Click Here To Register Now The TSA, founded in 1956, has been bringing cavers together from around Texas for over 50 years. TSA Spring convention is a great time for all of us to come together with family and friends to enjoy group meals, presentations, workshops, new works at the Map & Photo Salon, treasures at the TCMA auction, business meetings, and your favorite vendors. Location The 2024 Spring Convention will be returning to Cave Without A Name in Boerne, TX. We have reserved the entire campground for the weekend and will have presentations inside the cave on Saturday. The pavilion is also available for our use both Friday and Saturday evenings. Registration Online registration is now available. Adult registration is available for $36 with food or $20 without food and kids under 12 get in free. There is also an optional beer donation if you would like to contribute to the kegs for Saturday night. Schedule Friday 4 pm: On-Site Check-in and Campground opens Saturday 7:30 am - 8 pm: Morning Yoga led by Amy Cantrell 8 am - 12 pm: Workshops (Register ahead of time below) 12 pm - 1 pm: TCMA Meeting 1:30 pm - 4:00 pm: Presentations 6 pm - 7 pm: Chicken Fajita Dinner catered by Hungry Horse Restaurant in Boerne (Vegetarian option available), Dessert Potluck 7 pm - 7:30 pm: Awards 7:30 pm: TCMA Auction 8:30 pm: Karaoke and Story time at Pavilion (Prizes for 1. Best Close Call Story & 2. Best Comedic Cave Story) 9:00 pm: House Music and Dancing with DJ Anarchy Sunday 9:00 am: TSA Meeting 12:00 pm (noon): Check-Out and Clean Up Workshops Click here to sign up for Workshops 8 am - 10 am: Beginner Cave Survey and Sketching – Andrea Croskrey, David Ochel, Chelsea Dau This workshop will teach an introduction to cave surveying through hands-on use of survey instruments and using their results to create a map of a cave. 8 am - 10 am: Vertical Caving Techniques – Geary Schindel Beginner to advanced level vertical cavers are invited to attend this Vertical Caving Techniques workshop. 8 am - 10 am: An Introduction to Small Party Assisted Rescue (SPAR) Raises – Tom Evans A two hour initial primer on techniques for lifting a mildly injured (e.g., broken ankle, dislocated shoulder, etc.) caver up cave pitches. Techniques will employ minimal equipment and personnel so can be performed by one or two cavers in addition to the patient. Students should bring their vertical equipment, two additional locking carabiners, two pulleys, and two extra rope grabs (ascenders or software interfaces). A piece of webbing or cord will also be helpful. Some equipment can be provided, so if you do not have the equipment list, you are still encouraged to attend. Topics Covered: Inline Traveling Haul, Assisted Climbing, MAO System, and Locking Hitch Belays. Topics covered will be adjusted for time and based on student knowledge. Prerequisites: All students are welcome in this course, though if you are not able to ascend, descend, and changeover, please inform the instructional staff. 10 am - 12 pm: Basics of Cave Rigging – Cruz St.Peter and Megan Necessary This workshop will serve as an introduction to cave rigging. The goal here is to demystify basic rigging concepts for cavers who are already familiar with SRT caving techniques but have not done much (or any) rigging. This is NOT a certification course. We will demonstrate basic techniques and allow time for hands-on practice of the following Prerequisites: You must already know basic caving SRT concepts. We may utilize a nearby cave, so bring your vertical gear! It would be helpful if you learn the following knots in advance: Figure 8 on a Bight and Figure 8 Follow-Through, Alpine Butterfly, Water Knot (in 1-inch webbing). Limited to 10 seats. 10 am - 12 pm: Light and Shadow: Drawing Cave Scenes in Graphite – Joel Haus In this workshop we'll cover many aspects of landscape drawing applied to caves, including scene selection, lighting, composition, value, and general drawing techniques. We'll start with a discussion on these concepts and proceed into a short demonstration. We'll reserve most of the time for you to start your own composition with pencil on paper from a collection of provided photos. I'll provide feedback along the way and encourage you to try new techniques. 12 pm - 2 pm: An Introduction to Small Party Assisted Rescue (SPAR) Lowers – Tom Evans Course Description: A two hour initial primer on techniques for lowering a mildly injured (e.g., broken ankle, dislocated shoulder, etc.) caver down cave pitches. Techniques will employ minimal equipment and personnel so can be performed by one or two cavers in addition to the patient. Students should bring their vertical equipment, one or two pieces of webbing or cord, two locking carabiners (if possible, one HMS carabiner included in the two carabiners). Some equipment can be provided, so if you do not have the equipment list, you are still encouraged to attend. Topics Covered: Fixed brake lower, Munter sequence (Munter, Funter, Super Munter, Super Munter Tie Off), Convert to Lowers. Topics covered will be adjusted for time and based on student knowledge. Prerequisites: All cavers are welcome to attend, no prior knowledge is assumed. 4:30 pm - 6 pm: Light and Shadow: Advanced Drawing Techniques – Joel Haus In this short afternoon drawing workshop, I'll start with a quick description and demonstration of the challenges of drawing the human head. We'll reserve the final 45 minutes for you to try your hand at drawing a portrait from photos. You're also welcome to continue your composition from the morning class. I'll provide feedback along the way and encourage you to try new techniques. Presentations 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm: Microplastics in Caves – Jenna Crabtree 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm: LiDAR and Sinkholes: A Love Story – Rich Zarria 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm: Stratigraphic control of the speleogenesis in the Carta Valley (TX) Hypogene Karst System: Preliminary Results – Alberto Gaudio 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 pm - 4:00 pm: The Excavation of Cricket Cave in South Austin – Drew Thompson 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm: Endangered Species Monitoring with Zara Environmental –Jimmy McMillan and Ethan Perrine Camping Campsites are first come, first serve. Picnic tables, pavilion, and restrooms will be available. Electricity is not included. For anybody wishing to use the electricity available at the campsites, you must pay the standard nightly camping rate at the Cave Without A Name office. Activities Workshops - Participate in hands on workshops Speaker Presentations - Presentations will be held all afternoon inside the cave Business Meetings - TSA and TCMA will hold their Spring members’ meetings Vendors - Buy your favorite publications, T-Shirts, and merchandise from your local Texas caving organizations Map and Photo Salon - Submissions are due Saturday morning with winners announced before the auction. Dinner - A chicken fajita dinner will be available on Saturday night for all attendees, sign up when you register TCMA Auction - TCMA will host their annual auction Evening Cave Story Time - At the Pavilion DJ Anarchy - End the evening with some dancing! Map Salon Enter your cave map in this year's map salon. Maps drafted in 2021 and up to the time of the convention will be accepted. There will be prizes! Check here for more information and entry rules. Photo Salon Each photographer is limited to 2 entries. Prints must measure at least 8 x 10 inches, but not larger than 20 x 24 inches. All entries must be mounted, but not framed. They may be matted at the discretion of the entrant. The prints title should appear either on the matte or on the mount directly below the print. The photographer must not be identified on the front of the matte or mount. Lettering should not exceed 0.25 inch in height. The photographers name and the entry number (assigned by the entrant see entry form) must be written on or attached to the back of the mount. All entries must be received at the photo salon location by 10 a.m. on the Saturday of convention. TCMA Auction After dinner there will be an auction benefiting the Texas Cave Management Association. They are seeking awesome cave or not cave related items donations for this great fundraiser. Contact Additional discussion available on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/1661828554641493 Need more details? Email vicechairman@cavetexas.org