Kingston and Elmbridge are a well established club and is one of the original branches of the British Sub Aqua Club, having formed in 1955. Our current membership allows us to organised a wide range of diving both in the UK and abroad, as well as maintain our own clubhouse (with bar!), boat, compressors and a full diver training programme – from beginners to advanced divers.
Membership Includes:
- Training – our instructors train our members for FREE!
- Equipment – Don’t worry if you don’t have your own dive equipment, we are happy to lend it to you for the duration of your training and even after your training has completed you can still hire club equipment at very reasonable rates.
- Club Boat – The club has a club boat called SeaKing, she is a Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) set up for diving, based out of Newhaven Marina. She is available to any club member with appropriate qualification. The cost of diving off the RIB is the cost of petrol used that day split between those diving.
- FREE Air Fills – we offer all club members FREE air fills on club nights. Our two 35cfm compressors provide Nitrox Compatible “clean” air. We also offer Nitrox and Trimix fills, where you pay for any Oxygen or Helium used at cost.
- Full Diving Programme – We arrange a variety of diving activities from day trips to the south coast, to holidays in more exotic locations! There’s always a diving activity to suit all abilities, budgets and interests. Not only that there are a range of interests within the club, from trimix technical diving, cave diving right down to novice training dives.
- Clubhouse & Facilities – We have our own clubhouse with full facilities, which is open Thursday evenings from 8pm – 11:30pm, and we have our own well stocked licensed bar! The clubhouse is also available for FREE to members to hire for functions during the year.
- A FANTASTIC Social Scene – It’s not all about the diving; the club has a very active social side with parties, barbecues, an annual dinner dance, bands, meals out, day trips, bowling, paint balling, quizzes and talks. We believe Kingston and Elmbridge is one of the friendliest dive clubs around. Family and friends are always welcome at Social Events too!
We meet every Thursday at our club house 8pm – 11:30pm.
See our Contact Us page to find directions.
If you are training or you are member and would like to swim we meet at 8pm at:
The Malden Centre
32 Blagdon Rd
New Malden
KT3 4TA
No. Like any hobby or recreation, you can invest however much you want, depending upon your interest level.
Because as a club we can loan equipment (most dive centres and resorts also rent equipment), you can invest in equipment over time, renting what you don’t have.
There’s probably good diving not far from where you live, so travel costs can be flexible enough to accommodate even the tightest budget.
Most people find the costs of scuba diving similar to the cost associated with skiing or mountain biking.
No. You need to be reasonably proficient and comfortable in water. You must swim 200m nonstop, without a specific stroke or time requirement. It’s not a race!
Not necessarily. Any condition that affects the ears, sinuses, respiratory function or heart function or may alter consciousness is a concern, but only a doctor can assess a person’s individual risk.
No, in fact, it’s probably easier than you imagine. Especially if you are already comfortable in the water?
All diving is taught by highly trained volunteer instructors, that will go at your pace. So if you don’t get the hang of something the first time, we just go again at no extra cost to you.
All courses are “performance based” which means you progress as you learn and demonstrate knowledge and skill. There is also some home study and theory lessons that are required with a multiple choice test at the end.
With the necessary training and experience BSAC divers can go down to 50m/180ft on Air, although some go further after taking advanced mix gas courses. Most recreational diving is done down to 40m/131ft. Although these are limits, and some of the most popular diving we do is no deeper than 12m/40ft – 20m/65ft where the water’s warmer and the colours brighter (especially overseas!).
You can dive anywhere in the world, with your BSAC qualification being accepted and admired by diving tour operators as achieving a high level of proficiency in diving. (If you can dive in UK waters, with all the precaution and equipment we regularly train and dive with you will find diving abroad very easy!)
Where you dive does depend on your experience level, site accessibility, conditions and interests.
If you are new diver then more senior divers in the club will help steer you to the right holidays and diving trips tailored to you.
No one will put you in a cave system straight away (if that interests you) but they will help you get there oneday!
We dive practically anywhere there is water, from swimming pools, the ocean, reservoirs, lochs, quarries, lakes and rivers.
People find the “weightlessness” of scuba diving to be quite freeing. Modern scuba masks are available in translucent models, which you may prefer if a mask makes you feel closed in.
During your scuba diving training, your instructor gives you plenty of time and coaching to become comfortable with each stage of learning. Your scuba instructor works with you at your own pace to ensure you master each skill necessary to become a capable scuba diver who dives regularly.
When you’re lucky, you get to see a shark. Although incidents with sharks occur, they are very, very rare and with respect to diving, primarily involve spear fishing or feeding sharks, both of which trigger feeding behavior. Most of the time, if you see a shark it’s passing through and a relatively rare sight to enjoy.