Does your LDS dive club charge for membership?

[Debraw]

Does your LDS dive club charge for membership? Do you think LDS should provide a dive club and if you think they do, should they charge for it? If the LDS has a dive club should the owners be in charge of it, staff members or customers?

 

[TwoBitTxn]

Adventure Sports Club:

Yes, there is a membership fee both individual and family. I think it is a good way to foster loyalty to the shop. Membership for intructors and shop staff is optional. The club is it's own entity. Members get a shop discount. I'm not a member, namely due to the fact that I already have too much going on in my life and really don't need something else. If I join, I feel obligated to attend meetings, go on outings, and such.

TwoBit

 

[ReefHound]

I think dive clubs should be separate and independent of the LDS. Not to say that they should not work with local shops and encourage members to support their local shop, but I think it's important that dive clubs represent divers with no conflict of interest.

 

[Walter]

I wouldn't join a shop sponsored dive club.

 

[300bar]

I wouldn't join a shop sponsored dive club.

I fail to see the logic.
Lds has or rents a pool, aka pool training
Lds gives 'good' discount to members
Lds supports all kinds of activities
Lds gives free fills to members
Lds gives divers the uportunity to try new stuff
Lds can give discount on training

So I don't see why not,guess you have a different list

 

[scubashawn123]

If the LDS has a dive club should the owners be in charge of it, staff members or customers?

I feel that the big need (or call it a gap) in the dive industry is finding buddies after you get certified. Scubaboard is a great resource for that and I have enjoyed being a part of the Texas Swamp Divers since I moved to Austin. What a great group. The local dive shop club is really the group responsible to make this happen in the dive industry. Since I have a broad dive experience having lived on the East coast, Midwest and the West coast. I have seen a lot of LDS. It is an amazing experience to see how some treat this important opportunity poorly with certified divers, advanced divers or tech divers. Just a real shame and big need in the diving community.

To answer the question above, a LDS dive club absolutely needs a leader (I don't care who that actual individual is) who can bring excitement to local diving to the divers in that area. The divers of course naturally become the customer.

Why a luxury sport like scuba diving, that costs a lot of money to participate in has the attitude I have seen around the country from some LDS still baffles me. A good dive club at a LDS is part of the core business that me as a customer requires to be an active and avid diver.

I have seen a lot of wonderful divers who enjoy the sport, and I have seen a real failure by a lot of LDS to meet the active divers needs. A dive club is a perfect opportunity to meet the active local divers needs.

And that is why I personally am grateful for the Texas Swamp Divers postings and participation on Scubaboard, because it seems to be the best most consistent resource to connect with local divers in the area.

Shawn O'Shea

 

[ReefHound]

Maybe it depends on one's circumstances? An LDS sponsored club is not anything evil and I would join one if an independent alternative were not available. But some of the reasons I prefer my club to be non-affiliated with any particular dive shop are:

There are more than a dozen shops in my city, if each shop had their own club the dive community would be divided into factions. I believe a dive club should unite the dive community, to serve the interests of all divers regardless of their local (or online) shop preference.

As a non-profit, divers know our trips and events do not have a profit motivation. Any profits made are returned back to the members in other events such as the Xmas party.

Our club does not sell gear or classes therefore when we feature gear at our meetings it is purely to educate divers about that gear, not sell it. When we speak about training it is purely to better the skills of divers, not fill classes.

Dive shops come and go, look at how many have closed in the last few years. Dive clubs can last for as long as divers want them to.

Every member has the right to their opinion but as a club we do not sanction one shop over another, one manufacturer over another, or one agency over another.

 

[Debraw]

I could not agree with you more Shawn. Excellent post. It amazes me the number of shops that just sell gear and do nothing to promote diving as a sport. They don't even have to have something as official as a "diveclub" , at least they could do is have outings, regular trips to local dive spots not just blue water stuff. Not everyone can afford blue water trips every year. Maybe they could do free clinics for their divers, hone skills, introduce people to each other , have a buddy board in the shop. I don't know... get creative LDS's and dive clubs!

 

[Debraw]

Well i think I have stirred the pot more than enough today. I am off to dinner....

Discuss amongst yourselves.....I shall return!

 

[300bar]

Maybe it depends on one's circumstances? An LDS sponsored club is not anything evil and I would join one if an independent alternative were not available. But some of the reasons I prefer my club to be non-affiliated with any particular dive shop are:

There are more than a dozen shops in my city, if each shop had their own club the dive community would be divided into factions. I believe a dive club should unite the dive community, to serve the interests of all divers regardless of their local (or online) shop preference.

As a non-profit, divers know our trips and events do not have a profit motivation. Any profits made are returned back to the members in other events such as the Xmas party.

Our club does not sell gear or classes therefore when we feature gear at our meetings it is purely to educate divers about that gear, not sell it. When we speak about training it is purely to better the skills of divers, not fill classes.

Dive shops come and go, look at how many have closed in the last few years. Dive clubs can last for as long as divers want them to.

Every member has the right to their opinion but as a club we do not sanction one shop over another, one manufacturer over another, or one agency over another.

Reefhound,

Does your diveclub train new divers?
Do they have full sets of Equipment for them?
Do you have a filling station?
Does your dive club have acsess to the latest gear?
Does your diveclub rents a pool?
Can they get discount for their members?

I'm just finding out whats wrong with a LDS with a diveteam

cheers,

Evert