Ocean Diver training weekend at Capernwray in the snow
Scapa Flow trip for experienced divers
Object of Desire
Aside from the swanky tech people ... what ’ s ‘ in ’ at our club at the moment is funky masks with bright colours . We have each chosen a different neon colour , and you absolutely cannot buy the same mask as someone else . Neon is all the rage , but I ’ ve gone against the grain – I ’ ve got white Apeks RK3 fins and a white Fourth Element Scout mask . My friend has all-pink kit , while another has all orange ... so , yeah , it ’ s quite a rainbow .
Where do you do most of your diving ?
I seem to always get myself on Scotland trips . Being in Nottingham , everyone says that we ’ re in the worst place for diving , but really we ’ re in the best place , because we can get to Plymouth in four hours ; or St Abbs in five hours . My favourite places are St Abbs and Scapa Flow .
Who is your regular buddy ?
I do have a favourite buddy , James Huke ; we ’ ve been diving together from day one . He ’ s just taken over as President and is training quickly ; he ’ s done his OWI and now I think he ’ s going for Advanced Diver on top of that . He ’ s a brilliant buddy ... Peter Dix is going to have watch out !
What does being a BSAC diver mean to you ?
It ’ s all about being part of something bigger than yourself . A lot of the time in other organisations , you can get lost . Being in BSAC is like being in a very nice tribe , especially as a university club . We just want to get out and explore the UK coastline , see what it has to offer and also have fun .
How has diving affected your life ?
Diving started out purely as a sport for me . Then it turned into a hobby , and a social life . Now it ’ s turning into something allencompassing ; it ’ s everything to me now . It ’ s what I do on the weekends with my friends , it ’ s what I train for . I may even go into diving in a more professional sense when I become a doctor . It ’ s been with me throughout my journey at uni ; now I ’ m graduating with the most incredible friends , all thanks to diving .
What changes have you seen since qualifying ?
In the past it was a predominantly male sport , especially UK diving . It seems like there ’ s this weird , false belief that sometimes girls can ’ t or won ’ t enjoy UK diving , because it ’ ll be too cold . But as my mum – an avid outdoor swimmer – would say : “ It ’ s never too cold , you ’ re just not dressed properly ”.
We have seen a big increase in the number of women in the club . It was one of my manifestos as President to get more women into diving . And now we ’ re seeing almost more than half of our Ocean Divers are girls . It ’ s really nice to see this transition of it becoming more of a 50 / 50 sport , because girls enjoy diving and swimming , they love seeing cool things underwater ; they even like wrecks ! I hope in the future , we continue to get more girls into diving ; to break the barriers . We can tell them it ’ s going to be cold at times , the kit is heavy and there may be moments of discomfort – but you ’ re going to have such fun , and you will make the best friends . �
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