CLUBFOCUS
Land-locked Luton feels as far from the sea – in any direction – as you can get in the UK . But this only spurs members of Luton BSAC to be active trainers and divers , running many trips throughout the year . With a large membership , a substantial technical diving section and great facilities , the club retained members during lockdown and now , due to an excellent pool facility and the efforts of some very enthusiastic members in the try dive team , it ’ s back up and running . Social activity is as important to the club as going diving . People with no experience or with training from any recognised training agency are welcomed into Luton BSAC .
Where are you based ?
The club moved from 1960s-era Bath Road pool in the centre of Luton in 2012 . Our new home is the brand new £ 26m Inspire Luton Sports Village in Stopsley , on the edge of town , in 2012 . We train in the Olympic-size pool that was made famous as the host of ITV1 ’ s Splash ! programme , in which Olympic diver Tom Daley taught celebrities to dive . After pool sessions , we go to the Hansom pub on Wigmore Lane for a social .
Who are your members ?
We have 87 diving members , a snorkeller and six social members . As for the level of personal diving skills , we have : 17 trainees ; 13 Ocean Divers ; 27 Sports Divers ; 22 Dive Leaders ; eight Advanced Divers ; and a single First Class Diver . About 25 per cent of our members are women , but this seems likely to increase , as almost 80 per cent of Try Dive enquiries over the past year have been from women . We welcome people of all nationalities and from all backgrounds .
What resources does the club have ?
We have sessions at an excellent 5m-deep , 50m-long training pool and 10 sets of club training equipment . Our boathouse houses a 5.7m Osprey rigid-hulled inflatable boat – we are investigating upgrading its engine . The boathouse doubles as a training room for courses and a compressor room . We have a mixed-gas blending rig for nitrox and trimix .
Is it easy to look after all this ?
The maintenance of our compressor , mixing panel and RIB is diligently coordinated by equipment officer Trevor Canavan . It does take some work to maintain equipment for a club this size , but we have a great team who all pitch in and help as required .
At Portland Marina
What has the club achieved in the past year ?
Covid was a blow in 2020 . It kept us from meeting up in person , the usual training sites were closed and there was no boat diving for more than a year , during which time we inevitably lost some members to other activities . The club committee moved to virtual meetings every other month during the 2020-21 lockdowns . Since returning to a more normal framework in 2021 , we have seen our numbers increase again . We are running training at capacity , with 17 recent Ocean Diver trainees and we have just started a Sports Diver Course for 10 people . We aim for a couple of club-organised trips a month and social gatherings interspersed between our dive trips .
Diving the Rozi wreck , Gozo
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