Nottingham University Explorers Society Code

of Practice

The Committee

June 16, 2006

1 Introduction

1.1 All clubs and societies affiliated to the University of Nottingham Students Union are
required to operate with a code of practice (CoP), the aim of which is to develop a safe
environment for the Clubs activities to take place in.
1.2 This document will be reviewed annually by the incoming committee after consid-
eration of the latest risk assessments, club experience and the current best practice
within the Club’s activities
1.3 The CoP will be ratified by the AU president and the Student Activities Safety Advisor
(SASA)
1.4 All club members will be made aware of their ’Duty of Care’ responsibilities.
1.5 Being fully committed to safety, the Explorers Club will only operate within these
guidelines

2 Membership

2.1 On payment of the annual subscription, membership is registered with the SU

2.2 Members will receive a membership card enabling them to take part in Club activities
2.3 Members must complete a ’Individual Membership’ form giving personal, medical
and next of kin details. This must be registered with the Club secretary and the SASA.
They are then eligible to participate in all Club activities, subject to the required
experience, availability of equipment, and financial arrangements.
2.4 All members will be able to see the CoP on the Club Website.
2.5 Members will receive information on all Club activities, by e-mail, from the club’s
website, from its notice board on the ground floor of the Portland Building, and the
club socials at 21:00 on Tuesdays in Cripps Hall Bar.

3 Purpose and Remit of the Club

3.1 The aim of the club is to promote outdoor activities including walking, rock-climbing,
mountaineering, winter climbing and mountain biking. The Club introduces novices
to these activities and can provide limited instruction in skills such as navigation, rope
techniques, use of ice-axe and crampons and survival.
3.2 The Clubs activities take place on weekends in mountainous areas such as North
Wales, the Lake District and Scotland. On Wednesday afternoons trips are run to
the Nottingham climbing centre or the Peak District.
3.3 The Club will encourage members to increase knowledge and personal skills of spe-
cific activities by partaking in internal/external courses. (see Section 5).

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4 Induction

4.1 New members abilities will be assessed through verbal consultations and informal as-
sessments on trips by experienced members of the Club. The onus is on the members
to appraise their skills realistically.
4.2 Members who are new to any activity will be given in-house training to enable them
to take part in activities as soon as possible (see Section 5 for details). A general kit list
is provided (Appendix 1) giving information on what equipment will be required, and
how to maintain or care for it. References can be given for more detailed technical
information on specific activities.
4.3 The first 3 trips of the year will have a large number of their places reserved for new
members, with the purpose of introducing novices to the Club’s activities.

5 Training

5.1 Limited in-club tuition will be available on all meets. In particular:

5.2 Relevant advice will be given to novices prior to participation in activities.
5.3 Members will be given the opportunity to learn additional skills such as navigation on
meets.
5.4 Novices will be encouraged to attend all internal and external courses made available
by the club.
5.5 The club may provide limited finical support for training courses viewed by the com-
mittee as being beneficial to club safety. Further financial assistance is available from
the SU. Applications for assistance should be made in writing to the SASA through
the committee.

6 Coaching

6.1 Basic training will be provided by experienced club members.

6.2 Any external instructors hired by the club must hold the required NGB qualification
for the specific activity, and a copy of this must be obtained by the committee.
6.3 All external coaches must hold professional indemnity insurance or public liability
insurance.

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7 Equipment

7.1 All Club equipment will be stored in the Equipment Stores, following manufacturers
recommended storage and maintenance procedures.
7.2 The Club Storesman is responsible for the storage, maintenance and logging of Club
equipment. In particular equipment must meet the relevant quality standards, and
must be regularly checked for damage, wear and tear, etc. As a result of this the
Storesman must have, or be prepared to obtain, the relevant technical knowledge
required for this job.
7.3 The Club equipment shall only be used a) by Club Members and external coaches,
and b) on Official Club Meets.
7.4 Activity leaders must check that all equipment (Club and personal) is fit for activity.
Problems must be reported to the Storesman or President.
7.5 Equipment which is considered unsafe due to damage will be destroyed and replaced,
the cost of which will be met by the member who caused the damage due to careless-
ness.
7.6 Members using their own personal safety equipment do so at their own risk.
7.7 Members using personal safety equipment for club activities must have it inspected
by the leader of that activity.
7.8 Club equipment (recorded on the inventory) is insured on the SU insurance. Personal
equipment should be insured by the individual.

