The British Cichlid Association autumn convention took place on Saturday September 26, 2010 at Lodge Park social club in Redditch, near Birmingham.
The day started with the AGM which is a group meeting between the BCA committee and membership and was a active, informal and very positive chat between members. Several points were raised and voted upon and the future of the BCA looks increasingly bright! A new committee was voted into place and the following people are now in charge of the future of the BCA.
Chris Meachen – Chairman (New Member)
Darren Evans – Secretary (New Member)
Roger Sleet – Treasurer
Mark Breeze – Sales and stand in Cichlidae editor
Simon Morgan – Membership secretary
Andrew Wood – Webmaster (new committee position)
Steven Chester – Publicity officer
Following the AGM, the large crowd settled down to listen to a lecture by UK fish breeder and fishroom owner Steven Chester on the fish rooms and fish breeders of Britain. Steven is of the opinion that the UK holds some of the best fish breeders in the world and was keen to show the hard work that these breeders put into producing some of the best quality fish that the world has ever seen.
There was a noticeable buzz in the air when the 300-lot auction started. This year's event saw a slight change in the rules and for the first time dither fish were allowed to be sold, so not only could you buy cichlids, catfish or dry goods you could also buy tetras or pencilfish to go with your new dwarf cichlids... There were some real bargains to be had!
The British cichlid association would like to thank the following for their support:
Lodge Park social club for the room; Tim Addis for his hard work behind the scenes and as auctioneer; Johnny Dean (Top DJ) for the world class PA system and system support; and the following for their kind donations: Practical Fishkeeping magazine, New Era foods, Mars Fishcare, Tetra, Waterlife, Ocean Nutrition, Hozlock, Interpet and Juwel aquariums.