News

03/04/2024  Make your voice heard regarding the closure of the NHS Recompression Chamber at Dunstaffnage, near Oban.

The closure of this chamber means that decompression incidents on the West Coast will now need helicopter (or Ambulance) transport to Aberdeen increasing delay and risk to affected divers.  You can express your views directly to your MSP or MP and by signing the online petition https://www.change.org/p/prevent-the-closure-of-the-nhs-recompression-chamber-at-dunstaffnage-near-oban

29/03/2024  Easter Holidays - HQ closed.

Please note that the office is closed from 29Mar - 10Apr for the Easter Holidays.  If you have an urgent query during that time, please contact the relevant member of the Board.  Thanks.

25/03/2024  Upcoming Courses

After the successful delivery of courses in Feb/Mar, plans are being progressed for further courses, but we can already confirm the following:

  • Branch Instructor – 20th April 2024
  • Deep Dive – 11th / 12th May 2024
  • Nitrox – 25th May 2024

Courses are only run where there is sufficient interest so…

Please register your interest on JustGo by adding your name to the Waitlist (in JustGo – Click on Events and Courses>>Click on the relevant course>>Click on Add to Waitlist.  Note: Club Admins can also do this for members of their Branch). 

If you have any questions, please do contact the relevant Course Director and if you have any problems adding yourself to the Waitlist, please contact HQ.  Thanks.

19/03/2024  Keep our Pools Open

Scottish Swimming have a petition in the Scottish Parliament at the moment to keep swimming pools open as they are so vital not just for swimmers but for other sports such as our own who use them for techniques, training and safety.

This petition is being considered in Parliament on Wednesday 20th March and it will be great to get as many signatures on it ahead of this.

The petition link is here. Recognise the value of swimming pools and provide financial relief to help keep pools open - Petitions (parliament.scot)

13/02/2024  Update on upcoming training courses

The significant work to ensure courses are running to meet demand is bearing results with following courses taking place in Feb/Mar:

  • Thursday 15th Feb – CWPS (Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport)
  • Sunday 25th Feb – Club Examiner Course
  • Sunday 10th Mar – First Aid/Heartstart/Oxygen Administration Course
  • Saturday 16th Mar – ScotSAC Nitrox Course
  • Saturday 16th Mar / Sunday 17th Mar – Regional Instructor Course

Thank-you to all those involved in arranging and delivering these courses.

9/01/2024

We hope the Christmas and New Year period was good to you and you are all ready to try out any shiny new kit Santa brought!

Membership Fees:

Please note that the updated membership fees as agreed at our AGM are now in operation and you can refer to them in the table on the Join Now page.

Training Courses:

There is significant activity in progress getting courses scheduled to meet demand.  The current plans are as follows:

  • HeartStart / O2.  Next course is 14th January 2024. Course is now full, but planning is underway for the next course (potentially mid February) – please register your interest on JustGo
  • Deep Diving.  Next course 13th / 14th January 2024.  Course is now full, but planning is underway for the next course – please register your interest on JustGo
  • CWPS course (essential if you instruct in a branch that has juniors).  Next date 15th February 2024 (Virtual). Spaces available – please register your interest on JustGo.   Branch CPOs will be given priority, however future courses will be scheduled to accommodate demand.
  • Nitrox.  Next Course 16th March 2024 in HQ.  Spaces available – please register on JustGo if you want to attend.
  • Regional Instructor. Date TBC but targeting mid/late March 2024.  The course is now full, but please speak to your Regional Coach if you want to take your instructing contribution to this level.
  • Branch Instructor.  Next course TBC but targeting April – Spaces available.  Please speak to your BDO and/or Regional Coach if you want to progress to become an instructor in your branch. You can then register your interest by joining the waitlist.

Note that in JustGo, when the course you wish to attend is full, you still have the option to join the waitlist for the course – that gets you into the queue for the next one or onto the scheduled one should a space become available.  If you have any problems registering onto the waitlist, please contact HQ.

