The BCA Anchor Working Group administers the BCA’s Anchor Scheme from a national level.
The anchor scheme is a program of research into suitable anchors and resins, and establishing best practices for the installation of anchors in order to replace ageing spit anchors in caves across the UK.
The BCA does not install any anchors directly, but leaves this to RCCs, with a recommendation that they work in accordance with the policy.
The Anchor scheme, undertakes to train installers of anchors, to log all installations, and to provide insurance for all registered installers, and the
Crucially, the anchor scheme is underpinned by a large body of research. It is an ongoing task for the Working Group to centralise and summarise this information for easy consumption by cavers. This work can be found here:
The E&T Committee (from which the Anchor Working Group separated from in 2025) released a statement on the Anchor Scheme in 2011 which you can read here.
Key Documents
- Anchor Policy
- Our full Anchor Policy Document outlining expectations for RCCs and those involved in anchor installation.
- Safety Information for Cavers Using Resin Bonded Anchors
- Key safety messages about the use of any BCA-approved resin bonded anchors
- BCA Statement on Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking
- Summary of observations from BCA E&T on the impact of chloride on stainless steel.
- Paper on Chloride Stress Corrosion Cracking
- Full papers on BCA observations of chloride impact on stainless steel.
Meeting Minutes
NB: The Anchor Working Group separated from the Training and Equipment Working Group (previously the Equipment & Techniques Standing Committee) in 2025 and previous minutes on the topic can be found on Training and Equipment Working Group’s page.