Please see our Insurance Microsite for more details of the BCA insurance and the Insurance Frequently Asked Questions:
https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/british-caving
Membership Frequently Asked Questions can be found below.
These are divided into Individual members FAQs and Group members FAQs. If you have a question that isn’t answered below please email:
Individual Members FAQs
1: Why should I join the British Caving Association
By joining the BCA you are supporting all the work BCA does nationwide to help cavers. This includes supporting and providing funding for bolting caves, conservation and access works, helping provide training, the British Caving library, the Council of Higher Education Caving clubs etc.
Joining BCA as a member also means you will be covered by the BCA PL insurance scheme. Please see insurance FAQs for more details.
https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/british-caving
2: What does it cost to join the BCA?
Individual membership fees can be found here:
Individual Membership – British Caving Association
3: What membership type is right for me?
There are 4 categories of BCA membership:
Under 18 – for any caver under the age of 18 years of age.
Student – for full time undergraduate students.
Caving – for any one physically active in the caving world (unless they are under 18, or a full time undergraduate student). If you physically active in the caving world, even if you don’t go underground you should join as a caving member. This includes those who participate in surface walks/ digs/ conservation work etc.
Non-caving – for those that attend caving socials, meetings, conferences etc but do not participate in any physical activities within the caving world.
4: I want to join multiple caving clubs, do I need to join BCA through each club?
No, you only need to join BCA once each calendar year. You can do this directly as an individual or through one of your clubs. When you join any subsequent clubs you need to tell them you are already a BCA member and provide details of your membership number, DOB and email addresses so they can locate and confirm your BCA membership.
5: Should I change my membership type midway through the year if my situation changes?
Yes and No
Yes – if you sign up as a non-caving member but decide you want to start going underground part way through the year you should change to a caving member and pay the extra. Contact the membership administrator – for how much extra to pay.
No – if you start the year as an under 18 member, or student member, but then turn 18 or finish your studies there is no need to update your membership during the year. Just join the following year as the new membership type.
6: When will my membership expire?
All BCA memberships expire on the 31st December.
7: If I join half way through the year is there any discount available?
BCA membership fees reduce by a quarter after each quarter of the year passes. So joining between January and March a member will pay 100% of the fee for their membership type. Whereas if they join between April and June it will be 75% of the fee, etc.
More details here:
Individual Membership – British Caving Association
However part-year discounts only apply to new members or those returning to the BCA after a gap of at least a year. These discounts will be automatically applied when you add membership and view the ‘cart’.
Any member who was a BCA member the previous year will be counted as a late renewal and charged the full fee no matter what time of year you rejoin. This is so BCA doesn’t penalise the cavers who pay on time each year, by charging them more than late payers.
If you were a member the previous year, and rejoin late in the year, but genuinely haven’t been caving (e.g. due to illness or being abroad etc) you can have the part-year discount. However the online system can’t be used in this situation so please contact the membership administrator instead –
8: When can I renew my membership from?
Renewals for the following calendar year open on the 1st December.
It isn’t possible to join just for December – anyone joining after the 1st December pays the fee for the following year and gets December included free of charge.
Group Membership FAQs
1: What different types of group membership are available?
Details of the different types of BCA group membership can be found here:
Group Membership – British Caving Association
If you are unsure which type best suits your organisation please contact the membership administrator –
2: What does it cost to join the British Caving Association as a group?
Fees for group members can be found here:
Group Membership – British Caving Association
Click on each of the three types of group membership to see current fees.
3: Why are clubs with huts and clubs who control access expected to pay more?
An additional charge is seen as a fair way of allowing for the extra costs incurred by BCA which apply more to clubs with huts and those that control access as they are seen as being a bigger insurance risk than clubs that don’t own huts or control access.
4: Why should a caving club join the BCA?
By joining the BCA your club will be supporting all the work BCA does nationwide to help cavers. This includes supporting and providing funding for bolting caves, conservation and access works, helping provide training, the British Caving library, the Council of Higher Education Caving clubs etc.
Joining BCA as a member club also means your club will be covered by the BCA PL insurance scheme. Please see insurance FAQs for more details.
https://www.howdengroup.com/uk-en/british-caving
Member clubs are also able to have ‘prospective members ‘ who can try caving for free whilst covered by BCA membership and insurance. See question 9 for more details.
5: How do we join BCA as a group?
Joining criteria for full member clubs are set out here:
Clubs – British Caving Association
Once you have everything ready email the membership administrator to join:
To join as an associate club or access controlling body please email the membership administrator:
6: Do ALL our club members need to join BCA?
If your club is a full member club (not an associate club or access controlling body) all your members must join BCA. This ensures the club is insured for club risks such as decisions of officers, club meets and club equipment etc.
