We have a number of instructors in the club that are able to provide training from complete novice up to instructor grades. This is all part of being a member of the club so there is no extra charge for this diver training. The club subscription even covers entry to the swimmng pool that we use for training.

Further speciality and instructor training is available through the club with the Sub Aqua Association (SAA) and although these course costs vary depending on the type of course, they are usually much cheaper than the equivalent from a dive school.
 
 (For club membership and training of 16-18 year olds, see notes below on young divers about safety restrictions and club rules on junior members.)

We can run a "try-dive" session for anyone at pretty much any pool session provided we're given a bit of notice to arrange for some gear to be brought down.

The session begins with a quick overview of the kit that you wear. Then you are taken into the pool with the SCUBA gear in shallow water to get a feel for what it's like to breathe underwater. If you feel comfortable then your trainer will take you down to the deep end, to a depth of approximately 3m where you can experience the freedom of SCUBA diving much better. At all times the trainer will be with you and will be in control of your bouyancy.

Drop us an e-mail to arrange a "try-dive". The cost is £10 per person. There is absolutely no obligation to join the club so worth a go even if you have no intention of taking up SCUBA diving as a hobby. (However, it is worth noting that if you do end up joining the club, the "try-dive" cost is knocked off your joining fee).

The short answer is no.  All club-based training (whether by CSAC or most other clubs) is provided by qualified instructors who volunteer their time during club evenings, day trips and expeditions.  This is why it is so cheap, but as such, the diver training is spread over several weeks to be ready for the first open water dives.

Learning to dive in a club is great if you have time to learn, and think you will want to undertake diving in the UK as a regular hobby after you have qualified because you will get the best out of it for just about as cheap as it gets.

If you have time to learn, but only want to dive once a year on holiday then learning in a club is still worth considering because one year's club membership (which gets you diver training as part of being a member) is about the same cost as an entry level diving course with a pay-as-you-go dive school such as a PADI centre (and no matter who you learn with you will need to do a couple of courses before being qualified to a level that you don't need an instructor to accompany you).

If you want to learn quickly then really the only option is to learn through a dive school either in the UK before you go on holiday or from a dive centre when you get there.  These can offer crash-courses which can get you qualified for diving open water diving (with an instructor still required to accompany you) within a couple of days.  The downside to this is that the cost can be significantly higher.

Whatever you choose, you can always join a club later if you want SCUBA diving to become a hobby but you can avoid unnecessary expenses first if you are sure what you want to do.

Provided a trainee attends all of the weekly theory lectures and practical sessions in the pool then the first open water dive, and hence the first diver qualification, can be achieved in about 2-3 months. 

That said, we do not face commercial pressures to hurry within a set timescale and from our point of view it is most important that the diver theory is understood (although it's not too technical) and that practical skills can be performed safely and competently.

For safety reasons, open water dives are only done once both the trainee and their instructor are happy that they are ready - so really there is no time limit to get someone trained and qualified.  The training programmes move at the pace of the trainee and it is not too much problem to arrange the odd "catchup" session for any theory or practical lessons that are missed.  

By the time they are ready for their first open water dive, trainees will have a good basic knowlegde of diving theory, equipment and safety plus confidence in being able to perform essential underwater skills such as mask clearing and bouyancy control.


 

If you haven't done so already, have a look at our page on joining the club, then the best way to proceed is to come and have a chat with us in person at a pool session one evening or meet up afterwards at the pub.

Drop us an e-mail a few days before the evening you plan on coming to and we'll make sure that someone is available to spend time with you.
 
 

You don't have to be super fit, although SCUBA diving is a physical sport involving reasonably heavy equipment (a diving cylinder can weigh 12-15kg) so it helps to maintain a reasonable level of fitness.

A self-declaration of medical fitness is now allowed under Sub Aqua Association (SAA) guidelines, although a sport diving medical may be needed depending on your own medical history.

However, CSAC does recommend that you get a sport diving medical before SCUBA training is started if you have never had any kind of formal medical since reaching adulthood. The simple reason for this is that unless you have had a medical examination you will not know if there are any issues that you need to be aware of or that may disqualify you from diving before you go out and spend lots of money on shiny new diving equipment.

If you need a sport diving medical then the best and cheapest place to get one done is to see your own GP (typically in the region of £30-£50). The medical form for the doctor to fill in can be e-mailed to you on enquiry.

The Sub Aqua Association stipulates the minimum age diver training can begin at is 12.  This is also the minimum age for try-dives during one of our pool sessions.

However as a club rule, CSAC does not accept members under the age of 16, which means that under 16s cannot receive diver training from the club (try-dives are not diver training so 12-16 year olds can still do try-dives).

