Should I join a dive club at a local shop?

[DiverBuoy]

As Chickdiver said join more than one. Many clubbers here in So Cal belong to more than two ...

 

[AliKat]

I agree with most of the others...join the club, or 2 or 3 if the dues aren't too bad.

I'm moving to Hawaii soon and am looking at joining 2 of the clubs there. Primarily because the members get some pretty good discounts on boat dives air fills etc, but also, to have more dive buddies available to me.

 

[chepar]

AliKat once bubbled...
I'm moving to Hawaii soon and am looking at joining 2 of the clubs there. Primarily because the members get some pretty good discounts on boat dives air fills etc, but also, to have more dive buddies available to me.

Ali, when are you moving out this way?

victoria, as the others have said, clubs come in all shapes and sizes (and costs). There are several clubs I loosely belong to. A couple have no membership dues, and basically offer half priced rates on their club boat dives. Another charges a yearly fee, but also offers a certain amount of free air fills, discounts on merchandise, half priced rates on any of their boat dives (club or not) as well as opportunities for dive travel.

Between the different dive clubs I am able to get out and dive on my admittedly limited schedule. As you're in Texas, getting out with TSDT is a great place to start. Like TwoBit said . . . 4 times , they are really neat, great, nice and friendly. They get out diving so much, I suffer from dive club envy.

 

[AliKat]

Chepar,

Will be out the end of next week house hunting and then the kids (3 cats) and I move move for good on the 1st of March.

 

[chepar]

AliKat once bubbled...
Will be out the end of next week house hunting and then the kids (3 cats) and I move move for good on the 1st of March.

Hooray! Another (soon to be) Hawaii based ScubaBoard member! For some reason, there aren't too many of us out here (must be because everyone's too busy diving and not sitting in front of a computer ).

I'm always looking for dive buddies, so if you'd like to head out one day, drop me a PM.

 

[art.chick]

I joined a club not affiliated with a shop about a year ago. Our meetings are informative, giving updates on laws that affect our activities and dive reports. Our local trips are neat - we get to go places that the average chartered dive boat cannot. The senior members have lots of experience that they are willing to share with those willing to listen. However, on our trips, it is more of a free-for-all than the average boat trip. They take it for granted that you know what you are doing & do not need to be kept track of. There are several clubs I know of like that. The members prefer not to be "babysat" but the format of the dives may be a little scary for less experienced divers.

I think it would be worth going to an initial meeting & asking some questions, or, rather, telling them about you & asking if you are an appropriate member of that club. I love being a member of a club, but I would have chosen differntly if I had been shopping 2 years prior.

 

[Debraw]

We joined a local dive club last year. It was not affiliated with any shop but did cooperate with all shops in the general area. I liked the idea of joining a club that I didn't feel was biased since they weren't really a LDS club. Come to find out they were kind of associated with an LDS because they started it and then it took a life of it's own. Anyway, I started a scuba shop this year and I have no plans on starting an official scuba club. I am just going to organize some local outings to get people diving.

 

[pops]

they aint no swamps in in austin. we's civilized here.