History
The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) was formed in 1953 in London and now has over 1500 branches worldwide and over 43,000 members.  Its aim is to promote scuba diving as an amateur non-competitive sport and provide the highest quality training through its unique training programme.  BSAC branches and schools provide training for the grades of Ocean Diver, Club Diver, Sport Diver, Dive Leader and Advanced Diver levels.  Snorkelling courses are also available from these sources, which provides a sport in its own right.

Facilities & Equipment Required
The main items of scuba diving equipment include an air cylinder, diving regulator, buoyancy compensator jacket, wet suit, weight belt plus basic snorkelling equipment of mask, fins and snorkel.  Most schools and branches will provide this equipment during the training stage but you are expected to purchase your own equipment in order to continue the activity.  You must be 14 years of age to start training in a BSAC Branch or 12 years of age if training through a BSAC School.  You must be physically fit to pursue the sport.  Snorkelling, however, can be started at any age subject to parental consent for youngsters under the age of 12 years.

Benefits of Participating
Being able to swim freely underwater, watching fishlife and viewing the many wonders of the undersea world cannot be expressed in words.  Snorkelling also allows the diver to view these wonders without the added weight of scuba equipment.  Equipment allows photography underwater so that they are experiences that cannot be missed and expand your appreciation of Nature while allowing you to record what you saw.

Variations
Scuba diving is primarily for recreation and is limited to a maximum of 50 metres.  Other branches of the sport have become more technical and use Nitrox and mixed gas technology to exceed this limit.  Scuba diving is also available to people with other abilities through our disabilities awareness programme.