8 Activities

8.1 Any activity with one or more of the following features is regarded as a SU activity:

- Publicised at a Club meeting, or through Club notice boards, etc.

- Uses transport booked through the union, or uses SU funding.
- Uses any Club equipment.

8.2 Club activities are registered with the SASA according to current SU regulations
8.3 Event participants will receive the following information prior to the activity:

- What the activity entails.

- Where and when the activity is taking place, and how much it costs.
- Details of what equipment and personal belongings are required, including in-
formation regarding the type of accommodation.
- What club equipment will be provided, including when and where it will be
issued.
- What experience level is required/ recommended.
- What specific safety factors are involved/required.

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8.4 All activities are run according to the guidelines including this CoP and its Appen-
dices.
8.5 The activities in which the club partakes are: walking, mountaineering, rock climb-
ing, snow/ice climbing, scrambling and mountain biking.
8.6 The participants in any activity not listed above must first be discussed with the SASA.
8.7 Club Trips: Signing up for club trips takes place on the Tuesday a week and a Half
before the trip. Participant details forms will be copied, 2 copies being taken on the
trip, and one left with the SU. On the meets these forms will be left in a strategic place
which all participants are aware of.
8.8 At the beginning of each day, group lists will be made and left with the participant
detail forms.
8.9 Specific activity safety controls are listed in Appendix 4.

9 Trip Registration

9.1 Activities needing transport must be registered individually. They require the sub-
mission of the following:

- Participant lists of those attending and their next of kin details

- A trip registration form which details times, destination(s), purpose, leaders,
transport etc.

9.2 The timescale for trip registration is as follows:

- 0 nights away - at least 2 working days before

- 1 or more nights away - at least 5 workings days before
- Outside the UK - at least 1 calendar month

10 Trip/Activity Organisers

10.1 This person/people will be identified for each activity. Whenever possible this is the
job of the Outdoor Meets Secretary and the Mountain Officer. They are the contact
between the participants, leaders and the SU.
10.2 The Club Secretary should be a good source of information for members organising
activities.
10.3 Responsibilities include:

- Outdoor Meets Secretary - Transport booking, accommodation details, liason

with other participants, supplying information to Club members
- Mountain Officer - Completing and submitting all necessary forms, ensuring
suitable leaders are available, emergency procedures, itinerary, completing any
accident/near miss forms and their submission to the SASA.

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11 Activity Leaders

11.1 These people are identified for all activities. They are responsible for the planning
and the managing of the activity on the site.
11.2 This person may be an external coach, paid supervisor or a suitably experienced/qualified
Club member.
11.3 Specific responsibilities will include:

- The safety of the activity participants and anyone likely to be affected by the
activity.
- Ensuring that the Clubs guidelines are followed.
- Distribution of information on local conditions, access agreements, restrictions
etc.

11.4 A group should only split up for a good reason and only if the designated Activity
leader is sure the splinter group’s leader (who must be identified) can fulfil their
responsibilities.
11.5 In walking groups there will be a 1:6 ratio of leaders to participants. This may be
extended if the group is of suitable experience, or the conditions allow.
11.6 In climbing and scrambling groups there will be a 1:4 ratio of leaders to participants,
extended to 1:6 in the presence of an experienced assistant.
11.7 Activity leaders operating away from immediate first aid cover should have at least a
basic first aid qualification, or ensure that the group has a similarly qualified person
present.
11.8 Club activity leaders should keep a log of their leadership and personal experience
of the activity. This may be done retrospectively. The Club President, Mountain
Officer or SASA are responsible for deciding if a person is suitably qualified to lead
a group.
11.9 Copies of NGB qualifications and attended training courses must be registered with
the Club’s Mountain Officer and the SASA.
11.10 Club leaders must be made fully aware of their considerable responsibility by the
committee.

