SCUBAHUB
Focused on the future
BSAC’ s 2026 Annual General Meeting
THE 72ND BSAC AGM SAW A reflective club that has been experiencing both challenges and opportunities. The picture painted was one of pragmatism and progress, with BSAC Council’ s strategy firmly focused on the practicalities of creating an agile, sustainable and resilient BSAC. It was also a meeting tempered by the realities of a changing world and the need to futureproof BSAC, its membership and its financial position.
Chair’ s Report
Andy Shenstone opened his first AGM as BSAC Chair by extending a warm welcome. Held online, the meeting was legally quorate, with 72
members logging on Andy Shenstone and Andy thanked everyone who had made the time to attend.“ We are at our heart a member-based organisation and it’ s through the work of all of you as members, that we’ re able to thrive as we do as the British Sub-Aqua Club, the largest diving club in the world.”
He then began by outlining the challenges the organisation had faced as it worked to move beyond its‘ legacy IT’ to its new Associated Management System( AMS). While stressing that it was essential for the new system to be installed, Andy acknowledged the impact the implementation has had on HQ staff and across the organisation. He thanked BSAC clubs, members and volunteers for their patience and support as the MyBSAC portal was upgraded and the new Sport: 80 system implemented.
Andy said that the benefits of such a major system change would not be seen‘ overnight’.“ It was absolutely critical that we were able to deploy a supported
10 member administration system and there’ s work still to complete to optimise its use.” Improving efficiency remained a key theme throughout 2025, including seeing part of the BSAC offices sub-let, alongside other cost efficiency measures in HQ. Andy also highlighted Council’ s focus on improving member recruitment and retention, as well as work ongoing to modernise the club’ s diver resources to increase instructor capacity.
“ We’ ve got a clear position as Council on tight expenditure control and supporting organisational efficiency. You would expect nothing less of us. We now need to look at opportunities for diversification where that is sustainable. But we’ ve also got to ensure we deliver value to our existing members, so they are encouraged to remain with the fantastic diving community that is the British Sub-Aqua Club.”
Treasurer’ s report
Honorary Treasurer Richard Pettifer delivered an account of BSAC’ s operating performance, which
Richard Pettifer saw an income drop of 3.5 %, largely attributed to a 5 % reduction in members. While costs were reduced by 1.2 %, the reporting year saw additional time-specific expenses due to the Sport: 80 implementation as BSAC migrates to a more efficient digital system as well as a write-down in the value of stock held. The result was an operating deficit of £ 40k for 2025, compared to a small operating surplus of £ 5.6k in 2024. BSAC currently has cash of £ 296.4k and balance sheet reserves of £ 172.3k, both of which are now at a 10-year low.
Richard highlighted that 95 % of BSAC income comes from its membership, while only about 40 % of expenses are directly related to membership numbers. This means that losses will increase as membership numbers drop unless action is taken to cut costs elsewhere. Confirming that he is satisfied BSAC remains agoing concern, he countered it with caution.“ The message is quite clear- we can’ t carry on like this. We’ ve got to be restoring the financial health of BSAC if we want it to be resilient and prosper.”
National Diving Officer’ s report
BSAC NDO Sophie Rennie set out the 2025 achievements of her National Diving Committee. The year saw the new Deeper Diver course released,
plus updates to Sophie Rennie
Accelerated Decompression Procedures and Twin-set Diver. Sophie reported that the level of qualifying instructors remained healthy during 2025, with 192 OWIs – the same as 2024 – coming through. There was also an increase in the number of Advanced Instructors, and the National Instructor process has now become modular.
The Open Water Instructor Course has also been reviewed, and the Practical Instructor Exam is currently being looked at. Improvements have been made to Snorkelling for All, while the new Boat Handling Instructor Workshop has now gone live. The review of Advanced Diver should be completed by the end of 2026 and a new drysuit course is now in the pipeline. Sophie added that regional coaching team-organised events were up by 28 % and the introduction of RefBook had also made the management of ITS events and the payment of volunteer expenses much more efficient.
BSAC centre numbers have also increased by 20 % in 2025, and there’ s been a 25 % increase in the number of snorkelling enquires received.
Finally, Sophie reported on key BSAC diving and underwater heritage projects during the year. Safety remains a priority, including lobbying to protect access to hyperbaric chambers. BSAC also continues to liaise and advocate for divers on the Protection of Military Remains Act and remains a member of the Clean Water Sports Alliance.