The UBSS awards are given out every year at the Annual Dinner in March to acknowledge those who are outstanding in many and varied ways. Stupidity, especially underground, is a highly prized trait.

2022 - 2023

Well I got one, & Linda did and Jess and Ben M. With luck, somebody will remember them.

2021 - 2022

• Sock wrestling: Gabriel
• Buffest fresher: Guy
• Most incompetent leaders: Imogen and Merryn
• Treasurer award: Elaine - for the length of time taken to produce the Berger accounts
• Lost phones: Omri, Lucy, Sam
• Tardiest fresher: Theo
• Least caving done: Megan
• Most fire engines needed for a rescue: Jakob
• Most visits to a KFC on the way to a caving weekend: Haydon
• Most embarrassing exit from a hut weekend: Lucy
• Golden compass: Si, Sioned, Kat
• Student Treasurer: Sam - a share certificate in one of the club’s many offshore bank accounts

2020 - 2021

No presentations were possible owing to the plague!

2019 - 2020

• Disco Slippers Award: Henry Morgan (for enthusiasm in the face of recent renovations to the Hut roof)
• Moaning Myrtle Award for most complaining underground: Imogen Clements
• Lightweight of the Year: Merryn Matthews
• Masterchef Award for the worst diet: Megan Malpas
• Golden Gloves Award for best caving injury: Esther Benson (for spraining her ankle in OFD and going caving the next day anyway)
• Best Worm: Mia Jacobs and Si Hadfield
• Tea Party Award: Cat Henry (for vomiting into a mug while feeding Eddie, but managing not to spill any on him)
• Golden Kettle Award for services to water-heating devices: Haydon Saunders
• Dead or Alive Award: Henry Morgan (for heroic actions [disrobing and spinning it right round like a record] in a dire situation [a joint Christmas party with a boring club])
• Hide and Seek Award: Andrew’s undersuit (for escaping and evading us for a full seven months, leading us to capture and subsequently have to return a decoy from a Yorkshire club, before turning up … in Andrew’s cupboard)
• Buff Fresher of the Year: Mia Jacobs
• President of the Year: Elaine Oliver

2018 - 2019

• Golden Spanner Award: Christian Chorout (for squeeze machine)
• Emmeline Pankhurst Award for Services to Digging: Elaine Oliver
• Freshest Fresher Award: Edward Henry (attending the Centenary Dinner aged 3 days old)
• Big Wooden Badger, Chris Pepper (hut maintenance)
• Apprentice Wooden Badger: Haydon Saunders
• Golden Paintbrush: Si Hadfield (hut painting above and beyond the call of duty)
• Golden Throne Award: Dickon Morris (pooing in a range of inappropriate places)
• UBSS Student Ambassador: Ashley Gregg (for enjoying intimate relations with a member of another club in a full bunkroom)
• Money Bags Award: Graham Mullan (in recognition of services as Treasurer)

2017 - 2018

Oops!

2016 - 2017

• For the least competence: Elliott Smith - For moving flat and leaving the squeeze machine behind.
• For technical teaching: Jacob Podesta - For putting in much time to teaching SRT, although we all know he didn’t want to.
• For wearing ’the hat’ a lot: Haydon Saunders!
• The infrequent infrequent newsletter editor: Stu Alldred - For not publishing a single newsletter this year.
• Buff fresher of the year: Joseph Groves.
• Book club award: Bob Churcher - For confusing Weatherspoons with Waterstones.
• Committed squeezer: Helen Frawley - For getting stuck in a chair at the hut, and then needing the loo.
• Captain Underpants: Ashley Gregg - For dedication to cave conservation (or underpants).

2015 - 2016

• For the best caving injury: The Golden Gloves - Cat Hulse.
• For incompetance in the face of vegetanarianism - Ashley Gregg.
• For being the most antisocial Social Secretary - Rory Colville
• For being the most enthusiastic of cavers - Dickon Morris (Welcome back to this page, Dickon!)
• For being in the worst state imaginable - Simon Hadfield

2014 - 2015

• For Attendence - Ashely Gregg.
• For forgetting the Hut key on a Mendip weekend - Jacob Podesta (Thankfully Andrew was popping in anyway.)
• For losing keys (in the woods by the Hut?) - Sioned Haughton
• For getting stuck like Winnie the Pooh - Elliott Smith (Thanks to Simon for the rescue.)
• The Conqueror of Sidcot! - Simon Hadfield.
• Oscar nomination for Best Speech - Bob Churcher (For his anti-CroW talk at CHECC).
• For the best trip report - Chris Smith.
• Jingling Hole - for hiding so well, we failed to find it -again! (see 2005-6 below.)

