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The Committee has focused its efforts during the year on moving the Founders' Project to its conclusion which was becoming delayed from the anticipated date. There has been a steady stream of applications for grants throughout the year. Publicity, mainly via The Ringing World, was increased in the latter part of the year resulting in 30 new enquiries. Some of these are likely to come to fruition in 2003.
Meetings with the Founders continue to be cordial. Their interest in ringing remains keen, with at least two of them learning to ring. The annual competition for the Founders Prize for achievement by ringing centres in 2001 was assessed in 2002 by a group including the CC President and Vice President and awarded to The Fire Ring Centre. The prize of £500 was presented to John Turney in February 2003 at the Founders Annual Dinner at the Mansion House, London. Several ringers attended and wish to thank the Founders for their splendid hospitality. During the year the Founders have had a number of fine bronze plaques cast for the annual prizewinners and the first three of these were also presented at the Dinner.
During the year nine new ringing centres were recognised and also awarded Founders' grants of £8,100 in total. These were at Bampton (Troyte Centre), Barrow on Humber, Bradpole, Eckington, Edgmond, Enfield, Hailsham, Moulton and Rothwell.
The total number of CC recognised ringing centres reached 27, with 21 of them having received Founders' grants. This is more than the original target. The Committee's aim of a wide geographic spread of ringing centres is gradually being achieved and appears to be following the geographic distribution of towers throughout Britain. This means that there are fewer in the North than in the South. However, the first overseas ringing centre was recognised in 2002 - The Swan Bells in Perth, Western Australia.
The process of applying for a grant is by no means easy. It requires a lot of thought, planning and sometimes lobbying for local support. Most towers which apply for grants and become CC recognised ringing centres are pioneers in their own area and do not have the benefit of local experience to help them. The Committee would like to pay tribute to their determination and enthusiasm. The Committee has benefited from experience and the process of assessing applications and awarding grants has become smoother. Many ringing centres expressed their appreciation of the Committee's support in helping them to prepare their applications.
Of the £50,000 offered by the Worshipful Company of Founders, it was the Committee's original plan to allocate 60% in grants to individual towers to assist them in buying teaching equipment for purposes of setting up a ringing centre. At the end of the year almost £29,000 had already been allocated in grants.
The remaining 40% of the money was to have been spent on training courses for those receiving a grant and running a ringing centre. Courses cover ringing centre management, teaching skills and use of equipment. Attendance is a requirement of receiving a grant. It is expected that when the scheme is completed a much greater proportion will have been spent on grants than was envisaged. This is because the wider availability of ringing centres has meant that they can be used for training courses at convenient locations thus reducing the need for money to be spent on accommodation in centres such as London, as was the case earlier. This has allowed more effective use of the money by distributing it more widely.
The Committee thanks the CC Treasurer, Eric Godfrey for continuing to look after the purse strings, even though he is no longer a member of the Committee.
Two training courses were held during the year - one at the Shinfield Ringing Centre and the other at the Workington Ringing Centre. We thank both of them for their cooperation and help in running the courses.
Reports of ringing centre activity can be seen regularly in The Ringing World. Though most ringing centres are at an early stage of development it is already apparent that a great deal of effort and enthusiasm is being put into making them a success.
The Committee asks ringing centres to submit a periodic report on their activities in order to maintain CC recognition. These reports outline the training that has taken place during the year. It is clear from these reports that ringing centres are developing in different ways in their efforts to meet local training needs. Often the support of the local association is evident and the Committee welcomes this.
Most ringing centres subscribe to an E-mail discussion list which is intended to provide mutual support. It is as yet in an embryonic form and its use needs to be developed in the near future.
As well as encouraging the development of the E-mail Network, the Committee intends to bring the Founders' project to its conclusion. Final applications for grants were requested by February 2003, with the intention of completing payments to individual ringing centres by the end of June. This deadline is very likely to be met.
Training courses will go on until later in the year. At least three one-day course has been planned with a final one at a later date. In November a Course/Conference is planned for as many ringing centre representatives as possible. The purpose is to share ideas and increase the level of networking between centres and to involve as many representatives as possible in discussing the ways in which ringing centres can move forward and maximise their potential.
Roger Booth
Gail Cater (Chairman)
Alan Frost
Phil Gay
David Pope
Ernie Runciman
Jeremy Warren