UKDIVING CLUBLIFE
Plymouth 2025: Andy with fellow Vale Royal club members Simon Tait and Lizzie Morecroft, on board club RIB, the ' Dave George ' the wider diving industry is evolving. BSAC is the National Governing Body for Scuba and Snorkelling and our sport relies on a wide range of equipment manufacturers and service providers( like hard boats), many of whom have been really struggling in recent years.
Engaging with members means actively listening, and I certainly aim to be making myself available alongside( BSAC CEO) Mary Tetley and other colleagues to ensure this dialogue continues. I’ m very keen that Council, as BSAC’ s Board of Directors, engage visibly with members and listen to what they have to say.
How can BSAC respond to today’ s environmental challenges?
This is an area that Mary Tetley and I discuss regularly; it ties into the launch of the Marine Champions initiative, where a network of campaigning members will present a powerful voice on environmental issues.
We all recognise there’ s a challenge when it comes to domestic rivers and cleanliness and I am encouraging HQ to have strong representation in supporting the many other campaigning organisations out there.
In terms of specific projects, we have the work on marine grasses and the oyster surveys, in which divers are playing an important part. We need to get behind the message and explain why these issues matter. I sometimes fear there’ s a translation issue between the experts in these fields who really have a grip on the issues and the general population.
Thanks to our first-hand experience of the sea, we can speak with legitimacy and authority on these subjects; we can make our voice heard.
How has the rollout of BSAC’ s modernised IT system gone? How will it help?
It will give ordinary members full control over their relationship with BSAC. It provides members with the ability to interrogate and update the information in a way that is commonplace in today ' s digitised society. Doing away with the old forms is an environmental bonus; no more post means financial and ecological savings. And for HQ, it’ s about that release of capacity from having to administer old, unconnected systems to a much more modern system that gives us a better understanding of our membership.
Inevitably, it’ s been a big change, doing away with systems that were over 20 years old. And that change brings upheaval. For example, we’ ve certainly got work to do to improve the instructor experience with the interface; a priority I am told HQ are working on right now.
How can we get more members to stay engaged with BSAC?
We know that a major reason why some members leave BSAC within their first year
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