CLUBFOCUS
Lucy Somper , Karen Robinson , Rachael Lee , after a litterpick
Big Beach Clean in Burniston club active when close-packed boat diving was too unsafe . This way we can litter pick caves that are inaccessible on foot , typically removing tens of kilos of marine debris each week . Most snorkelling is from the shore , but a few times over the summer we get got our boat involved to recover even less easily accessible debris .
Who got involved ?
Our Snorkel Environmental Adventure group has appeared in lots of local papers for our litter-picking efforts . It has become a great advert for the club , bringing in new members despite a pool closure preventing any diver training taking place . So the activity has been continued and expanded ; it was initiated and mostly led by Edmund ‘ Spud ’ Ulliot , our long-time Training Officer .
We have expanded our training offer too : we now run snorkel training between try dives and Ocean Diver training . We have trained 10 snorkellers in the past year . Those who continued onto Ocean Diver , showed increased in-water confidence that has led to noticeably better training outcomes .
So your membership increased during Covid ?
Yes . Membership has increased – by more than 50 per cent – and diversified . We have the most youth members in our recent history , bringing our average age down as many of our older members retire . We have increased the proportion of women ; nearly half of our committee members are women now .
What knock-on effects has that had ?
We needed help with the increased training load , so four of our members followed through on the Sport England scheme to become instructors . Half price instructor training reduced the cost burden to make the leap to teaching , and has been greatly welcomed . A further four completed an Instructor Foundation Course in 2022 . Then to get all our new divers in the water , we ’ ve also started training more boat handlers ; 10 members were involved in a recent course .
What resources does the club have ?
The clubhouse and bar , an equipment store housing 12 sets of kit , a classroom and a compressor with air and nitrox banks . We also have two boats : our RIB is called Fin S ; our hardboat is called Richard S . We can also call on a second hardboat owned by some club members .
Is it easy to look after all this ?
It takes a lot of work , but with a very enthusiastic membership things just seem to get done . We make a special event of major works such as cleaning the hulls of our boats on the tidal grid , getting everyone involved .
Rockpooling at Flamborough
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