 

8/12/2023

Christmas/New Year: Please note that the ScotSAC office will be closed from 22Dec to 7Jan inclusive.  Urgent items can be addressed to the Chair or to the NDO by email as appropriate.

7/12/2023

Reminder: Please be aware that there is only one postal collection per week from Caledonia House (on a Wednesday), so please allow for that when expecting qualification logbooks for new members of your branch.  Once Kirsty has the logbook packaged up, it can take up to a week for it to actually leave the building.

1/12/2023

Scottish Sub Aqua Club
Please note that our office at Caledonia House | 1 Redheughs Rigg | South Gyle Edinburgh | EH12 9DQ is open: 

Monday and Thursday on 0131 625 4404

Also available by phone only on Tuesday on 07543 673 616

Email: hq@scotsac.com | Website: www.scotsac.com   | Membership login: scotsac.justgo.com

 

18/7/2022

New Admin and Finance Officer

After much searching we are delighted to welcome Kirsty Carella as our new Admin Officer.  Kirsty comes to us with lengthy experience in administrative roles in various settings.

She started work with us on 18th July 2022.

She will be working 21 hours per week, her working days are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

AGM 2020

21/01/2020

 

The Adam Curtis Memorial Conference Conference will not go ahead this year and is being planned for October 2021 instead

 

Website and Outlook - Distruption

04/09/2019

As you may know the website was down at the beginning of the week but this has now been resolved and the site is available again.  Unfortunately outlook is only receiving emails at the moment.

If you have sent an email and not yet received a reply, please be patient as you should hopefully get a response later today.  If your enquiry is urgent please contact HQ on 0131 625 4404

regards

HQ

AGM

27/08/2019

The date for the ScotSAC AGM has been set for Wednesday the 30th October 2019.  To be held at ScotSAC headquarters, Caledonia House.

Please be there for 7pm for a 7.30pm start.  Light refreshments will be available.

Illegal scallop dredging in Marine Protected Areas

19/12/2018

 

You may have seen David Ainsley on TV talking about having recently seen a boat apparently scallop dredging in the Marine Protected area around the Garvellachs.

Many ScotSAC divers will be familiar with this area and be aware of the recovery the seabed has undergone over the years when the area has been protected from scallop dredging.

Following a meeting in Oban which included many interested parties such as scallop divers, sports divers , creel fishers and Coastal Community groups a statement has been prepared and sent to Rosanna Cunningham and Fergus Ewing and other appropriate politicians.

There are existing laws to protect these areas and they are not being enforced. 

David believes there have been nearly 100 reports of suspected illegal dredging in MPAs between August 2015 and May 2018, but there have been very few prosecutions and only very small fines.  Marine Scotland seem to be very reluctant to pursue these illegal activities.

ScotSAC has added it’s support to the statement but if anyone wants to lobby MSPs individually please feel free.

"NEWS FLASH" - CYLINDER TESTING

19/12/2018

 

The new  BS EN ISO 18119:2018 Gas Cylinders-Seamless steel and seamless aluminium-alloy cylinders and tubes – Periodic inspection and testing has been issued which supersedes BS EN 1968:2002 and BS EN 1802:2002

The standard recommends:

‘Local regulations will specify the interval of periodic inspection and test. In the absence of any local regulation as a guide, an internal examination every year with a periodic inspection test as 5 yearly intervals should be carried out. However, if on completion of a risk assessment and the specific use of a cylinder indicates that there is a low risk of internal degradation then the interval for carrying out an internal examination can be increased to a maximum of 2.5 years.’

The last sentence was inserted at the last minute by the concerted efforts of the UK Recreational diving community, who have also prepared the attached Risk Assessment, which will mean that for the majority of ScotSAC members the current 2.5 year cycle will remain provided the good practice noted in the Risk Assessment is followed.

Members should be aware that these regulations will require cylinders to be tested annually unless compliance with best practice outlined in the risk assessment can be demonstrated.

Risk Based Assessment of Cylinder Internal Examination Periodicity

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