SCUBAHUB
Recruitment bonanza at university clubs
THE 2024 FRESHERS FAIR SEASON proved to be a buoyant experience for BSAC university clubs , with bumper numbers of students interested in scuba .
Every year BSAC ’ s university clubs receive support to help them recruit new members over the Freshers ’ season . And within the first few weeks of the new academic year , 33 university clubs had already signed up for their Freshers support packs from BSAC HQ .
All the hard work promoting their sport to the new first year students at their university has now started to pay off , with many of the participating BSAC uni clubs reporting interest beyond their expectations . As a result , a total of 508 new
BSAC members were recruited at fresher fairs during September and October , beating last year ’ s new member total of 465 .
As well as try dives and new members , the Freshers season 2024 had additional reasons to celebrate . With the welcome return of three BSAC university branches – Manchester , Salford and Belfast – 2024 also saw the creation of a brand-new university club , the University of Gloucestershire Sub Aqua Club .
Warwick University SAC ( WUSAC ) is just one uni branch that made the most of the support on offer from BSAC HQ . WUSAC ’ s Antoni Zyla said more than 500 people stopped by the club ’ s stand during Freshers week .
“ The turnout for our try dives was great as a result , and the retention rate from try dives to Ocean Divers was the highest it ’ s ever been ,” Antoni explained . “ We currently have a record number of trainees , and lots of new active members of the club . We expected an Ocean Diver cohort of about 8-10 , but the course gained so much interest that we took on more than double that amount .”
Dom Binn , from the University of Bristol SAC ( UBUC ) mirrored WUSAC ’ s experience . “ Our Freshers ’ Fair was a huge success ! The Freshers ’ packs from HQ were incredibly helpful , and the sunglasses were a big hit . We released our Ocean Diver tickets a couple of days ago , and they sold out within six minutes , so we were definitely doing something right .”
BSAC has a wealth of information and new member recruitment support for university clubs online at bsac . com / uniclubsupport .
Or , for further guidance , email BSAC ’ s university coordinator , Joe Westnedge - unicoordinator @ bsac . com
Try Dive treat for Malta managers
PUTNEY SAC RECENTLY PLAYED TRY dive host for two members of BSAC Diving Conference sponsors , Visit Malta .
Lindsey Thorpe , Visit Malta ’ s marketing and promotions manager , and Tolene van der Merwe , Visit Malta UK and Ireland Director , took the plunge under the watchful eyes of Putney SAC instructors Mark Glowrey and Nick Levensque during the club ’ s pool night .
With Malta a key dive holiday destination for many BSAC members , the try dive session was an opportunity for Lindsey and Tolene to have a taste of the underwater world .
Speaking after her try dive experience , Lindsey said the session gave her a better understanding of scuba diving and how
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