Dive Clubs

[DiveCaptDean]

Hello All-
Just as curious about dive clubs.....What do you want to see in a dive club and what do you expect from one. 

[arcFlash]

This board takes care of much of my wants. I haven't dove with most of you but that's just a matter of time.

I would like to find a primary buddy and then post invites on this board about when and where we will be. A club may provide that exposure but it may not prove efficient.

[LKunze]

I guess I've never been interested in clubs.  Like arcFlash said, this board covers my diving needs pretty well too.  I've been fortunate to meet and dive with many people using this site as a tool for communication.  Clubs can get a little too clicky for my taste.  Generally speaking it's pretty easy to hookup with other divers through mnscuba.com and find a good buddy or group of divers to dive with.  There are many great people in our dive community.

[DiveCaptDean]

Ok,
Is it at all attractive to you that a properly run club would have the ability to get dive discounts on charters and trips..air fills...and even equipment?...  or are some of these benefits still not enough to interest you in such clubs?.......I do see that many of you get together quite often and than many of you know each other pretty well...I think this is great!!!!!!I i think this board has alot to do with that........but still feel that there may be room for a club....any more thoughts????

Deano

[Dano]

Like this board, a club is beneficial as to the extent you put into it. It takes a monthly, weekly or whatever commitment for the member to benefit. It takes a group of people to keep it interesting, informational, active and somewhat of an organization. I used to belong to a fishing club. I learned a lot. Became a better fisherman. Fished with several different people.

There was a yearly award for various achievements, which meant competition. And that's OK. But, the better of the group fished with likewise and so on. I think it turned some of the newer members off and they dropped out.

I could see similar things happening with a dive club. If all activities could keep everyone on the same playing field, keep it interesting from month to month, inexpensive, organized, etc. you'll do OK. But, expect turnover. It just happens.

A side note: I hope competition, whatever it may be, in a dive club doesn't drive someone to exceed their personal ability or comfort zone.

There is or use to be a dive club in the Twin City area. Diving frogs or something. Check them out.

[Kirk]

I actually started diving locally in part because of a local dive club.  One day, about 6 or 7 years ago I was out snorkeling in Little Long Lake west of Mound, MN.  Some folks showed up to dive, I spoke with them a while, and learned they were part of the Twin Cities Dive Club.  It wasn’t (or isn’t, not so sure they are still around) much of a club, but more of a message board on the internet, that if you want to go diving, you posted on the forum when and where, and you got some dive buddies lined up.  That website had dwindled, and I think it is now gone.  I think in part because this web site serves that same function.

Since I mostly dive alone these days, I don’t really see a need for such a club personally, but others can obviously benefit from such a resource (whether it be called a club, or just an online forum to find a buddy for the day).   Ironically, as a non joiner, today I actually belong to a couple dive clubs.  Not so much for the companionship, but for what the clubs do.  These clubs use my and other peoples’ membership fees to negotiate landlord relationships to provide access to great dive sites, and in some cases buy that access.  The clubs are National Association for Cave Diving or the “NACD” and the National Speleological Society, Cave Diving Section or the “NSS CDS”.  The later actually has a great sales pitch to increase their membership, “so, you want to dive the most beautiful dive site in the world, well Cow Sink is free, so long as you join the club.”  There is another local club around here called the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society, the “GLSPS”.  I’m not a member of that one, but I think they do good work.

Local dive shops also fill a big part of this need.  They get you certified, sell you a bunch of gear you need, arrange evening dives at sites such as Perch, Square, and Little Long, and weekends out at Wazee, Crosby, and the Madeira.  The goal of course is that certification leads to a life time relationship.  They used to make money selling gear, though the world has gotten a lot smaller recently.  Customer says, “I need this item”.  Dive shop owner says, “I don’t have that item, but I can order it”.  Customer responds, “I can order it too”. 

