Information for New Club Members

    Important things to know and do  

Introduction

This is just a quick checklist for newcomers to the club. Its aim is to make clear the things that new members can do to make training quick and successful. Read the following carefully and try to ensure you do these things on time. The club will do the rest and you’ll be diving in no time.

Membership

Before you are insured for training you must be a member of both Stourport Divers and the SAA. Fill in a club membership form, a medical self-declaration form and pay your subs to the treasurer. 

( Please note, there will be some small additional expenses during your training, i.e. books, air fills, pool entrance fees, a medical, open water entrance fees open, water equipment hire ect. Please ask for details)

Basic Equipment

During your basic pool training you may borrow club SCUBA equipment but it is strongly recommended that you buy your own mask fins and snorkel as soon as possible as they will fit better and you'll know you have kit when you need it (click here for Equipment advice)

You can ask the Dive Officer or Training Officer for advice on buying new kit. Club members are always happy to give advice and may even come with you to the shop if you like.

Your Dive Medical

Before your pool training ends and you start using SCUBA equipment in an "open water environment" you must have a "signed off" doctors diving medical, this will be explained in more detail during your pool training period.

The "Doctors Medical Form" can be obtained from the club Secretary, fill in the front, and take it to your appointment with Dr.King (our local medical referee), your own G.P., or any other qualified M.D., The doctor will complete the form and sign & stamp the small certificate panel on it,  photocopy this panel and hand it to the Dive Officer for the club’s records. The original is kept it your qualification book

Pool Training

You will be given a checklist of pool training exercises when you join. Bring this with you every week. As you complete exercises the instructor will sign them off. Once they are all done, a final pool assessment and a written exam is all there is between you and “OPEN WATER”.

 Make sure you attend every week if humanly possible. Check with the Training Officer to make sure you have an instructor and equipment allocated to you. You should take responsibility for yourself, your training and your equipment; Ensure you have all nessessary equipment and sufficient air in your cylinder each week, Follow these simple guidelines and you will make rapid progress.

Lectures

The Training Officer will give you a copy of the lecture programme sheet.  This will show you who are giving the lectures, when and where. Again, it is up to you to do all you can to attend and ensure you get the instructor to "sign  off" each completed lecture.

Club nights and news

Some long term advice: Whilst the club web site is kept updated you may miss out if you don’t keep up with what’s going on. It all happens in the pub after pool sessions and once a month at the general meetings. Attend the meetings as often as you can, keep your ears open, ask questions and grab what opportunities you can.

Fun

Whilst we hope you will enjoy the relaxed and friendly nature of our club and have plenty of fun while you learn to dive please remember that there is a very serious side to the training, we are required to teach and test you on a lot of very important information about the equipment, the physics of scuba diving and life saving skills before we can issue your dive qualifications.

Involvement

Finally, S.O.S. Divers is a "club run by volunteers". Nobody gets paid for any of the things they do to help you have fun and get qualified. It’s awfully hard work, and most of it gets done by a small number of club members. Please think hard about how you can give something back. Volunteers are always welcome – there’s no shortage of things to do. You will probably find that you get more out of the club if you put something back into it too.

This page can be downloaded from the "Documents section"

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