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12 Activity Participants

12.1 All participants must be made aware that they are responsible for their own actions.
This is particularly so if an individual acts against a leaders advice or CoP guidelines.
12.2 Potential participants should make their availability known to the activity organiser
on or as near to the sign up date as possible. This will be emphasised to the members
by the committee.
12.3 Activity participants must give due notice and/or reasonable cause if they are unable
to attend a meet for which they are registered.
12.4 All activity participants are responsible for providing their own personal equipment
(except technical and safety equipment as provided by the club) as specified in the kit
list which can be found both on the club website and in Appendix 1 of this document.
If the Committee or activity leaders deem an individual has inadequate equipment
they may be excluded from club activities.

13 Travel

13.1 Drivers of Union minibuses/hired vehicles will be registered with the SU and have
completed a Union minibus test. They must adhere to the SU ’Minibus Instructions
and Information’.
13.2 Clubs using private cars must register number plates and passenger details when
registering the other activity details.
13.3 If the minibus driver is participating in the activities then a second driver will be
registered in case of illness or injury.
13.4 If the journey is over 100 miles then there will be two nominated drivers, any other
drivers will be registered.
13.5 Any First Aid equipment used from the minibus kit will be notified to SASA.

14 Insurance

14.1 Club members registered with the SU should be covered by the personal accident
insurance, provided their activity is officially recognised. The committee must check
this and inform members
14.2 Club equipment on an inventory registered with the SU is covered by the SU insur-
ance. This does not include the member’s personal possessions. The Storesman must
ensure all equipment is registered and that new equipment is added to the inventory.
14.3 All external coaches must have Liability Insurance.
14.4 Trips outside the UK may require extra insurance cover. This must be check by the
Activity Organiser.
14.5 The members of the Club are covered by BMC Affiliation Liability Cover Insurance.
Details are in Appendix 3.

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15 First Aid

15.1 Every group shall carry at least two first aid kits, and contain at least one member
holding a valid first aid qualification.
15.2 Every group shall carry sufficient survival shelters for the group, maps and com-
passes. In winter conditions spare clothing and/or sleeping bag may also be carried
for the group.
15.3 Every person shall carry a survival bag, whistle and torch.
15.4 All members of the Club are encouraged to attend Basic First Aid courses.
15.5 Any incident requiring treatment more than a wipe and a small plaster will be
recorded on an accident form from the SASA. Any near-miss or injury involving bad
cuts, breaks, dislocations and head injuries must be reported to the SASA within 48
hours of the occurrence.

16 Emergency Procedures

16.1 All leaders, organisers and participants should be aware of these procedures.
16.2 In the event of most incidents, the standard SU emergency procedure (Appendix 5)
will be followed as closely as possible in the situation.

17 Affiliation

17.1 The Club is affiliated to the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).

17.2 The BMC Participation Statement is:

“The BMC recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger
of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be made aware of
and accept these risks and can be responsible for their own actions and involvement’s.”

18 Complaints

18.1 The safe running of the Clubs activities requires co-operation between all involved.
Therefore nobody will be excluded from airing views which improve safety.
18.2 Comments concerning general safety, leadership standards, equipment quality, a
lack of suitable activities, inappropriate behaviour and such like should be addressed
to the relevant committee member or Club president.
18.3 In the event of an unsatisfactory or late response (more than 10 working days) the
matter can be taken to the AU president. Other members of the SU executive, non-
executive and the SASA will also be able to help if necessary.

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19 Discipline

19.1 Members of the Club will abide by the constitutional and policy requirements of the
SU ’Big Red Book’.
19.2 All students must abide by the University of Nottingham’s handbook of ’General
Regulations’.
19.3 Matters falling outside of this will be dealt with by the committee in the first instance.
19.4 The committee reserve the right to prevent any member from partaking in an activ-
ity if they consider that particular member to be unsafe either to themselves or other
members of the Club or general public.