Dive shops aren’t making much money on trips either.  With the iffy weather on Lake Superior, customers are only willing to pay so much to dive the shipwrecks on Isle Royale.  And with the high cost of gasoline, those dive operators aren’t pulling in a whole lot of money (though with the RLT Diver down to one engine, hopefully Ralph was able to save a bit on gasoline, though I suspect if he wants to keep operating, he might wish to do a bit of maintenance on his boat).

Eventually I suspect local dive shops in the Twin Cities will go the way of local video stores (unless of course they adapt to the times).  Sadly, I see them closing one by one.  I used to work for a Community Development Corporation.  Regardless of the mission statement, the mantra was always “develop or die”.  In the local dive shop scene, it should be, “certify or die.”  The local shops are going to get their income from divers taking classes, and from brand new divers buying gear at full retail price prior to and immediately after getting certified. 

I suppose fills could always be a role for dive clubs in the future.  Right now there are a bunch of dive shops in the Twin Cities with compressors, and some which provide other gases such as Oxygen, Helium, and Argon.  But most of them don’t make much money pumping gas.  Some charge a huge premium to pump anything but air (nor do I blame them necessarily, time is money, and it takes time to mix gas).  Some of the shops down in North Florida actually can make some money doing fills, all at 7 cents at a time (the cost of a cubic foot of 32% Nitrox). 

Today, I don’t see a dive club having much use to me.  In the future, if and when all the local dive shops close their doors, it would be nice to have a group of people together collectively owning an air compressor or two, a bunch of bank bottles, a couple Haskells (or better yet, some Masterlines), an account with the local gas supplier, and some fill whips.  I foresee filling parties, with beer and sandwiches.  Sure it still takes time, but one’s time is no longer at a premium if you are doing something you enjoy.  - Kirk

[Nemo]

If all the Dive Shops close, how will new divers learn to dive and get certified? On line, I don't think so. As long as there are divers there will be Dive Shops.

[DiveCaptDean]

I see a properly run dive club as a group of people that enjoy talking and learning about diving as much as they enjoy diving.  There are meetings..dues..etc, but what i feel is that a dive club is there to support a local shop..while they wouldnt have a direct affilitaion with the shop, there may be some folks from that shop in the dive club.  The club should support that shop with its business and thus the shop would support that club by offering discounts on equipment, service and travel....we all like to dive...most of us like to talk about it and learn more about it...meetings could be held at that shop and the staff may even bring out equipment to try on, discuss, or maybe just discuss things like nitrox, drysuits, equipment maintenance..gear configuration or any topic under the diving sun that the club may be interested in...have some snacks..have some drinks..and support each other...discount would be available for travel...both local and non local trips with club discounts..the bigger the club ets.....the better perks tha club would get for referring their members to that dive shop...and on and on and on...

does any of this appeal to folks???

[Roger Southwick]

Things I appreciate about our dive club:

• We can share ownership of expensive equipment that would be impractical or under-utilized by an individual owner: booster pump, fill whips, banks of helium, zodiac dive boat.
  
• It provides a reason to write up trip reports for a newsletter, which are fun to read years later when you're bored at work.
  
• Newer divers (who might be reluctant to ask to dive with an experienced diver) can find mentors.
  
• Organized club activities allow us to meet divers from other areas.  For example, we met a lot of people during our goofy "Pirates Up the Wazee" events, because people tend to ask you "why are you dressed like a pirate?"  Normally people aren't so inquisitive.
  
• The meetings themselves can be fun, since we have ample time to vist.  Plus there's beer.
  
• Some standing traditions get us out diving in winter, when most of us would otherwise just sit at home: Turkey Dive, Mexican Ice Dive, Bunny Dive.
  
• The club provides some things that an online forum cannot, like hands-on equipment demos and Q&A sessions.  We still use a forum too.
  
• Guest speakers are willing to give presentations on interesting topics.
  
• Most of all, it provides a captive audience for my slideshows.  >