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The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) had over * members in 2019 and exists to promote the interests and protect the freedoms of climbers, hill walkers, and mountaineers both within the United Kingdom (UK) and without. The BMC was formed in 1944 and is a democratic representative body controlled by a National Council made up of locally elected Area Representatives and nationally Elected Officers. The BMC is recognized by Government as a National Governing Body of sport and is supported by a range of income sources. The primary focus of the BMC is to promote and protect the interests and freedoms of mountaineers; to celebrate British mountaineering heritage; promote sustainable access to the cliff and mountain environment and to engage new generations in the development of mountaineering activities. Since its establishment the various disciplines under its purview have varied in popularity over time. Currently there exists a strong development of the indoor, sport climbing and bouldering disciplines, particularly in following the announcement of its inaugural inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Activities

To achieve the primary objectives outlines above, the BMC operates a wide range of work programs, events and policy initiatives, including the financial support for its three charities: the BMC Access & Conservation Trust (ACT), the Mountain Heritage Trust (MHT), and the Land & Property Trust; as well as support for key partner organizations: Mountain Training England, and the Mountain Training Trust. Access and conservation remains one of most highly prioritized specialist programs undertaken by the BMC which takes the form of political engagement, environmental campaigning, climbing site management and local access negotiations for climbers and hill walkers.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2019-20 has had a profound impact upon the outdoor sector across Europe and as the representative governing body for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers within the UK, the BMC played an important role in lobbying government policy as a representative for the mountaineering community and in the dissemination of regionally specific interpretive advise on the variable, and often unclear, containment measures in relation to the participation of outdoor activities and access to national parks and climbing venues. During this pandemic the BMC demonstrated its indispensable function in offering advice and guidance to recreational mountaineers within the UK, promptly and prudently responding to the rapidly changing access agreements affected by the COVD-19 containment measures and providing empirically driven guidance and support for policy makers and the professional sector of the outdoor industry.

Income

This statistic displays the income breakdown of the BMC from 2010 to 2019, by source. In 2019, the BMC generated approximately *** million British pounds of income, the largest share of which was directly from membership subscriptions of which *** million British pounds of income was derived from individual membership subscriptions and *** thousand British pounds of income was derived from club and associate membership subscriptions. More information about sport associations in the UK can be found in the Dossier: Sport associations in the United Kingdom.