2013 - 2014

• Best job after graduation: Dickon Morris (again) - Orchard Labourer.
• Car fail: Stuart Alldred - For breaking two car exhausts in one weekend.
• Toilet trouble: Elaine Oliver and Cara Turner - For needing to be rescued from a toilet in Eastwater.
• Lady’s man: Mike Salter - For asking and serenading (with Ronan Keating) a slightly older lady for a dance and eventually getting one.
• Girl’s man: Ryan Warwick - For getting naked with a drunk American 19 year old in Adam’s communal bathroom while a Chinese man had a poo.
• Lady’s lady: Cat Hulse - For managing to pull a girl from Reading in her sleep
• Money laundering: Simon Hadfield - For having a considerably large amount of money on him for no good reason, then laundering it through SWCC hut fees.
• Epic fall: Sara Karbassi - For falling down Rod’s Pot on her first caving trip.
• Foreign ambassador: Galyna Self - In recognition of her services to the development of the understanding between East and West as the BCRA’s ambassador to Russia, the Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union (Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred)

2012 - 2013

• Person who most resembles a LOTR character - Simon Hadfield - For having a striking likeness to Gollum.
• Stalker of the year - Anya Keatley - For having an unreasonable number of photographs of Cameron eating.
• Golden compass - Stuart Alldred - For failing to find the way out of Cwm Dwr
• Foreign ambassador award - Adam Henry.
• Dr Doolittle award - Simon Hadfield- For having a sheep girlfriend.
• Pretty awesome for an old(er) guy - Clive Owen - For leading and joining us on trips in South Wales and Mendip .
• Buff Fresher of the Year - Jacob Podesta
• Best job after graduation - Dickon Morris - For sheep farming in Australia .

2011 - 2012

• Golden Compass Award - Adrian Wilkins - for the OFD1 trip that was very late (very late indeed).
• Spaceman Award - Stu Alldred - for a total misunderstanding of the term space cake.
• Contract Caver - James MacFarlane - for only going on a caving trip if he signed a contract.
• Swildon’s Abuser - Stu Alldred - for an unreasonable number of trips to one cave.
• Devotion to the UBSS Award - Ruth Briggs - for coming so far so often to join us.
• Little Spoon Award - Miss Cat Hulse - for always being on the lookout for her big spoon.
• Stop: Equipment Check Award - Cayley Howard - for proving that what goes up does not have to be able to go back down again.
• Buff Fresher of the Year - Stuart Walker
• Flower Power Award - Dickon Morris - for the best job after graduating (picking daffodils).

2010 - 2011

Now that must have been a good dinner, nobody can remember what was awarded!

2009 - 2010

• Rose-tinted Specs Award - Mike Salter -Taking 2 m less ladder than needed for the cave.
• Bag in Hand Award -Dickon Morris - Pooing in a bag and trying to return it.
• Golden Boot Award - Ryan Warwick - For breaking 2 fingers on a social.
• Damsel in Distress Award - James MacFarlane - For frequent cross dressing and falling out of a boat.
• Manliest Man Award - Katy For not realising her ankle was broken for 2 months.
• Keenest Fresher Award - Alice Whale - For her unwavering enthusiasm.
• UBSS Ambassadors Award - Frank Doherty and Debs Mann For caving in Nepal
• Honourary Award to Cat’s Mum for providing fantastic accommodation on a UBSS weekend.

2008 - 2009

• Mr Muscle Award - Jack Paton, for being buffer than one might expect
• Robert Mugabe Award for right wing thinking - Dickon Morris, for his questionable comments
• Amundsen Award for polar exploration and probably being the most southerly travelled member of UBSS - Andy Wright, in recognition of his recent trip to Antarctica
• Little Chef Award for culinary excellence - James Macfarlane, for his unfortunate lack of culinary skills
• Booker Prize for most entertaining trip reports - Mike Salter, for exceedingly well written and humorous trip reports
• Silver Compass Award - Rob and Christian, for driving the wrong way up the M6 on the way back from Derbyshire and not realising until they reached Manchester
• Tardis Award for excellent utilisation of work holiday - Richard Rossington, for, according to his out of office email, returning to work 10 days before he left
• Golden Boot for best caving injury - Frank, for his little finger
• Mr Kipling Award - edd, for his exceedingly good baking

2007 - 2008

• Flaming Man Award - Alex Crow (Falling in fire)
• Mr Tickle Award - James McFarlane (Vomitting whilst being tickled in Romania)
• Masterchef Award/Alcoholics Anonymous Award - Edd Willats (Food/Alcohol poisoning in Romania)
• 999 Award - Fay Hewitt (Kitchen fire in Romania)
• Goldfish Award - Jon Stenson (Forgetting Wellies, boots and contacts already in his eyes)
• Bubbly/Hugs Award - Tree (Who else!)
• Over Engineering Award - Christian Chourot (For the Squeeze machine and Rope Cleaner)

2006 - 2007

• Golden credit card - Trev (left his card in the hut)
• Lost property - Andy and Paul
• Blonde - James
• Golden glasses - Rob (failure to read cave description)
• Silver compass - Jon (getting rods and drunkards mixed up)
• Hero of the dales - James’ dad (putting us up in the snow)
• AA 4 star award (best hotel in wales) - Fay’s mum
• Brick to the face award - gina (subtle)
• Champagne award - tree (most bubbly)
• Indecent clothing award - ed
• Golden boot - kayleigh

2005 - 2006

• Silver compass award (for failing to find Jingling Pot) - Christian
• SuperTed award (for going all the way to Yorkshire and not caving) - Edith
• Darwin award (for scaring freshers off) - Andy W
• Santa award (having had his soggy caving gear stolen at Xmas) - Paul
• Heroine of Wales award (for providing bedding in Wales) - Fay’s mum
• UBSS ambassador to Africa (as a result of his travels) - Frank
• UBSS song book (because we all know he loves it) - Dick
• A welsh music CD (because he’s now studying in Wales) - Bill