Team Members

Team members are drawn from all walks of life with differing skill sets and varying levels of experience. Some are outdoor instructors and keen climbers, whilst others are office workers and dog walkers or paramedic fell runners. It's this diversity of backgrounds, skills and approaches that provides the key strength of the Team when dealing with the many and varied demands of mountain rescue. No two rescues are the same and we never know what we'll be faced with next, but by working together and taking advantage of the huge wealth of knowledge shared by team members we're able to respond effectively to a wide variety of incidents.

The team has a very flat leadership and management structure. Incidents are generally run in an ad hoc manner with minimal hierarchy, this allows us to respond quickly and dynamically to incidents irrespective of who turns up.

While the public focus is mainly on rescues, as much if not more work goes on behind the scenes.  Team members are also encouraged to get involved in all aspects of the day to day running of the team. There are always jobs being carried out in the background to keep the team running and help is always appreciated from trainees. 

Here's a list of jobs to give you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes:

• vehicle maintenance

• equipment ordering and maintenance

• team kit research ordering and allocation

• stocking up the food & cleaning supplies

• communications & IT development/maintenance

• base visits by schools/outdoor groups etc.

• building maintenance

• managing the collection boxes 

• and much more.  

As you are on the team email group you will receive emails requesting assistance for a range of activities. As a trainee you would be very welcome to join in and help. It provides a good way to familirise yourself with the base, 

We try to have a few social gatherings each year where you can bring your family along to meet the people you will soon be disappearing out onto hillsides with at short notice. These will vary depending on what opportunities there are. We try to do a team breakfast in the Spring and Autumn and in December we have a team Christmas meal together. We've also had a team rounders matches with Kendal MRT and we join the Britannia Inn for the fireworks display on Bonfire night. Other ad hoc opportunities often come our way like the Low Wood Cardboard Boat race (we came 2nd, despite leaving early to deal with a broken ankle!). 

Search Dogs

Search Dogs are important across the Lakes Search and Rescue, but are used much less frequently nowadays with the improved usage of phone location software. We no longer have any trained dogs in our team, having previously had four fully trained dogs. You may work with dogs and their handlers from other teams on searches.

Search dogs and handlers work under the auspices of the Search & Rescue Dogs Association (SARDA). When search dogs from other teams are being used a team member may support the handler as navigator, to allow the handler to focus on the dog and its search area. The dogs train on a Thursday evening and Saturday morning at Red Screes car park in the summer and White Moss in the winter. 'Bodies' are always welcome to help with training and the handlers are always happy to chat about the dogs and their training. 

N.B. search dogs are trained in a specific way with toys and rewards. Each handler has a particular preference for how the dog can play outside a rescue or search. We therefore tend not to play with the dogs e.g. don't throw sticks, don't throw toys up in the air (the jump and twisting can damage their backs). When we are out on a search do not distract the dogs by talking/calling to them, the dog needs to be focused on the handler all the time. If you are in a search group with a dog and handler, discuss with the handler how they want to conduct the search.

Formal Team Structure

Although the Team tends to be run in an informal manner, some formal roles are required both for legal reasons and to keep things running efficiently. You will find a list of team members and their roles in the team directory. NB a new team leadership model is currently being piloted (@ August 2024).

Legal entity

As a legal entity, the Team is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status (sometimes also referred to as an ‘charitable company’).  There are a variety of benefits to having the Team constituted in this way; for example limited personal financial liability of its members, and access to certain tax exemptions.

It also means that the Team is subject to both company law and charity law.  This influences much of the Team’s administrative procedures, such as the role of Committee members, the conduct of annual general meetings, and the presentation of its annual report and accounts.

The Committee

What we refer to as ‘the Committee’ is in fact a board of trustees (for the purposes of charity law) and a board of directors (for the purposes of company law).  The Committee has twelve members at any one time, who by law are jointly and equally ‘responsible for the general control and proper administration of the Team’.

The Committee meets every month.  The meetings are open to all, and you are very welcome to attend to see how they are run.

The Committee’s structure is set out in the Team’s Rules & Procedures.  Its twelve members comprises the six officers listed below (each of whom have specific responsibilities), the Team Leader (by virtue of his/her position), and five 'ordinary members'.

All Committee members must be elected by the full members of the Team.  Ordinary team members are elected for a maximum of one three-year term, after which they must wait for at least three years until they can stand for election onto the Committee again. This means that other team members will have the opportunity to come onto the Committee when a member's time is up and it also ensures a constant influx of new faces and ideas.

Officers and the Team Leader are also elected for three-year terms, but there is no maximum limit on the number of successive terms that they may serve.

You should have been given a copy of the Team’s Memorandum & Articles of Association (its ‘governing documents’) and the Team’s Rules and Procedures.  You can also find them elsewhere on this website.  Please do read them to become more familiar with the Team’s formal processes. In places, they define the responsibilities of all of the Team’s members – which will include you if you successfully complete you training year!

A good way of keeping in touch with the day-to-day running of the team is to read the minutes of the Committee's meetings. These will be emailed to you once a month, usually within a week of the Committee meeting.

Team Leaders

The Team currently has one Team Leader, two Deputy Team Leaders. and two Call-out Co-ordinators. Their role is to manage call-outs, provide strategic and operational leadership, talk to the press about operational issues on behalf of the team, and to act as a point of contact with the Police and Ambulance Service.

When we are tasked in response to a rescue/incident by the Police, the call will come directly to the Team Leader and Deputies via a leaders’ page or message on the special 'Airwave' radio that they carry to enable them to speak to the Police and Ambulance Service directly. One of them will then start the rescue response. There is more information about this in the ‘Rescue’ section.

The Team Leader and each of the Deputies are also elected for three-year terms.  Unlike the Team Leader, Deputies do not have an automatic place on the Committee by virtue of their role.

Operational Groups

Officers are elected at the AGM to fulfil specific roles within the team for a three-year term. All sit on the Committee, and they may have a team to assist them.  The officer roles currently comprise:

·       Chairman

·       Secretary

·       Treasurer

·       Comms Officer

·       Equipment Officer

·       Training Officer

Additionally, some other team members also have specific responsibilities within the Team, such as medical, vehicles, ropes, collecting boxes or ‘pies and supplies’.