CLUBFOCUS
A club visit to Porthkerris , Cornwall
Oh no ! What are your plans ?
Club life goes in cycles , doesn ’ t it ? Peaks and troughs ? We recently recognised that we were in a bit of a trough . At an AGM we couldn ’ t sign off our accounts , so we analysed our operating costs and presented the facts at an extraordinary general meeting . Given that most of our funds come from membership fees , it turns out we need around 40 members to break even . We identified the point at which the club would run out of funds if we didn ’ t act , with a bottom line of one year ’ s overheads in the bank . The message was : it ’ s your club , do something or die .
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How did members react ?
They took the news well , on the whole . It was decided to keep the boat and raise fees for the first time in a while , to meet our obligations . The next step is to market ourselves better and to engage with members about what they want , via a survey . Questions will include ‘ Why don ’ t you use the boat ?’
What else are you working on ?
We are setting up an online try dive booking form , as we have noticed that nowadays people want to engage without talking face to face or on the phone . For example , we
Seated left to right are Nic Alwin , Mike Littler and Alan Brown ( DO ) at Porthkerris recently undertook Ocean Diver training for a new member in his mid-20s , after he had completed the BSAC online training and passed the online assessments . It was a surprise that he came to us asking only for his pool and open-water training , which we signed off on the BSAC App , no paper records anymore . It felt a bit disconnected from club life , but he was learning for a holiday . It ’ s just another way to instruct and helps increase club membership .
Tell us about your instructor team .
They are fantastic . We have focused on teaching diving lately . We have an Advanced Instructor ( who is also our First Class Diver and Diving Officer ), five Open Water Instructors ; an Assistant OWI ; and a Snorkeling Instructor . Another member has come forward for Snorkel Instructor training . We have a pool session every Monday evening in the dive pool at Castle Leisure Centre , which while expensive offers us a fantastic four-metre deep pool .
What training is happening ?
Four members are ready to start Sports Diver training and two have almost finished Dive Leader . We can do Oxygen Administration and Chartwork and Position Fixing in-house and combine these with Dive Leader . Two divers have undertaken rebreather training and one is waiting for a mixed-gas course . Don ’ t make a mistake and think we aren ’ t active divers ; the first club dive of 2024 was a training dive for some of our Ocean Divers , as early as 13 January .