Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, BSAC understands that members, clubs, and centres may have practical questions on what the period of National Mourning will mean for your diving and snorkelling activities.
Out of respect, BSAC HQ and membership services will be closed on Monday 19th September for the Queen’s funeral.
Cabinet Office guidance
Guidance for the public and businesses has now been issued by the Cabinet Office. It covers, among other matters, how observing mourning can affect the continuation of events.
There is no expectation on the public or organisations to observe specific behaviours during the Mourning Period and there is no formal obligation for organisations or national governing bodies (NGBs) to postpone or cancel sporting events between now and the State Funeral.
Instead, it is up to the discretion of individual organisations and sports to consider how they should proceed during the Mourning Period.
Guidance for BSAC clubs and centres
You may already have plans in place and we recognise that it is the decision of each club or centre to establish the appropriateness of continuing scheduled activity.
We advise that in making these decisions, careful consideration is taken as to the requirement of running an event at this time, including if a postponement would adversely impact participants or the ability to plan future activity.
Should activity continue through the period of mourning, we recommend that social events are minimised, as a sign of respect, including prize-giving activities which could be scheduled for a later date.
If events are planned for the day of the State Funeral, you may want to adjust the event timings so they do not clash with the timings of the funeral service and associated processions.
Please contact Mary Tetley, BSAC CEO on maryt@bsac.com if you require further guidance.
