BRANCHES + CENTRES
Centres Forward
Plymouth partners
The second of our series celebrating BSAC Centres in partnership with their local clubs . This month : Plymouth Sound SAC on their relationship with local centre Sandford & Down
Plymouth Sound ’ s members are more than happy to collaborate . With several National Instructors in their ranks , they ’ re certainly not short on resources , but their priority lies in going diving rather than training .
“ We go diving and we don ’ t normally train entry level divers ,” explains Training Officer Chris Shelley . “ Our typical Saturday dive is offshore at depths of 25-45m . Filling courses such as Practical Rescue Management requires collaboration with other local branches , as most of our divers are already trained . Plymouth Sound is a mix of old established members who just want to dive , and newer members who want to develop skills . We ’ ve had commercial divers with HSE medicals from Plymouth University join our branch , enjoy the diving we do and go on to become BSAC instructors .”
The club ’ s Diving Officer , Will Schwarz , views collaboration as an equal share . “ No one loses out ,” he says . “ We partner with Sandford & Down ( S & D ), a traditional dive shop , named after the original owners and located 50 metres from our shore diving site . We kept getting training requests via BSAC HQ or personal contacts , and we were sending them to other branches , as we don ’ t train . So when Scott Yeardley wanted to develop S & D as a BSAC centre , we saw an opportunity . We supported our HSE divers to become instructors , and now they help S & D with BSAC training .”
So far , two members have completed their Accelerated Decompression Procedures , three have completed Discovery Diver and one has passed Ocean Diver . “ What ’ s great is that the Discovery Divers are aged 11 and the Ocean Diver is 13 ,” says Chris . “ This scheme works for us . S & D delivered the theory and pool on Wednesday , and joined us for shore dives on the Monday club dive night , just outside their shop .
“ We both believe we need to collaborate , as clubs such as ours cannot provide training on demand , something would-be divers expect . This scheme gives us something to sell that gives people what they want .” �
Branch + Centre Partnership Scheme explained
Designed to support branches with their training , the model is that new members join your branch , train at the centre , then return to your branch as qualified divers .
Benefits to branches :
• There ’ s no cost to enter , and you can withdraw at any time
• The scheme enables BSAC clubs to take on more new members , year-round
• It assists with resource challenges , such as lack of instructors , or pool access
• The partnership supports and cements relations with local BSAC dive centres
More information and benefits at bsac . com / PartnershipScheme
PARTNERSHIP CENTRES
ANDARK DIVING AND WATERSPORTS 256 Bridge Road , Lower Swawick , Southampton , Hampshire SO31 7FL • 01489 581755 andy @ andark . co . uk • www . andark . co . uk
DIVECREW Brookers Corner , Crowthorne , Berkshire RG45 6ST 01344 771113 • info @ divecrew . co . uk www . divecrew . co . uk
DM SCUBA Filton leisure Centre , Elm Park , Fiton , Gloucestershire BS34 7PS • 01172 141554 • DMScuba @ hotmail . com www . dm-scuba . co . uk
DV DIVING 138 Mt Stewart Rd , Carrowdore , Newtownards , BT22 2ES dvdiving . co . uk
ROBIN HOOD WATERSPORTS 152 Leeds Road , Heckmondwike , West Yorkshire WF16 9BJ • 01924 444888 • sales @ roho . co . uk www . roho . co . uk
SANDFORD & DOWN 24 Pier Street , West Hoe , Plymouth , Devon PL1 3BT 01752 266248 • dive @ sandfordanddown . co . uk www . divesubsea . co . uk
SCUBATS 19 / M Winchester Avenue , Denny , Falkirk , Stirlingshire , Scotland FK6 6QE 07449669494 • scubat2017 @ gmail . com www . scubats . co . uk
STONEY COVE Sapcote Road , Stoney Stanton , Leicester LE9 4DW 01455 273089 • diving @ stoneycove . com www . stoneycove . com
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