How to Start a dive club

[opie712]

I don't know if this is the right spot or not but I'll give it a go. Being from a small land locked town Scuba or I thought was very small less than 5 divers I knew but I have stated seeing few and few more so I would like to start a club for the divers now to meet and interact as well as getting new people started all of this is nonprofit and for no ones benefit but the members them self but it would be fun to get group trips going and things of that nature IM all about promoting the sport and meeting new people any help or ideas would be of great help

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

The best way in my experience to start a dive club is to just get a small group of divers to meet up regularly to talk diving. Pick a decent restaurant, call up a few divers and get together for some food and tall dive tales....see where it goes from there.

 

[tbone1004]

if you have a dive shop or quarry close by that is also a good way to start one up. They tend to attract everyone anyway. You have to find a reason for them to get together though. If there is a pool that the shop has or an indoor one someone has access to, it is common for shops to have a once a month type thing where it's "explore sidemount", or "learn how to run lines" or "vintage gear day" or other types of workshops to get everyone learning about new stuff, afterwards head out to a decent restaurant and shoot the sh!t over beer and talk.

Only other way is to have a shop run it and have it based around diving trips that people will take. It's a very polarizing idea because you have those that don't care about advancing their diving skills but want to fly to see the pretty fish, and those that want to become better divers. The two crowds have a bit of overlap, but the first group isn't much of a "let's meet every other week or once a month to talk and learn" type group so much as they just want someone to coordinate the trip for them.

 

[opie712]

They is no quarry or shop within at least an hour an half is why I was thinking of one getting the divers in "our area" together the only dive spot is the local lake which has a few good sites as before the lake was made they was a major town there which in now underwater but other than that you have to travel to dive

 

[Searcaigh]

A town under water sounds interesting.

I was part of an unofficial underwater photography club in Jeddah about 20 years ago.

We met once a month to show our best six slides of the preceding month at our homes, each member taking it in turn to host the meeting with food and drink provided by the host.

You could do something similar, however I would suggest hiring a private room in a pub or restaurant once a month to discuss various topics and if possible involve any LDS in your vicinity.

 

[Z Gear]

I don't know if this is the right spot or not but I'll give it a go. Being from a small land locked town Scuba or I thought was very small less than 5 divers I knew but I have stated seeing few and few more so I would like to start a club for the divers now to meet and interact as well as getting new people started all of this is nonprofit and for no ones benefit but the members them self but it would be fun to get group trips going and things of that nature IM all about promoting the sport and meeting new people any help or ideas would be of great help

Lots of people like to communicate via the internet, they feel they can check things out first and mull it over till it feels right to them.
Why don't you start a web page for people to blog or post based on your location. Like example: Scuba addicts ST (small Town)USA. Present some local topics for discussion, like the lake and areas to explore in the lake.You can also talk about important things like safety and gear, but I think at the beginning its best to stick to fun subjects.You can even mention if any one would like to try out or has a cool gadget the would like to show others like camera mounts, lights, scooters etc... Once you get some people to talk throw out a day for a dive meet up. Tell them the dive plan and exact time and place to meet.Get confirmation of those interested in meeting up,especially the day before the dive is to happen. Perhaps you can later be in charge of getting a few shirts made for your regular members and make it official!!!

 

[opie712]

Sounds great thanks for the advice

 

[luscioman]

I would suggest getting it started on Facebook and posting some link on craigslist about it.

 

[sheeper]

reaching out via Facebook and Twitter is a great start. We started our club with a few friends and social media. 3 years later we have 250 members on our Facebook page and a group of regular divers that ranges from NY to the keys. Check out the Vero Beach Scuba Club on Facebook and our website www.verobeachscubaclub.org

 

[Mustard Dave]

There are a few groups that have popped up on Facebook in my region. There are no membership fees, no committees, no overheads and no politics. Anybody wanting to dive can simply look who is diving where or share their own plans. One of the groups has negotiated a deal with a nearby inland dive site where any member can get unlimited diving for £100 a year.

My club is attached to a PADI dive school. Once upon a time, it was a BSAC dive club. One of the founding members set up a dive school as demand was growing from people who just wanted to dive on holiday and would rather pay for a crash course rather than train over the course of a few weeks or months within a club. Over time, PADI became more widespread worldwide so they began offering PADI training too. Eventually they stopped doing BSAC courses altogether. The club now is pretty informal. We pay £40 a year which allows us to use the pool on a Monday evening. There is no committee or central funds. Some of us meet every Monday in the pub and generally trips are organised by individual members on a not for profit basis.

With the age of the internet, the traditional club seems unnecessary - you just need a group of like-minded people and a means to communicate.