Clifton Sub Aqua Club
Kristina Pedder meets a friendly Bristolian dive club looking forward to the resumption of diving , and still quantifying the impact of the Covid era
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Clifton Sub Aqua Club is usually a busy Bristol branch . In 2020 , the club managed to deliver some enjoyable diving on the club boat , despite lockdowns and the other barriers set out by the Covid-19 pandemic . However , try dives and Ocean Diver training were paused , and membership fees reduced to take into account the reduced activities on offer . The club has even recruited some new members , but what has the year really been like ?
Surface interval at Eigg
What has the club achieved in the past year ?
Being still-standing is probably the biggest achievement for everyone after 2020 , isn ’ t it ? With a huge effort from the committee , dive managers and instructors , not to mention our divers , we were able to get our boat on the water and get quite a bit of diving in at the end of the summer . We also managed to make progress with training and we kept up with our socials via the wonders of Zoom .
So you ’ ve been meeting virtually ?
Yes , monthly committee meetings have continued virtually ; these seem to work very well , particularly as only one person is able to speak at a time . As we have not been able to meet in person as a club at all since March , we also thought it was important to keep the social side ticking over , so we have had Zoom quizzes ( roughly monthly ) and a Christmas quiz , plus a few social Zoom chats . Social communication was good initially , and we are finding that the club ’ s Facebook group is well used to discuss various issues .