The Lincolnshire Association of Sub Aqua Clubs was formed in 1987. It was formed from an original idea from Gaenor Power from Grantham BSAC to make contact with as many clubs in Lincolnshire as possible to see how they would view the idea of forming an Association.
Instead of previous rivalries it was suggested that an organisation could be created which would both encourage social contact and also promote training by offering courses on a county level, thus helping to standardise instruction and make use of expertise within the different clubs.
The initial meeting was held in a local pub: - the then BSAC regional coach gave his support to the scheme as all of the clubs did by donating a fiver to start the funds and by giving the official backing of the BSAC at this level.

The Association went forward over the next couple of years following the track already described. Eventually it was felt that some sort of regional dive show could focus on the strategic role that the Association was now playing by seeking the backing of dive shops, travel companies and allied members of the diving world. This was the start of the three dive shows organised by the Lincolnshire Association "Diving into the Nineties" was held in Lincoln in 1990 followed by Dive 91 and Dive 92 using the combination of famous names to give presentations combined with support of many of the countries well known manufacturers, it used the same format that is now accepted as the format for the two national dive shows in the UK.
Over the years various events have been hosted by the Association, The audio-visual evenings are a great success; the latest presentation was by Les Kemp with his 3D show.
The seal virus epidemic saw the Associations involvement grow as Mike Brett became involved with the British Marine Life Rescue, a connection that is still strong today despite the untimely death of Mike. His son James now continues the role as the East Coast team co-ordinator, active in rescues and the running of courses.

The Association still works on the original principle of pooling resources from within all of the clubs to host training courses either diving training lectures or, with the use of the area coaches and advanced instructors, BSAC skill development courses. The skill development courses that are run share equipment and facilities to make the courses happen such as branch run Oxygen Administration Courses where each of the clubs donate the use of their oxygen kits. The association utilises instructors from within the alliance to instruct on these courses where possible. Instructors are encouraged to assist on the courses; this then allows them to gain BSAC approval to go on to teach the courses themselves. Even the instructors gain experience this way. We have a monthly meeting with representation from each of the clubs, either the chairman, diving or training officer and anyone else who wishes to come along. (For a beer!) All relevant information is published in a monthly newsletter, which goes to each individual club to be included into part of their club meeting.
The association was formed totally non-profit making and open to all governing bodies of club, purely to promote the sport of Scuba Diving. Over the years it has received sponsorship from organisations such as Regal Holidays, this has helped with photocopying and postage costs.
Each club pays an annual membership fee of £ 10.00 to the Association.
Any of the clubs members attending Instructor Exams receive £20.00 for passing and £10.00 if unsuccessful. This is used as a means of encouragement for members to give their support to future association run courses.

The association has grown over the years and now boasts a membership of 16 branches, the branch memberships range from 20 to 80 members.
They are:
Lincolnshire Youth - Boston Snorkellers - Lincoln and District - Viking Divers - Waddington - Lincs Divers - Misterton - Mansfield - Grantham - Cranwell - Skegness - Spalding - Sceptre - Bingham - Newark - Boston.

We try to have a full calendar of activities and courses planned for each year. An average year would include a full day of Dive Leader lectures, with the students then going back to their respective clubs for their exams. Three or four SDC's ( Skill Development Courses ) possibly Oxygen Administration, Dive Planning & Marshalling, Boat Handling, Search & Recovery and maybe Practical Rescue Management.
There has been a lot of interest lately in becoming a Marine Mammal Medic with the day course run by the ( BDMLR ) British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

The members of the committee and the clubs give an enormous amount of time, enthusiasm and expertise to the association continuing the success it has enjoyed from the beginning.
Having the ability to organise and run theory and practical courses locally, reducing travel and keeping course costs affordable. Local club contact and communication via the association is a great benefit giving divers the opportunity to share experiences in forums such as the Regional Conference and Audio-visual evenings. It also encourages divers to attend courses as they are locally run and you can usually find someone that you have seen on a previous course to catch up with!
More clubs equals more diving opportunities/trips both in the UK and abroad!!
The Association now as always welcomes anyone along to their meetings and encourages them to get involved with a sport that we all love.

In 1999 the association felt the way forward was to display what they do on a Web site, a way of distributing information and for everyone to visit and hopefully see what we are and learn from many years of enjoyed connections with other like-minded people. To let everyone gain knowledge from the experience!

In April 2000 the Association had a T-shirt printed the design of which is also the front page of the Web Site. The idea of the T-shirt is so that the association is taken into each individual club on a regular basis by people wearing a T-shirt with their own club name on it and those of the other clubs in the association.

The Association meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 20.30hrs in The Coach & Horses at Billinghay, Nr Lincoln.

The Association has been unique for at least twenty years, there is now we believe a group of clubs around Derby started an Association and a group from Northampton who want to visit us to find out how Lincolnshire has been successful over the years.

As new divers come forward and feel enthusiasm for the concept of the Lincolnshire Association, it is extremely gratifying for those who have seen it grow and strengthen through the years. To feel that in many ways it is the envy of many clubs throughout the UK and a true justification for those few who, in the early days, believed in the value of creating an organisation for the benefit of the ordinary sports diver.
May many other clubs have similar success

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