Membership                                   Current Rates

The South Wales Caving Club is the largest caving club in Wales with a membership in excess of 300. We are active in all the major British Caving areas,and each year many take part in caving expeditions abroad. Some are acknowledged as being at the forefront of British Caving.

We have our own Club Headquarters at Penwyllt, north of Abercraf in the Swansea Valley, where you will find members congregating almost every weekend of the year.

There is a very strong social element to caving in general and SWCC is no exception to this tradition, with many friendships being struck for life. Our membership is of all ages and includes many family groups, with children of all ages.

If you are interested in joining the club then please come along to meet us at the cottages. If you contact us first we can suggest good weekends for you to visit, and you are more likely to be able to join a caving trip. It's usually best to visit first on a committee weekend which is once a month (see calendar), as this is when the largest number of members are around.

Everyone must be a provisional member before he or she can become either a junior or full member, depending on age. A junior member automatically becomes a full member on reaching age 18. Joint membership is available to couples who live together who have both been full members.

To join SWCC:

• (1) Become a provisional member

Send a completed provisional membership application form, along with the requisite fee, to the Membership Secretary. Forms can be downloaded here or found in the black plastic folder by the notice board at SWCC HQ. Upon acceptance of your application at the next committee meeting your provisional membership will be valid for 12 months.

• (2) Get to know the members and the committee

In order to apply for full membership, you will need to have 2 proposers, who can be anyone who has been a member of SWCC for at least 2 years. They can introduce you to other club members, and help you to get involved in club activities. It is advisable, though it should not be considered essential, that you get to be known by a few of the current committee members.

• (3) Become a full member

After at least six months, and before the anniversary of your provisional membership, you can apply for full membership. Your name, and those of your 2 proposers, should be displayed on the notice board for at least 6 weeks prior to the committee meeting at which your application will be decided (see calendar for dates). Send a completed full membership application form (available at SWCC HQ), along with a letter of proposal from each of your proposers, and the requisite fee, to the Membership Sec in good time for the meeting.

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Membership Subscription and Insurance Rates 2011/2012

Full Active Member: £59
Full Non-active Member: £48
Joint Active Members: £92
Joint Non-active Members: £70
Retired Active Member: £41
Retired Non-active Member: £30
Retired Joint Active Member: (one or both) £70
Retired Non-active Member: (one or both) £48

If your particular combination doesn't appear here, or if you are a Provisional Member, please contact Lel for assistance.

Members Please Note! Please post your combined subs and insurance cheque to Lel our Membership Secretary. Help us keep the club finances in order by paying promptly! Cheques to be made payable to SWCC. We cannot take subs through the hut sheets.

As before you will get a £5 reduction / incentive for paying before 1st July of this year.

The figures above contain your BCA Insurance Fee* of £16 for Active Caver or £5 Non-Active Caver.
(In 2012 the BCA charges will be increasing to £17 and £6)

It takes a lot of effort to chase late payers so please pay your subs on time - its cheaper that way!

*Insurance: All members need to have 3rd party liability insurance (via BCA) at a level appropriate to their caving activity. The premiums are collected via SWCC but are separate from the SWCC membership subs, the current costs (included in the figures above) are:

• Active Caver (BCA Green insurance card): £16:00 p.a.
• Inactive Caver (BCA Orange insurance card): £5:00 p.a.
• If you have already joined the BCA via another route there is no additional fee (e.g. Individual BCA member, via another BCA caving club or cave divers group), but your BCA Insurance Card Number must be provided.