SUSAC is a student-led branch of the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC). Run by students and supported by BSAC-qualified volunteer instructors, we offer scuba training, recreational diving, snorkelling, underwater hockey, boat trips, socials and diving trips across the UK and abroad.
Memberships and Fees
Membership for Swansea Uni students that covers you for snorkelling, underwater hockey, boat trips, and socials Membership for non-Swansea Uni students that covers you for snorkelling, underwater hockey, boat trips, and socials
Membership for those who only want to come to socials
Fee for members who also want to go scuba diving with the club (one-off purchase)
Fee for scuba diving members who need to borrow club kit throughout the year (one-off purchase)
Weekly fee to attend our Monday night underwater hockey session
SCUBA Training
New to Diving?
We start our yearly agenda in early October with our SCUBA Try Dives at the Wales National Pool to give prospective members a chance to give Scuba a go.
Ocean Diver training, the first BSAC SCUBA qualification, runs in semester 1. We run this with help from instructors from the local Spring Valley lakes, with theory online and pool training at Aberavon Leisure Centre before finishing with practical dives in the lake.
Want to continue your diving progression?
If we have enough interest, the next qualification, Sports Diver, runs in semester 2, with practical training often taking place during club trips.
We also run a variety of BSAC Skill Development Courses (SDCs) including Boat Handler, Compressor Operator, First Aid for Divers, and Oxygen Administration to help divers expand their skill sets.
Underwater Hockey (Octopush)
We run weekly underwater hockey (UWH) sessions at Aberavon Leisure Centre on Monday nights, 20:30 - 21:30, and organise lifts among members in our UWH group chat.
What is underwater hockey? Actually, exactly what it sounds like: hockey but underwater! We have a heavy puck that sinks to the pool floor, and in a dive mask, snorkel, fins, UWH sticks, and some funky safety gear, we hold our breath trying to score goals.
To take part, you need membership and an UWH ticket (first session is free). You don’t need to hire a dive kit for this activity.
Just join our WhatsApp group chat to start coming along: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FLjmvu5yOQpD3jS3ZqiDdV
Socials
We run regular socials varying from themed nights out (can’t beat a Mama Mia social) and pub quizzes, to sober socials like pottery painting, beach nights, and trips to the board game cafe.
Diving with us
We dive year-round, with the busiest part of our diving calendar running from spring into summer.
During the year we organise local day & weekend trips around the Gower and South Wales, as well as trips further afield to sites such as Pembrokeshire. Qualified members can also organise club dives with the support of our Diving Officer.
Our Easter trip is normally our first major trip of the year, with several days of diving and accommodation together as a club. We went to Porthkerris last year and are planning to do the same again!
We also organise a larger summer trip after the academic year ends. Recently, trips have taken members overseas for warm-water diving, wrecks and marine life in Tenerife.
Equipment
As a student-led club, we recognise that scuba diving isn't a cheap hobby, and we strongly believe everyone should be able to enjoy the wonders of the underwater world. To support this, we aim to have all necessary diving equipment available as part of our kit hire cost for the year. We also have our own club compressor, so air refills are included in your dive membership.
On top of this, we have our own RIB (Rigid inflatable boat), Jaffa, which we take out for boat trips throughout the year when it's not used for dives!
For any queries, do not hesitate to contact us by email at subaqua@swansea-sports.co.uk
And make sure to follow our Instagram page: @swanseaunisubaquaclub
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: How do I keep up to date with club activities?
A: Make sure to follow our Instagram page, check your emails if you’ve signed up for our mailing list, keep up to date with the members' WhatsApp chat, or reach out to us by email if you have any questions.
Q: How do I contact a member of the committee for SUSAC?
A: For the quickest response, we encourage you to message the members' WhatsApp group or dm one of our committee members here; alternatively, use the society email address (subaqua@swansea-sports.co.uk). When emailing, please include a subject title, e.g. training enquiry, price enquiry, membership enquiry. This helps us work out which committee member the email is most relevant to.
Q: What fees do I need to pay to dive with the club?
A: As with all sports clubs, you’ll need Sports Swansea membership (this covers you for other sports clubs too). You’ll then need BSAC student membership (£42 - covers you for public liability insurance) and SUSAC dive membership (£20 + £40 - this covers our running fees and also covers you to have compressor air fills). Finally kit hire (£40 - allows you to borrow SUSAC dive equipment from cylinders to fins throughout the year, but if you have all your own kit then you don’t have to purchase this.
Q: What fees do I need to pay to play underwater or snorkel with the club?
A: If you already have a dive membership, then you’ll be all set to do either of these activities. If you’re not interested in diving or missed out on training this year, you can still join in with underwater hockey and/or snorkelling; you just need social membership. Also, if you pay for social membership and then decide you want to dive with us we can refund you the difference.
Q: What time does Underwater hockey occur?
A: Currently, our underwater hockey sessions run on a Monday evening, 20:30-21:30, at Aberavon Leisure Centre. Depending on what kit needs to be picked up from the kit room, we tend to leave Swansea at 19:30 pm.
Q: Where is the Wales National Pool/SUSAC Kit room?
A: Starting from the entrance to Fulton House, the best route to take is straight to the mini roundabout located close to Halls of Residence. Turn left here and follow the main road passing Singleton Hospital on your right. Cross Sketty Lane at the main junction and you have arrived at the pool (approx. 5 mins walk). For the SUSAC kit room, walk slightly past the pool (to the right of the main entrance) and down a short, steep hill.
Q: Are there any additional costs which are not stated above by membership and kit hire?
A: Yes, only a few. All diving trips (whether for training or recreational purposes) will require a small petrol fee to cover transport to the dive site, usually between £5-10 per person. There are also fuel costs for diving from our club boat, which typically work out to around £10 per dive. Some dive sites, such as National Diving and Activity Centre, Chepstow, require a fee to dive there - NDAC entry is £18 per day, for example.
Q: Why do I have to purchase SUSAC membership and BSAC membership?
A: BSAC (the British Sub Aqua Club) is the UK governing body for diving and is SUSAC's affiliated training agency - SUSAC is a branch of the BSAC. BSAC membership provides you with third-party liability insurance (specifically for diving) and is a requirement for all SUSAC members to be allowed to dive. You must have both SUSAC and BSAC membership to dive with the club. BSAC membership is not required for members who play underwater hockey exclusively.
Q: Can I still join SUSAC as a trainee even though training has already begun?
A: Yes! You can join SUSAC at any time of year. However, if you are undertaking training with SUSAC, you must be aware that training is organised voluntarily by the club. Therefore, if you miss training sessions, you will need to arrange a time that works for us to teach you. All of SUSAC's instructors are volunteers and have their own schedules; with this in mind, you may not always have a chance to complete your training if you miss sessions. SUSAC will attempt to organise repeat sessions for those who have missed them. However, these are not guaranteed, so you may not finish your training until the next academic year, when sessions will be repeated.
Q: Can I join SUSAC from another agency (e.g. PADI, CMAS, SSI, SAA etc)?
A: Yes, of course. Simply because you have dived with a different organisation in the past doesn't mean you cannot dive with SUSAC. Your diving will be restricted to your qualification limits. SUSAC can't offer training through any syllabus other than BSAC.
Q: Can I dive anywhere in the world with a BSAC qualification?
A: Yes! BSAC is an internationally recognised diving organisation, and thus its certifications allow you to dive to the specified depth anywhere in the world. It is recommended that you take your qualification and diving logbook along with your certification card to any diving organisation outside of SUSAC that you wish to dive with.
SUSAC Refund Policy:
Please contact us via email or Instagram for information about refunds.