In reply to Sonya Mc:
I'm with Jim on this one, although my main interest is and always has been trad climbing/mountaineering.
That said, I have absolutely no problem with indoor climbing becoming an Olympic sport, and I acknowledge that many young people are attracted to it, but there are a few points that need to be clarified IMO.
First the IFSC does not represent "sport climbers," it is the governing body for competitive sport climbers, and is the regulator for that sport. The BMC is NOT a governing or regulatory body and never has been. It represents all British climbers, mountaineers etc. and is largely funded by the membership. Surely the time has now come when British competitive sport climbers should have their own national governing body under the auspices of the IFSC, in other words a British Federation of Competition Climbing, affiliated to the BMC but completely separate from it?
I wouldn't even object if the BMC offered financial and logistic assistance in setting up such an organization.
Secondly, equestrianism and canoeing have their own separate governing and representative bodies, both of which are extremely successful in their own fields of interest.
Keeping our crags, hills and coastline open for recreation will become increasingly time-consuming and expensive. The threat of draconian H&S legislation over-riding our right to roam will require a strong and focussed representative body acting in our interests. We may even be faced with having to purchase more crags. The argument that having a high-profile Olympic sport under the aegis of the BMC will produce extra government funding, major sponsorship deals and increased income for access and conservation is highly unlikely, in fact it would probably lead to a requirement for a far greater outflow of members' cash.
Finally, mention has been made on this and other threads about the democratic process via BMC Area Meetings and the Council. All these are fine when the discussions are about local issues, but I've attended a few in the SW and if we get 30 people at a meeting that's considered a bonus. Hardly representative of local climbers, let alone national. Once all the facts are known, the BMC should be totally transparent about the issue and then ballot not only the membership but the entire climbing community.
Olympic climbing under a British Federation? Yes. BMC direct involvement? No