FAQs

Based on experience over the years, please find answers to questions you might have about training and diving with Reading BSAC.

What is the minimum age to join?

The minimum age for training is 12 years old with a parent/guardian in the club

How much does it cost to become a member of Reading BSAC?

• A full diving member costs around £137 per annum. Please see our Membership Page for a full breakdown of our membership options and fees.

How much does it cost to become a qualified Ocean Diver (basic diving grade) with Reading BSAC?

• Excluding the purchase of personal kit (please don’t buy anything until you are sure diving is for you and then seek advice from your instructor / other club members), around £300. This includes annual BSAC and Reading BSAC membership, but excludes entry costs to open water dive sites and / or dive boats and also personal kit rental.
• Most dive kit (with exception of a drysuit) you need for your training can be borrowed from the Club. This is free of charge for new divers in training.
• Entry to inland over water dive sites where we do most of our open water dives cost between £15 to £25.

How long does it take to become an Ocean Diver with Reading BSAC?

• A lot depends on the availability of instructors (we are all volunteers) and the students (other commitments that conflict with planned training).
• Typically it takes between 3 and 6 months.
• If you want to get qualified quickly we have teamed up with Divecrew in Crowthrone to run fast track Ocean Diver courses. The course costs £545. Please speak to us for more details if you are interested in this option.

Do I need to be a fantastic swimmer?

• No, you need to be able to swim 200m without stopping and you will be tested on this as part of the Ocean Diver course. The more comfortable you are in water, the easier you might find certain skills (e.g. mask removal and refitting) but we have never had to give up on anybody yet.
• As long as your happy to come along, we are happy to train you.

What does Reading BSAC offer members?

• A dedicated Clubhouse – Designed and built by club members, our clubhouse facilities include boat store, equipment room, compressor area, lecture room, licensed bar and more.
• We have both an air and membrane nitrox compressor housed at our Clubhouse, offering air fills and nitrox fills up to 36% at very reasonable rates.
• We have BCDs, Regulators and Cylinders for rent to members at very reasonable rates if you don’t have your own kit or need some additional equipment. We have recently upgraded some of this equipment.
• We have qualified instructors – With a mixture of Advanced, Open Water and Assistant Instructors we have the ability to train members from beginners all the way to Advanced Divers.
• We have access to a 25m swimming pool with a 4m deep end. We rent the pool at the Abbey School, Reading.

What training do you offer?

We run Try Dives and Skills Refreshers for all agencies regularly. So, if you fancy giving Scuba Diving a go, please contact us. The try dives cost £30.

We run Ocean Diver (OD) training course yearly, normally starting February / March time so that new students are ready for Open Water training when the water gets warmer.

We run regular Sports Diver (SD), Dive Leader (DL) and Advanced Diver (AD) training within the club, these courses being run based on demand.

Our Club has experience of training over 1000 divers – Our Advanced and Open Water Instructors have a wealth of experience and knowledge in teaching scuba diving.

What social events do you have?

We meet every Thursday night at our Clubhouse in Palmer Park, Reading. We also run regular social events including:

• Quiz nights
• BBQ’s
• Special interest talks

What Diving Trips do you run?

We have a membership who decide where and when they want to dive – Members who are BSAC Dive Leaders and above can organise dive trips anywhere in the UK and Overseas.

We have an extensive annual UK diving program that covers both recreational and training needs. Places that we regularly visit include, Weymouth, Isle of Mull, Eyemouth, Isle of Man, Farne Islands, Cornwall, Portland, and many more. The club also organises and runs many diving trips abroad to numerous destinations including the Red Sea, Norway, Lanzarote, Maldives.

We regularly access UK inland dive sites (Wraysbury, Stoney Cove, and Vobster) for training and keeping dive skills current during the off season.

Do have any boats or diving equipment for hire?

We have two club RIBs and a towing truck. This gives us a lot more flexibility and opportunities when it comes to organising dive trips and providing different training courses. We have recently bought new diving equipment with the help of a Sports England Grant. We can supply all the equipment required for the Ocean Diver sheltered water training. Plus we can rent it out to members at a reasonable cost.

Still have question? please email on rbsacinfo@gmail.com.