For 16-18 year olds, the club will only allow membership if a parent, guardian or responsible adult joins as a diving member too.  This is to be fair to junior members by making sure that they have the necessary commitment form home to avoid disappointing situations such as when the club goes off on an expedition and under 18s can't get anyone to take or look after them.  In recognition of this, the joining fee and annual subscription is significantly less for under 18s.

Note that for safety reasons the Sub Aqua Association imposes certain diving restrictions for under 18s such as a shallower depth limit and also they cannot become qualified past Club Diver or become an instructor, but this is no real limitation in practical terms.

It's not cheap, but all SCUBA gear is designed to be hard wearing so if properly maintained should last many years of good use.

It varies in price so much depending on a range of factors. But the good news is that you don't need it all to start with.

To give you an idea, the following is a rough guide of the mimimum equipment that would be needed. These are for buying separately new but you can sometimes get a better price buying as a complete package plus there's loads of pretty decent second hand gear available (eg have a look at www.ukdiving.net for some used gear for sale on-line).

¹ while a semi-dry suit (a kind of wetsuit) is OK for diving in UK waters most of the year round, many divers will end up using a dry-suit, although these cost a lot more.

² a timer and depth gauge are required as minimum although many divers will start using a dive computer as soon as they begin open water diving. These range in price from £150 upwards.

Ask your trainer for advice before going out and splashing a load of cash on some new gear, else you risk buying whatever the dive shop wants to sell you rather than what is the most comfortable option for you.
 

What you see depends on the time of year and the weather conditions. If there has been a lot of rain or storms then visability can be quite bad. Also at the start of the summer when plankton blooms the surface waters can get very murky compared to the crystal clear waters of many tropical diving destinations.

Despite this there is usually a fairly decent visability that allows you to see all kinds of marine life and other interesting sights if you know where to look!

Contrary to popular belief, the waters around the UK have surprisingly diverse marine life. Have a look in the club galleries for photographs taken by some of our members on club expeditions to see for yourself.

We've dived with seals and occaisionally we're treated to seeing porpoises, dolphins and basking sharks from the boat. Until you get down there it's hard to imagine just how much there is to see.

Frequently we'll come across conger eels, lobsters, cuttlefish etc in their own natural habitat plus it's becomming more common to see animals that were previously only found in warmer waters such as the amazing Sunfish.

While many species of fish around the UK are relatively drab compared to their tropical cousins, the cuckoo wrasse shown here is one that is commonly found in British waters that certainly bucks the trend.

If your interest is in ship wrecks then you are spoilt for choice - there's more wrecks per square mile here then anywhere else in the world.
 

Dive trips are organised by the club members so we go whenever and wherever anyone wants to go. Because of our home location, expeditions (day trips or weekends away) are mostly organised to the south coast of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. The diving is usually a mix of shipwrecks and scenic dives depending on the area we visit.

There is usually at least one weekend a month away from March to October with the odd day trip thrown in as and when anyone wants. These dates are posted on the club calendar as soon as they become known.

The club dives winter months too which are usually day trips organised at the very last minute because of the changable weather

We also like to arrange longer trips to places such as Scotland and Ireland plus warm water destinations such as the Caribbean or the Red Sea (a must for anyone that enjoys diving as a hobby).

Club members tend to also book themselves into diving excursions when travelling elsewhere without the club (eg on family holidays), making good use of their internationally recognised qualifications.
 

Usually at least once a year there is a week long trip to somewhere nice and warm such as the Red Sea.

Warm waters are not our only international destinations. We have also had some excellent trips to Ireland a couple of times and even to Norway.

It really only depends on where club members want to go!

We make use of one of the best pools in Gloucestershire for diver training plus we own and maintain our own diving boat with all the necessary safely equipment on board which makes diving expeditions around the coast relatively cheap to run and we don't rely on booking spaces on charter boats months in advance hoping for good weather when the time comes. 

The pool hire and the boat upkeep are the main expenses for the club that are covered by the annual subscription.

The club's constitution does not allow it to make a profit, so the subscription level is always maintained at the minimum the club can operate at and all club assets are owned collectively by the club members.

See the page on joining the club for details on current membership fees.  We believe these represent great value for money (just work out how little it amounts to each month) and it's worth knowing that there are significant discounts available for junior members (under 18 years old) and students in full-time education.

Other clubs may have lower subscriptions but there is usually a reason why. Maybe it is because they do not have such good training facilities, do not have their own diving boat or you pay for pool sessions on top of the annual subscription. Before making your mind up either way you should ask what the subscription gets you and what extra costs there may be.