Dive Clubs: Why Aren't There More? Where Did They All Go?

[Edward3c]

I'm a great advocate of the UK club system whether SAA or BSAC.
I learned via PADI in Mexico and then joined an SAA club. A warm water diver who went over to cold water.
The vast majority of clubs welcome new people whatever their diving background. Given your background you should not be making statements like that Edward.

Thanks for your feedback. I would edit my post if I could. What I mention to say, admittedly badly, was. We don't waste our time, and the new diver's, if they only want to dive in warm water. About half the members of the club learned in warm water, including me (Belize)

 

[Sam Miller III]

May 1958 and January 1963 the now defunct "Skin Diver Magazine; A magazine for skin divers and spear fishermen" published two issues containing all the know dive clubs in the world. As would be expected during those time periods the majority of the clubs were located in California and specifically in SoCal counties of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego.

The SoCal dive club membership was based game collection and leaning to dive which was accomplished by mentoring for game collection and instruction by a member of the club who were who were Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors.

I was a member of several clubs during that era'

SDM

 

[dead dog]

I dunno man, are dive clubs disappearing?

In a word: YES

 

[Power Scuba]

From a West Coast (of the US) perspective: The moment a non-profit (or most any other) dive club gets big enough... or gathers a good bit of momentum... it will encounter resistance from many/most local dive shops. Those same dive shops will either attempt to put the club in their back pockets (control and $$$-wise) or shun/marginalize/discredit the club and it's members.

And if said club runs it's own trips, then it can look forward to even more hard feelings on the part of those shops. Nevermind that trips have never been the sole purview of shops... or that large clubs provide a much-needed service, that of getting and keeping divers in the sport (divers who then go to shops to purchase their gear & training)... dive stores take a dim view of those they see intruding into their "territory". I can only imagine if that club tried to sell air fills, training, or gear (in a no-profit manner). Armageddon!

The enmity, misinformation-spreading, and disregard of some dive shops needn't be a fatal roadblock for a club's health, but it can certainly be a frustrating, exasperating feeling to know there are shops and employees working actively against you for no other reason than your having the temerity to bring divers together, ask for better prices, go on trips together, and have a bit of fun.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

From a West Coast (of the US) perspective: The moment a non-profit (or most any other) dive club gets big enough... or gathers a good bit of momentum... it will encounter resistance from many/most local dive shops. Those same dive shops will either attempt to put the club in their back pockets (control and $$$-wise) or shun/marginalize/discredit the club and it's members.

And if said club runs it's own trips, then it can look forward to even more hard feelings on the part of those shops. Nevermind that trips have never been the sole purview of shops... or that large clubs provide a much-needed service, that of getting and keeping divers in the sport (divers who then go to shops to purchase their gear & training)... dive stores take a dim view of those they see intruding into their "territory". I can only imagine if that club tried to sell air fills, training, or gear (in a no-profit manner). Armageddon!

The enmity, misinformation-spreading, and disregard of some dive shops needn't be a fatal roadblock for a club's health, but it can certainly be a frustrating, exasperating feeling to know there are shops and employees working actively against you for no other reason than your having the temerity to bring divers together, ask for better prices, go on trips together, and have a bit of fun.

While I have seen some of that attitude, in our area it's not prevalent. The two independent dive clubs I belong to have generally good relationships with local area dive shops, and while some shops do tend to be more predominantly represented in the club than others it's generally because the shop owner, manager or employees joined the club rather than the other way around. At club gatherings such as our annual spring BBQ or Christmas Party ... where we often augment our finances with raffles ... multiple local area dive shops are usually generous in donating gear, gift certificates, class offerings, or other prizes to be raffled. It makes sense ... our members are their customers, after all.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Power Scuba]

Bob, Some of that same thing happens down here in SoCal as well, but usually with a price. A truly independent club has a somewhat tougher row to hoe.

