbing meets, either themselves or by delegating to other club members. They will be responsible for ensuring all those participating in trips are suitably prepared and informed.
7 The Cottage Secretary shall be responsible for bookings at Henry’s Cottage, organising maintenance, administration and development and liaising with the owner of the property.
8 The Webmaster shall be responsible for maintenance and development of the Club’s website, email account, online archive and social media presence.
9 The Ordinary Committee member has no specific role but can take on the responsibilities of other Committee roles (when permission is given) and other general shared responsibilities of the Committee as a whole.
This concludes the trustees report.
Signed 29[th] August 2024 behalf of the trustees by:
Michael McCracken – Charity Chairperson/Trustee