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Thought of Chairman Rod

As most of you will know already the position of chairman has been recaptured by the stronger sex. Hopefully this is an indication of the dominance which we again have in the club.

This year has seen an increase in the number of active (also inactive) members of the club. Fewer trips have run, probably due to the change in emphasis in the club from fit to medium or easy trips.

Highlights of the year have been the highly sucessful May Meet organised by Ken Sullivan and the AIC run by Wharry Keys. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Sullivan whose catering and cooking at the Meet was really tremendous, especially considering the lack of cooking facilities and the voracious appetites of all present. Without his assistance the work of organising the meet would have been doubled.

The AIC was highly successful with increased attendance (about sixty people attended,of which about 20 were instructors) and an increased length (from two days to four days). It was unfortunate that the bushcraft failed to gain any support. This is a matter which will have to be looked at closely at the beginning of next year.

Expeditions to N.W. Nelson at Easter and to Nelson Lakes in August each attracted about 30 people and proved very popular. As was the case last year, the longer trips served to get a large number of people active in the club.

Other successful trips this year included the Queen's Birthday trip to Tongariro National Park, the Freshers trip and the 1974 VUWTC Expedition which climbed the East Face of Mount Colonial. A number of smaller trips into the Tararuas, also ran.

The safety record of the club this year has been good with no serious injuries or overdue parties. This should not encourage complacency however, as it is partly because very few F.E. trips ran and also because more experienced people were active in the club this year, neither of which will probably be true next year with several of the more experienced club members ceasing active participation at the end of this year and with the increasing number of people keen to do fit trips.

I would like to thank all who helped in the running of the club this year, especially those who did the more routine work such as looking after the correspondence, money, gear and brewing up at meetings.

Rod Gilman