All-board news - June 2017

Last Saturday (24th June) at Tollymore National Outdoor Centre in Northern Ireland, all six of the Mountain Training organisations of the UK and Ireland met for the second of three meetings this year. The meeting was well attended and here is a quick update on some notable events...

Director change

Mountain Training UK recently recruited for a new director as Tony Halliwell has completed his three year term and now steps down from the board. We would like to thank Tony for his contribution and after some very strong applications welcome two new directors: Emily Thompson and Laura Hazle. Both have experience of marketing/fundraising and we look forward to their influence in the months and years to come.

The appointment of Emily and Laura brings the total number of MTUK directors to six, with a 50/50 gender split.

All-Ireland board

All parties involved have now agreed that there will be an all-Ireland training board. Bord Oiliúint Sléibhe (BOS) and Mountain Training Northern Ireland (MTNI) will both disband in due course and the soon to be formed Mountain Training Board of Ireland will begin to administer all training on the island of Ireland. It is likely that recruitment for the new board will begin in the autumn.

Climbing Awards Review

The proposed syllabi for the new and amended climbing qualifications were agreed in principle which means we move on to the next phase: pathways and viability. Now we know the agreed standards of each scheme we can work out how prospective candidates might achieve them with regards to the prerequisites for each qualification and pathways between them. We will also carefully consider the viability of each qualification to make sure it is commercially sustainable.

We are working towards final agreement at the next all-board meeting in October.