Why having a pool is so important for dive clubs

Kirsty Andrews addresses a perennial challenge for dive clubs – how to keep the tradition of pool night alive and finning.

Totalling up the club accounts for every BSAC branch’s AGM, there tend to be two large items of expenditure – boat-related costs, and swimming pool hire. The significant cost of the pool, often used just for training and a minority of swimmers is an old chestnut and source of strife in all the dive clubs I’ve ever been a member of over the years.

In my university BSAC club we didn’t have regular access to a pool. Sometimes student clubs are at the mercy of the union’s appetite or the available facilities. Our solution was to hire a pool for one full weekend and, in an operation worthy of the military, to get all of our Ocean Divers through their pool lessons over two jam-packed days. 

It was all I knew, and it worked pretty well, especially for divers who take to their new skills like, er, a duck to water. They don’t benefit, however, from the repetition of putting their kit together and doing their buddy checks week after week until they become second nature, or have much of a chance to reflect and consolidate new-found skills. And for those students who take a little longer to get to grips with mask-clearing, for example, there isn’t much wriggle room. I should note that my old club now has a weekly pool session; good for them. 

How about changing the charging structure? Some clubs don’t charge their members at all to use the pool; some charge a modest sum, and some have swimming-only members. Whichever way you cut it... there’ll always be fewer pool users than those who pay to use it

When I graduated and joined my new local club, I was wowed by the luxury of a weekly evening pool facility. But it was under-used, under-appreciated, and became increasingly contentious as costs went up. And I got a sense of deja vu today as I received an email from another club, also looking at ways to save pool costs. As it’s a perennial problem, I thought I’d set out some ideas that I’ve tried, to more or less success, in the hope they might be helpful to some clubs out there. 

Some pools may allow hire on a fortnightly basis, or seasonally during the Spring. Both feel to me like a bit of a slippery slope. And with many public pools closing over the years, it feels important to hold on to those we still have. 

How about changing the charging structure? Some clubs don’t charge their members at all to use the pool; some charge a modest sum, and some have swimming-only members. Whichever way you cut it, there are debates, and there’ll always be fewer pool users than those who pay to use it, so this often has to combine with ideas to increase usage. 

You could encourage one-off events such as first aid and rescue refreshers. Those seeking to practise skills or try new kit in safe spaces should be encouraged. Photographers too might be lured into the pool to try new camera gear. I once organised an octopush taster session, which was fun but convinced me that I really need to get fitter to enjoy that sport. Talking of which, it’s such a luxury to have our own effectively private pool, and fitness is so helpful in our sport, divers shouldn’t need too much cajoling to go for a swim (but we do, don’t we). 

Try dives are a potential source of funds, for prospective trainees or community groups such as the scouts. And if that doesn’t fill the financial hole, local clubs can consider sharing with another club, although this does require some compromise and thinking through the details. I’ve seen paying per user or splitting the monthly cost. Both are better than losing the facility altogether, in my view. For what is a dive club without a pool? 

Article ‘Just keep swimming’ by Kirsty Andrews first published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 153 March 2025.