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That's right, it's time to start thinking about next year's National Seminar!

It will be held in Schoharie NY.

We're not ready to start accepting registrations yet, we do want to get the word out.

The seminar is from Saturday July 6th-Saturday July 13th 2013.
Note that as usual we will be offering a SRT skills session the night of July 5th.

Schoharie NY is conveniently located about 45 minutes from the Albany International Airport or the Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station. It is about 3 hours from NYC by car and 5 hours from Buffalo by car.

There are no dorms on site, so unless you rent a hotel room, it is strictly camping only on the school grounds. (please note as this is a school, there is a strict no alcohol policy on the school grounds).

Price is being finalized and I'll post it when I have it.

Be aware NYS is a WINS state (heck, we found it here) Since all caves are considered infected, it means that we will NOT have to disinfect between caves, but all gear must be disinfected at the end of the seminar.

Please start to tell your friends about it and start planning.

Greg,
Do you know more about the “strict no alcohol policy on the school grounds”? Is it rumor or fact, that if even a single alcoholic container is found on the school grounds that the entire Seminar will be ejected from the grounds? If a fact, then everyone needs to be made clearly aware of this, if a rumor, then it needs to be put down.

Tim White wrote:Greg,
Do you know more about the “strict no alcohol policy on the school grounds”? Is it rumor or fact, that if even a single alcoholic container is found on the school grounds that the entire Seminar will be ejected from the grounds? If a fact, then everyone needs to be made clearly aware of this, if a rumor, then it needs to be put down.

Strictly speaking, you're asking me to be a mind-reader. My understanding, is that in theory, yes, finding a single alcohol container or anyone in the process of emptying one can be cause of expulsion of the seminar.

My guess however (and I am in NO WAY speaking authoritatively) is that there's some level of discretion that will be exercised by the authorities. So, unfortunately, I can't confirm nor deny your question.

Stridergdm wrote:

Tim White wrote:Greg,
Do you know more about the “strict no alcohol policy on the school grounds”? Is it rumor or fact, that if even a single alcoholic container is found on the school grounds that the entire Seminar will be ejected from the grounds?

Strictly speaking, you're asking me to be a mind-reader. My understanding, is that in theory, yes, finding a single alcohol container or anyone in the process of emptying one can be cause of expulsion of the seminar.

My guess however (and I am in NO WAY speaking authoritatively) is that there's some level of discretion that will be exercised by the authorities. So, unfortunately, I can't confirm nor deny your question.

Greg, could you please put on your site coordinator hat and get us an authoritative answer on this? (that way no mind-reading will be necessary on anyone's part)

The information as conveyed to the BORC by Emily when the proposal was being made to use site for the 2013 seminar is that there is a strict no alcohol policy and is part of the contract that we have with the facility. The BORC approved the site knowing this to be the case. The facility is walking distance to downtown Schoharie where there are several establishments that serve alcohol. NCRC staff will not be inspecting everyone's drinks to look for alcohol on site, but if obvious consumption is being done it will be dealt with in an appropriate manner. I doubt that anyone wants to become the NCRC legend of the person that gets us kicked off the site.

Anmar Mirza, NCRC National Coordinator.

This isn't the week long seminar right?

Yes, it's next years national weeklong seminar.

If this is anything like level fun, Im in for level deuce.

Indymonkey wrote:If this is anything like level fun, Im in for level deuce.

Level deuce is twice as much fun as Level fun.

And we break things. On purpose!

Stridergdm wrote:

Indymonkey wrote:If this is anything like level fun, Im in for level deuce.

Level deuce is twice as much fun as Level fun.

And we break things. On purpose!

I hear you guys are hard on noses.

Indymonkey wrote:

Stridergdm wrote:
And we break things. On purpose!

I hear you guys are hard on noses.

We really mean it when we tell you not to look up when someone yells "rock."

Indymonkey wrote:

Stridergdm wrote:

Indymonkey wrote:If this is anything like level fun, Im in for level deuce.

Level deuce is twice as much fun as Level fun.

And we break things. On purpose!

I hear you guys are hard on noses.

There's no WE there. That incident was entirely self-inflicted.

That said, only in Level 2 do you learn what a styphon is and when to use it.

Ok, it's official. Registration for the 2013 NCRC National Week-long is now open.

Please note for instructors you'll be sent a separate email with details on how to register.
If you think you qualify for IQ you should also get an email in the next couple of weeks.

Please, let me know if you find any problems with the online registration. We already found one error (since fixed) despite testing.

Ok, there was some delays in getting the letter out to IQ eligible students. If you haven't received it, please let me know via PM and I can check your status.

Because of the delay and lack of response in general, the application for IQ students has been extended to Nov. 15th. As a reminder, the IQ class will only be held if there are a minimum of 5 qualified students selected.

In the meantime, everyone else, please remember to go to http://www.regonline.com/ncrc2013 and register now (and please report any issues you see.

Thanks.

And hope everyone is surviving the storm just fine. (So far we're doing fine in upstate NY. 145 miles south, not so much.)

As the holiday season is upon us, I urge folks to sign up for the 2013 National Seminar. Even if you never participate in a rescue, it will make you a safer caver.

People often ask me why I do this. A big part of the answer is I figure if I ever get stuck underground, I want there to be someone out there who can drag my ass out of the cave. So, to be fair, I figured I should be willing to do the same for them.

So, give yourself or someone else the "gift of rescue". You never know when it may save your life or that of someone else.

For the first timers out there, let me say without reservations, this is one of the best values you'll get for your money. For $525 (+$40 for the book), we cover your food, your training and your camping. There are places that will teach high angle rescue where the course alone is > $700 for a week of training and that doesn't cover room or board. This is a great value.

And I will note upstate NY is fairly easy to get to with several major airlines, including Southwest flying directly into Albany (40 minutes away) and Jetblue to Newburgh (2hrs away) and Amtrak (40 minutes away) as well as easy highway access off of I-88.

And please, spread the word to your grottoes and fellow cavers.