BSAC Diving Conference returns after five years

After a five-year gap the BSAC Diving Conference returned on Saturday 19^th October, attended by hundreds of enthusiastic members.

Last held before the Covid pandemic in 2019, the Conference was BSAC’s biggest event of the 2024 calendar and brought together members from the length and breadth of the UK. The venue was the Vox at Birmingham’s NEC, which featured a main stage auditorium with separate rooms for breakout sessions, and a sponsor area to meet representatives from the dive industry.

Simon Rogerson

Andy Torbet

Main hall 

Ex-Para, stuntman and BSAC snorkeller Andy Torbet was main stage compere for the day. He didn’t parachute into the venue in the style of the Olympic opening ceremony, but managed the next best thing – a video of himself skydiving off the top of a balloon to kick off the proceedings. This lively intro set the tone for the morning, with first order of business a diving and training update from the two Sophies. Sophie Rennie took to the stage for the first time since her appointment as National Diving Officer, partnered with Sophie Heptonstall in her first Conference appearance as Head of Diving and Training.

Simon Rogerson

Sophie Rennie and Sophie Heptonstall

A core focus for BSAC is the future of the snorkelling programme. As a snorkeller since the age of 12 who never travels without his snorkel, as well writing a Scuba Magazine column dedicated to snorkelling, Andy Torbet shared the platform with Sophie H to discuss how snorkelling could attract new members and bring young people into the BSAC family. 

Simon Rogerson

L-to-R: Sarah Kingston, Jim Burke and Rebecca Martin

Many attendees were keen to get inspiration at the Conference and the ‘Thriving clubs share secrets of their success’ provided it, thanks to speakers from Aberdeen Sub-Aqua Club (Heinke Trophy 2023 winners), Bedford and Dublin University.

Simon Rogerson

Dr Celia Marlowe of Project Seagrass

This was followed by an update from Dr Celia Marlowe of Project Seagrass on volunteering opportunities for our divers and snorkellers, before Swedish diver Tiffany Norberg took the audience on a deep shipwreck journey to the bottom of the Baltic Sea.  

Simon Rogerson

Tiffany Norberg

Safety expert and ex-DAN president Dan Orr took to the main stage with his talk ‘Mistakes divers make’, which brought fresh perspectives on the important topic of diver safety.

Simon Rogerson

Clare Peddie

Appropriately, Clare Peddie took to the main stage next to deliver the latest Incident Report findings from 2023 – always one of the most popular briefings. She was joined by Jon Parlour to present the safety awards with a retelling of the skill and excellence of those receiving them.

Simon Rogerson

Dr Michelle Haywood MHK

Later in the afternoon Dr Michelle Haywood gave a fascinating talk on exploring the Mona’s Queen, the wreck of a WW2-era steamship involved in the evacuation at Dunkirk.

Frith Ellingham

Dan Orr (L) and Gaia Vince (R)

The floor then opened up to all for the open forum Q&A, before environmentalist and author Gaia Vince painted a picture of the future where humans live with warmer oceans.

A huge thank you to our generous sponsors - without their support, the BSAC Diving Conference would not have been possible: