The BCA council has voted for the reinstatement of the drop testing rig following an offer to house it in Matlock, Derbyshire.
A grant of £1,500 has been agreed and granted to Bob Mehew who has been overseeing the project, he hopes the grant will cover costs such as creating foundations for the rig.
The reinstallation was proposed in the meeting by Andrew Hinde, and then seconded by Jenny Potts, followed by a majority vote of approval with no objections.
Bob said: “The old rig has been used for a variety of purposes and provided some valuable information on topics such as the alpine versus the cavers butterfly knot.
“The training committee also asked us to look into a pully and jammer combination, and what we found was that if something drops on to it, then the jammer goes into the pully and breaks it” which has proved to be important information.
The concern is largely around someone stepping forward to take on the project, but the Council agreed that the rig is a BCA asset and worth investing in.
Having found housing is the first step in moving forward with the project and “without that rig there’s no way we can continue that work, there’s also the potential for addressing new ideas,” said Bob.
“I recently had a request for some information on ropes and knots, and I am trying to put together some previous work but its pointing towards a new area of work” he added.
The position of Rope Test Officer is currently vacant, but Bob ensured the Council that “there are several other people who want to support [this project]”.
Imogen Campion