7: What membership type is right for our members?
There are 4 categories of BCA membership:
Under 18 – for any caver under the age of 18 years of age.
Student – for full time undergraduate students.
Caving – for any one physically active in the caving club (unless they are under 18, or a full time undergraduate student). If the member is physically active with your caving club, even if they don’t go underground, they should join as a caving member. This includes those who participate in surface walks/ digs/ conservation work etc.
Non-caving – for those that attend club socials, meetings, conferences etc but do not participate in any physical activities with the club.
8: Does our club need to buy BCA membership for all club members, even those who state they have already joined BCA?
No, individuals only need to join BCA once per year, regardless of how many clubs they join. You will need to ask for their membership number, DOB and email address to add them to your membership list, and check they do have a current BCA membership. If you need help with any of this please email the membership administrator:
9: Can the club take novices caving without first buying BCA membership for them?
Full member clubs will automatically be covered for prospective members so long as the club have paid their BCA membership fee. There is no limit on the number of prospective members a club can take caving in any given year. Prospective members are new cavers, interested in trying caving with a view to potentially joining your club.
Prospective members can attend up to 4 trips with a club. Upon the 5th trip the member must either join the BCA if they wish to avail of the insurance as a member benefit of joining the BCA, or no longer take part. There is no time limit during which these 4 trips must take place.
Clubs must keep the following details for prospective members:
Name
Address
Dates they went underground
Location of underground trip.
There is a template spreadsheet which may be useful for your club to log prospective members. To get a copy please email the membership administrator:
There is no need to routinely send prospective member details to the BCA. But the club must keep accurate records that can be sent to the BCA in the event of a related insurance claim.
10: If a member’s situation changes midway through the year should the club update their BCA membership type?
Yes and No
Yes – if a member signs up as a non-caving member but decides they want to start going underground part way through the year the club should change their membership to a caving member and pay the extra. Contact the membership administrator – for how much extra to pay.
No – if a member starts the year as an under 18 member, or student member, but then turn 18 or finishes their studies there is no need to update their membership type during the year. Just join the following year as their new membership type.
11: What about people who join our club part way through the year? Will they have to pay the full membership fee?
BCA membership fees reduce by a quarter after each quarter of the year passes. So joining between January and March a member will pay 100% of the fee for their membership type. Whereas if they join between April and June it will be 75% of the fee, etc etc.
More details here:
Individual Membership – British Caving Association
However part-year discounts only apply to new members or those returning to the BCA after a gap of at least a year. These discounts will be automatically applied when you add memberships for these members, and view the ‘cart’.
Any member who was a BCA member the previous year will be counted as a late renewal and charged the full fee no matter what time of year they re-join. This is so BCA doesn’t penalise the cavers who pay on time each year, by charging them more than late payers.
If your club has a member from the previous re-join late in the year, who genuinely hasn’t been caving or involved in the club (e.g. due to illness or being abroad etc) they can have the part-year discount. However the online system can’t be used in this situation so please contact the membership administrator –
12: When does club membership and membership of the individual club members expire?
All BCA memberships expire on the 31st December.
13: When can the club renew its membership and that of its members from?
Renewals for the following calendar year open on the 1st December.
It isn’t possible to join just for December – any group or individual joining after the 1st December pays the fee for the following year and gets December included free of charge.
14: When do the club need to renew by to be considered to have continuous membership of BCA?
BCA expects group members to renew and pay by the 31st March to be considered a continuous member of BCA. However we encourage groups to renew earlier if possible. Experience shows that when clubs leave renewing till March the club members tend to become concerned about their memberships not having been renewed.
15: How often should clubs update their membership list on the BCA system?
Clubs should update their membership lists at least every 3 months, so no member should ever have joined your club more than 3 months ago but not be listed as a member on the BCA system.
As long as it is no longer than 3 months clubs can update as often as they like – every time they get a new member for example.
As BCA fees reduce every quarter it is best practice for clubs to update their list before the end of each quarter (before 31st March, 30th June and the 30th September). This way each member pays the correct membership fee, based on when in the year they joined.
16: We are a university club. We get lots of new members during Fresher’s Week but most of them come on only a few trips and then we never see them again. Do we have to pay membership fees for each of them?
Prospective membership (see qu. 9) will provide cover for up to four trips, but BCA recognises that university clubs are in a special position. For bona fide university clubs, so long as all remaining active members are insured from 1 January, the prospective members membership runs from 1 September to 31 December with no limit on the number of trips which an individual can participate in. Records of names, addresses and trip detail must be recorded as for other prospective members (see qu. 9).
17: How do we get help with using the online membership system?
There is a user guide for clubs. Download it below.
Or contact the membership administrator for help: