Scuba divers offering chance to take the plunge

Sub C Divers, based at Howe Bridge Leisure Centre, is hosting its annual try-out event next month to encourage newcomers into the sport.

The group, a branch of the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC), is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and also recently received a national award for an expedition to Northern Ireland it took part in.

First-time divers will be guided through the process of heading beneath the waves by qualified instructors and receive a certificate on completion of their first scuba dive.

Club diving officer Alf Draper said: “It is a really adventurous sport and anyone learning to dive with us can then go on to dive anywhere in the world.”

Anyone planning to try out scuba diving at the Eckersley Fold Lane sports facility must be aged 12 or over, in good health and able to swim at least 100 metres unaided.

The try-out session will begin with an introduction and safety briefing before the novice scuba divers get kitted out with an aqualung and head to the pool for one-to-one tuition.

Club members will be on hand to explain more about the sport and the group’s activities as well as answer any questions.

Sub C Divers operates a busy programme of events throughout the year including a Chairman’s Ball, underwater Easter Egg hunts and awards nights.

Once they have mastered the basics in the pool members can dive at outdoor venues across the country before heading out to more adventurous expeditions abroad.

Members of the Howe Bridge-based group have previously enjoyed their chosen hobby as far afield as the Red Sea, Indonesia and Australia.

The club has hit the headlines for various successes, including having member James Gardner become one of Britain’s youngest expert divers when he passed the Ocean Diver qualification in 2012 aged just 13.

The club also received BSAC’s expedition of the year prize last year for a trip to Rathlin Island to look for a mysterious object on the seabed, which was organised with a club in Bury.

The Try Dive night organised by Sub C Divers is at Howe Bridge Leisure Centre in Atherton on Wednesday. February 15.

Novice divers should arrive from 7.30pm for an 8pm

start.

The session costs £10, which is refunded to anyone who becomes a club member.

People who attend should take a towel, a costume or trunks and a T-shirt to wear in the pool.

For more information visit the website www.subcdivers.co.uk