And, I would submit to you: SOME (if not "many") owners and store reps belonging to your clubs are not member for the purpose of simply diving and contributing to the common good. (And before you come back on that assertion, I wholly admit it's virtually unprovable. )

 

[KenGordon]

I can only imagine if that club tried to sell air fills, training, or gear (in a no-profit manner). Armageddon!.

In the UK there are clubs which are branches of BSAC, SAA or SSAC. Then there are 'clubs' operated by shops. These are a way of keeping the customers in the loop for training, trips, buying kit etc.

The purpose of a club is to go diving, so the proper clubs all provide free training. The member pays for materials and sometimes expenses. To be a member of a branch costs from next to nothing to a couple of hundred a year (pools are expensive to hire, kit needs buying and servicing). Some clubs have boats, compressors, trimix and here and there a building with a bar.

Decent shops value the clubs, they are their customers.

 

[Ojai Diver]

From a West Coast (of the US) perspective: The moment a non-profit (or most any other) dive club gets big enough... or gathers a good bit of momentum... it will encounter resistance from many/most local dive shops. Those same dive shops will either attempt to put the club in their back pockets (control and $$$-wise) or shun/marginalize/discredit the club and it's members.

And if said club runs it's own trips, then it can look forward to even more hard feelings on the part of those shops. Nevermind that trips have never been the sole purview of shops... or that large clubs provide a much-needed service, that of getting and keeping divers in the sport (divers who then go to shops to purchase their gear & training)... dive stores take a dim view of those they see intruding into their "territory". I can only imagine if that club tried to sell air fills, training, or gear (in a no-profit manner). Armageddon!

The enmity, misinformation-spreading, and disregard of some dive shops needn't be a fatal roadblock for a club's health, but it can certainly be a frustrating, exasperating feeling to know there are shops and employees working actively against you for no other reason than your having the temerity to bring divers together, ask for better prices, go on trips together, and have a bit of fun.

Do you have an LA chapter?

 

[Power Scuba]

Do you have an LA chapter?

Ojai, we don't have an L.A. chapter per se, but do have many current members who live in L.A. and even farther away. We do many trips out of San Pedro/Long Beach and points farther North and outside the country.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob, Some of that same thing happens down here in SoCal as well, but usually with a price. A truly independent club has a somewhat tougher row to hoe.

And, I would submit to you: SOME (if not "many") owners and store reps belonging to your clubs are not member for the purpose of simply diving and contributing to the common good. (And before you come back on that assertion, I wholly admit it's virtually unprovable. )

I'm not attempting to dispute what happens in California ... or prove anything. I'm just pointing out that the clubs I belong to don't have those problems.

I've said many times that I'm glad I live where I do. Seems when I travel to some of the parts of the country where diving's more popular ... like California and Florida ... I keep seeing all this dive shop politics dominating the diving scene. Sure, we get our share of it here, but it's easy enough to avoid if you want to ... and I do. Both of the dive clubs I belong to are, as you say, "truly independent". Neither is in any way affiliated with a dive shop. Both have dive shop owners, managers, and/or employees as members. The larger of the two even has a couple owners of dive equipment manufacturers as members. And I'm sure that there's some benefits to those people being members ... but that comes mostly from social networking, rather than from some expectation that the club shows them some sort of preference. But don't we see a lot of that even right here on ScubaBoard? There has been quite a lot of business success due to the social networking aspects of shop owners and equipment manufacturer owners being an active part of this forum. It's no different with dive clubs ... it's perfectly natural for those with a business interest to seek out potential clients in a social setting. And as long as it's a mutually beneficial relationship, I say more power to 'em ... that's how business should get done in an industry that's built around people having fun ... and that's mostly what I see happening in my dive clubs.

My only issue was that you spoke "from a West Coast of the US" perspective ... and you should perhaps have been a bit more regional, because we're west coast up here too, and apparently not with the same level of dive industry constraints you folks seem to be laboring with down there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)