Tratman Award
The prestigious Tratman Award is given annually to a caving-related paper-based publication in memory of E.K. Tratman, who died in 1978, to recognise excellence and encourage future improvement. It is administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation; these notes will also be found there as well as information on other work that the foundation does in support of British caving expeditions.
This page presents the formal announcement for the current winner and the rules for the award (scroll down); a separate page lists past winners and commended publications. Recent citations are archived here.
Tratman Award 2011
The Tratman Award is presented to the author of the best caving-related publication of the year, being judged by three independent cavers who make a recommendation for the award to the Ghar Parau Foundation, which funds the award. The judges for 2011 were Ric Halliwell, Chris Howes and Martin Mills, who also sought opinion from a wider readership.
Both books and club journals were considered and a shortlist was produced for further discussion. In alphabetical order of author or editor, the titles were:
Caves of the Peak District by Iain Barker and John Beck – an excellent guidebook published by DCA. The publication year was printed as 2010, but the volume was not released until too late for consideration in 2010, so – as the rules permit – it was shortlisted in 2011.
Decades in the Dark, edited by Alan Jeffreys and subtitled ‘50 years of Scottish caving’, covers the history of the Grampian SG from 1961 to 2011.
Sheffield University SS 50th anniversary journal 1961-2011, a club history with similar coverage, edited by Rob Middleton.
Shuttleworth Pot into Witches Cave II, edited by Pete Monk and published by CNCC, being a comprehensive and timely documentation of the cave’s exploration (a factor that the judges felt that other caves would benefit from).
Aspects of the History of Slovene Karst 1545-2008 by Trevor Shaw, a fine piece of research immaculately presented to the reader, just as we would expect from this author. It is also dated 2010 but was not available for consideration until 2011.
After much deliberation, from among these commended publications the judges unanimously decided that the 2011 Tratman Award should go to Decades in the Dark. In reaching their decision, the judges noted that it contains a high volume of material written specifically for the publication (rather than only reprinting past articles), it is liberally scattered with photographs and the text is interesting and readable (this publication is far more than a chronology).
Congratulations therefore go to Alan ‘Goon’ Jeffreys and his team from the Grampian SG. All entries in the shortlist should note the prestige that is conferred here, though there can only be one winner. The award itself is a piece of original artwork by Mark ‘Gonzo’ Lumley, which will be presented at Hidden Earth 2012.
Chris Howes, on behalf of the judges
Tratman Award: Rules
The prestigious Tratman Award is awarded annually to a caving-related paper-based publication in memory of E.K. Tratman, who died in 1978. It was first awarded for the publications of 1979 and is administered by the Ghar Parau Foundation. It both recognises excellence and encourages future improvement, and is considered one of the UK’s premier national awards. It is judged by three independent cavers who make their recommendation for the award to the GPF committee for ratification at the foundation’s first meeting in a calendar year.
1. The award may be granted to an author, editor or publisher with the following provisos:
The recipient must be British by birth or nationality, or
A person based in the UK as his or her principal domicile for a minimum of three years, or
A British-based publisher that has rendered a particular service for supporting caving publications
The intent is that the Tratman Award is British-based, but not that the publication must occur in the UK, or that it must go to a British national even if publication occurred in the UK.
2. All publications conforming to the above requirements are eligible and may be considered by the judges. These could therefore include books and journals in their entirety, but might also include individual articles within a magazine or journal or a specific chapter within a multi-authored book, or even a journal series, at the judges’ discretion. Multi-authored works are eligible. No distinction is made between commercial and club-based publications; it is the quality of publication that counts.
3. No set of three judges can have the time or resources to read every caving publication, but all major publications are likely to be seen. If any person wishes a specific publication to be considered for the award, they should bring this to the judges’ attention before the end of a calendar year.
4. The award will be made on the basis of a caving-related publication that is printed on paper, being published during the preceding calendar year.
Judges will consider caving-related publications produced during the calendar year but it is within their discretion to also consider works from the year before if, for example, their publication was close to the year-end and they were not previously considered. The intent is to ensure that all worthy publications may be considered, despite any difficulties that may have delayed their production or distribution, despite any imprinted date.
5. Judges will take into account factors including content of the publication (for example its importance to caving and the clarity of writing) as well as the physical aspects of production (including layout, presentation, printing and binding).
6. The Tratman Co-ordinator, as an independent caver, will be elected by the committee for a period of three years but may be re-elected indefinitely; the co-ordinator is responsible for selecting the judges, which may or may not include the co-ordinator. The committee will not seek to influence the judges’ decision but GPF members, just as any other caver, are free to bring publications to their attention and are not precluded from winning. The co-ordinator will inform the committee of the decision by 31 January each year.
7. The winner will receive a trophy commemorating the award; this is retained by the recipient as a mark of the prestige so attained and will be funded by the GPF. The presentation will normally take place at the annual Hidden Earth caving conference.
A copy of the rules and a record of past winners will be maintained on the GPF website.
Contacts:
Ghar Parau Committee Hon. Sec.