SUSAC is a student-led branch of the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) with volunteer Nationally Qualified Instructors. We offer a variety of opportunities including SCUBA qualifications, snorkelling, UK & international trips, and even Underwater Hockey!
SCUBA Training
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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.
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Ocean Diver training, the first BSAC SCUBA qualification runs in semester 1. We run this with the help of instructors from the local Spring Valley lakes, with theory online, and pool training at Aberavon Leisure centre before finishing off with practical dives in the lake.
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If we have enough interest the next qualification, Sports Diver, runs in semester 2 with practical training for this often taking place during club trips.
Additional Training Courses
We also run a variety of BSAC Skill Development Courses (SDCs) including Compressor Operation, First Aid for Divers, Oxygen Administration to help divers expand their skill sets. There is also potential for groups of members to go on external boat handling courses such as PB2.
Underwater Hockey
We run weekly underwater hockey (UWH) sessions at Aberavon Leisure Centre on a Monday night 20:30 - 21:30 and organise lifts amongst 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 in this activity you only need a social membership and an UWH season or single session ticket. You don’t need dive kit hire 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
Whilst we try to get out for a couple day trips early in the first term and encourage suitably qualified divers to plan their own dives with our Dive Officer, the majority of our diving takes place after March when weather and visibility conditions improve.
We then look to run day trips 1-2 times a month to local sights on the gower and those slightly further up the coast like Stackpole Quay. Our first big trip is the long weekend Easter trip, which we usually run in Pembrokeshire staying in a bunkhouse and diving a couple times a day.
The biggest diving event of the year is our summer trip run in mid to late June which for the last two years we’ve run in Cyprus! Its a great week of warm water diving seeing amazing wrecks like the world famous Zenobia and some cool wildlife like turtles.
Equipment
As a student lead club we recognise that scuba diving is not a cheap hobby and we strongly believe that everyone should be able to enjoy the wonders of the underwater world. As a part of this we strive to have all the necessary equipment required to go diving available as a part of or kit hire cost for the year. We also have our own club compressor and so air refills are included in your dive membership.
On top of this we have our very own RIB (Rigid inflatable boat), Jaffa, which if not being used for dives we take out for boat trips throughout the year!
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 on 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 to work out which member of the committee the email would be 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 (£37 - covers you for public liability insurance) and SUSAC dive membership (£50 - 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 dive membership then you’ll 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 19:30pm.
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 round-about 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 simply for recreational purposes) will require a small petrol fee to put towards transport to the dive site, usually between £5-10 per person. There are also petrol costs associated with diving from our club boat which typically work out at 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. Both SUSAC and BSAC membership must be purchased to dive with the club. BSAC membership is not required for members exclusively playing underwater hockey.
Q: Can I still join SUSAC as a trainee even though training has already begun?
A: Yes! You can join SUSAC anytime of the year. However, if you are undertaking training with SUSAC you must be aware that training is organised voluntarily by the club. Therefore, if you have missed training sessions you will need to try to arrange a time which is convenient with us to teach you. All of SUSAC's instructors are volunteers and have their own schedule to keep - with this in mind, there may not always be a chance for you to complete your training if you have missed some of the sessions. SUSAC will attempt to organise repeat sessions for those that have missed them. However, these are not guaranteed and therefore you must bare in mind that 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 is unable to offer any training through any other syllabus 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 it's certifications allow you to dive to the specified depth anywhere in the world. It is recommended that you take your qualification and diving log book along with your certification card to any diving organisation outside of SUSAC that you wish to dive with.
SUSAC Refund Policy:
Please refer to this document for our general refund policy for the academic year. If you have any questions about it please email us!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1itMF9HuSVM825RIF-7KzIytDBtFfL0PoPjgvpANFJao/edit?usp=sharing