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Hello from BMC President (Read 3098 times)

Dom - BMC President

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Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 06:55:28 am
Hello UKB (and apologies for being slow off the mark - I haven't been a UKB poster before now - my bouldering sucks, though I appreciate UKB is about a lot more than bouldering). I was elected as the new President of the BMC at its AGM last week, and wanted to introduce myself. I’m Dominic (or Dom) Oughton, a climber, mountaineer, BMC volunteer, club member (and former club president) and a Trustee of Climbers Against Cancer. I’m new to the BMC Board and Members’ Council, but not new to boardrooms, having held a number of MD roles and advised global companies and governments on strategy and innovation. More info in my supporting statement which you can find here: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-board-member-biographies
It is a great honour to take up this role, and I am humbled to join the list of my illustrious predecessors. It is also a weighty responsibility, particularly given the financial situation that the BMC finds itself in. As with every role on the Members’ Council and Board (apart from the CEO), it is entirely voluntary (all these people put in a huge amount of effort out of the goodness of their hearts). Key attributes in the President’s job description include advocacy for all, developing consensus and transparency, and working in partnership – most importantly, the President is the Members’ champion.
UKB is an important forum for discussion across the breadth of communities that the BMC represents, and I see it as a hugely valuable route to listen to some of the voices of these communities, and hopefully provide feedback and answers. I have set up this user profile Dom - BMC President to be able to take part in the conversation.
The BMC is a vitally important voice for the country’s wild places and for those who love to adventure in them, and it is in a perilous position. It’s OUR BMC and needs the strength of the broad climbing (and of course bouldering!), mountaineering and hill-walking communities to come together to support it. I am committed to working collaboratively to put the BMC back on a sound financial footing, and to rebuild the trust between it and its members, and I need your help to achieve this. There are volunteer roles on Members’ Council https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-jobs; you can get involved and have your say through your Local Area https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-areas; volunteer https://www.thebmc.co.uk/can-you-volunteer-with-us-in-2024; and you can continue with your support and custom for its services (and spread the word to others). It won’t be easy to put the BMC back where it belongs, but it would be a lot more difficult to try to build a new one.
Thank you in advance for your support, and I look forward to serving you, the Members, over the next three years.
Cheers, Dom
You can reach me at president@thebmc.co.uk

Hoseyb

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#1 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 08:23:39 am
Hi Dom

It would be worth you reading through the most recent page of the " changing the BMC" thread to bring you up to speed.

It would be good to hear your thoughts on recent events

SA Chris

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#2 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 09:16:55 am
Welcome, and best of luck with what looks to be a challenging role.

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,28127.0.html is the thread Hoseyb is referring to.

lukeyboy

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#3 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 09:56:45 am
Hi Dom :wave: thanks for reaching out. All the best for your new role, as Chris says you'll no doubt be busy.

There's a lot on here who value the BMC and will be hoping you can help to steer it in a better direction.

Fiend

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#4 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 09:59:07 am
 :wave:

I can vouch for Dom being very much a climber's climber (with added climbing) so hopefully that will be a good angle of approach!

Mike Highbury

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#5 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 24, 2024, 11:27:02 am
It would be worth you reading through the most recent page of the " changing the BMC" thread to bring you up to speed.

Not that again, please.

I'm too sensitive to cope with a repeat of that depth of incompetence.

shark

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#6 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 25, 2024, 09:37:13 am
Hi Dom

Whilst good news about 3 extra places at Paris this does have a financial impact as I gather supporting Olympic attendance can cost £30k an athlete. Will there be grant money made available for this or does it come out of BMC coffers?

sirlockoff

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#7 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 25, 2024, 09:39:02 am
30k for 5 days in Paris is not bad at all

grimer

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#8 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 25, 2024, 12:23:08 pm
Nice one Dominic, good luck with it all, Niall

Davo

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#9 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 25, 2024, 01:08:25 pm
Hi Dom

Whilst good news about 3 extra places at Paris this does have a financial impact as I gather supporting Olympic attendance can cost £30k an athlete. Will there be grant money made available for this or does it come out of BMC coffers?

Is this really a true amount that it costs per athlete? What does this cover?

steveri

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#10 Re: Hello from BMC President
June 25, 2024, 03:49:05 pm
Welcome aboard, great start and all the best!

Dom - BMC President

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#11 Re: Hello from BMC President
July 18, 2024, 11:31:12 am
Hi Everyone
Many thanks for the kind words of welcome and support - much appreciated! Also thanks for pointing me at some of the long-running history - really useful background.
In the interests of 'walking the talk' I will be ‘doing the rounds’ of most of the BMC’s Area Meetings over the next few weeks, and it would be great to meet as many UKB members as possible at these events. They’re free to attend, a mix of in-person, hybrid and zoom, and they’re open to non-members (although if you want to vote on any issues you’ll need to join!) Here’s the schedule:

South West – 23 July – (hybrid)               Dom  Attending (in person or zoom TBC)
Lakes – 25 July – (in person BBQ)           Dom Attending (in person)
Peak – 31 July – (in person)                     Dom Attending in person
Yorkshire – 6 August – (in person)           Dom Attending in person
Wales – 7 August (Zoom)                         Dom Attending on Zoom
London SE – 15 August (Zoom)               Paul Ratcliffe (CEO) attending
North West – 20 August (Zoom)               Paul Ratcliffe (CEO) attending
For more details and to check out what’s happening in your patch click here: https://community.thebmc.co.uk/Default.aspx  – just select the relevant area from the drop-down menu.

Come along; say hello; bend my ear; have your say – it’s OUR BMC  :icon_beerchug:

Cheers, Dom

PS Apologies to the Areas I can't join in this round - I'll be on Harris having a go at The Scoop and I'm not expecting much in the way of 4G. I will definitely make it to at least one meeting in each Area in each year of my Presidency. Meanwhile, those of you in the North West, I'll be at WiltonFest https://wiltonfest.uk/ on 31st August so that's another chance to come along and say hello.

Fiend

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#12 Re: Hello from BMC President
July 18, 2024, 08:57:02 pm
Nice one Dom, good info.

Does the BMC President have any views on fixed gear rationalisation at High Tor, BTW?

petejh

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#13 Re: Hello from BMC President
July 19, 2024, 09:58:26 am
ChatGPT's got this for you Fiend. I asked it about the controversy at high tor over coffee this morning. Sounds like the brain-in-a-jar may as well be writing the next Peak Area Fixed Gear Policy.

While it was round, I also asked Chatgpt for the lowdown on why the BMC had been so badly mismanaged.













Dom - BMC President

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#14 Re: Hello from BMC President
July 20, 2024, 03:59:15 pm
Haha - thanks Fiend. I'm going to the Peak Area Meeting on 31st July and it will be a relief that the state of the BMC probably won't be the most contentious topic on the agenda for once. Luckily I'm a North Westy myself, so won't be able to vote, so I'll sit back and enjoy the show!  :popcorn: Hopefully see lots of you there, or in the Lakes; Yorkshire or WiltonFest (not forgetting Wales & South West on Zoom)

Meanwhile, Pete - ChatGPT has pretty much nailed the analysis of The BMC's recent past, and is spot on when it concludes: 'It's important to recognise that it has also achieved many successes and remains a key advocate for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers'. Looking forward to it running for President in 2027!

Cheers, Dom

 

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