Equipment Officers Dan and Billy , and Social Secretary Alex at Dunbar
CLUBFOCUS
How many members do you have ?
We have 56 members , including three staff and 10 alumni . There is always a huge level of interest in our courses , so we must limit our annual intake of trainees . We do this using a random ballot and hold a reserve list who attend the lectures and step in if a practical training slot opens . It can be varied ; in 2016-17 we dropped to around 20 core members after many graduated at the same time . Then in 2019-20 , we shot up to around 70 .
How did you manage this turnaround ?
We had a few very dedicated members who went above and beyond , managing the club organisation and putting focus on recruiting and retaining enthusiastic divers . Our 2018 AGM saw the committee expand from seven to 14 . We ran some of our biggest trips : Malta 2019 ( 25 divers ), and Majorca 2020 ( 23 divers ), with more than 200 dives taking place on each . We were out almost every weekend at our local dive sites . We have spectacular diving right on our doorstep , so we ensured we had plenty of trips to take our newly qualified divers on .
Given the regular turnover , how do you ensure your DO is suitably experienced ?
It ' s challenging to find someone qualified in a uni club . We have our own supervision policy , so a Dive Leader / Open Water Instructor can be Diving Officer with a qualified mentor . We have permission from our Sports Union for the position to be filled by a non-student if necessary . Our current DO Cara Nicholson is no longer an Edinburgh student – she graduated in 2019 , and is now a PhD student at another university . The previous DO had no connection to the uni . Before that , DOs were mostly students supervised by a member who was university staff .
What are the club ’ s aims ?
Getting out diving ! Alongside our usual jam-packed calendar of diving and socials , we want to expand our advanced
and exploratory diving after focusing on training and rebuilding experience the last few years . We ’ re planning our first major , self-sufficient expedition in 10 years , which will take place in the summer to the north coast . It ’ s a continuation of our Exploring the Extremities of Scotland trilogy , which ran from 2008 to 2010 . Expeditions of this nature are almost impossible within a uni club , due to resources and member turnover . We are proud of the hard work required to even get to this point , let alone the expedition itself . We are really pushing what uni clubs can accomplish .
Diving Officer Cara demonstrates twin set drills
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