DATELINE :- 11th October 2000
BSAC POLICY SHIFT
Club to swing from novices to crossovers, says chairman
Less concentration on attracting newcomers to diving, more on persuading divers already trained elsewhere of the joys of club diving - that's how Chairman Phil Harrison sees the future of the British Sub-Aqua Club.
"There are many divers who have qualified with other organisations who could benefit from being part of the club structure," he says. "We have really good standards and we don't want to see that change, but we shouldn't feel arrogant about them. There are very good divers trained elsewhere, and we want to entice them to work with us."
The recent announcement that the BSAC is now prepared to recognise instructor qualifications from other agencies, subject to certain cross-over requirements, is a step in this direction. It also makes it easier for existing members with PADI or other instructor qualifications to assist with training in their branches.
The strategy appears to be one that is emerging within a club which, fighting back from its recent financial setbacks, has limited resources for marketing its product, a shortfall of instructional firepower in some areas and recognises a long-term trend away from club membership.
"Since 1995 we haven't been too good at keeping our members - we attract 11,000 in a year but lose 13,000," says Harrison.
Last reported membership figures were 43,440, with 31,360 fully paid-up members, and there has also been a leakage of branches - 148 over the year to May. "It isn't just the BSAC but clubs of all sorts that are experiencing this. We have to do more research, look at why people leave, at how they learn to dive today."
Can the BSAC survive with ever-dwindling membership? "Every business has to grow, and if the income from membership goes down, member services will suffer. Fifty thousand members is a good workable number.
"What we are not about now," says Harrison firmly, "is world domination." But he is clearly pleased with the progress made under his guidance since the club's disastrous shortfall of just under £500,000 last year. "We are back in profit on a month-by-month basis and expect to be trading profitably again by the middle of next year," he says.
Which, given the scale of the club's debts, would seem to be a remarkable achievement. How is it being done? "We've stripped out costs and restructured very carefully. That has meant savings on postage, stationery, people, marketing and exhibitions.
"Last year's actions rescued the business - now we have stability and a new structure at HQ, we have to grow that business."
What was the feedback from members? "People are more sanguine about the future, but we can't be complacent. There are hotspots, things that concern members, such as rebreather and trimix training, and those will be addressed soon.
"The number of people in the club concerned about such issues is probably fewer than a thousand, but we have to stay at the forefront of diving or the top-end club members will simply go elsewhere.
"We've done a lot of listening, taken time to reflect. There are frustrations in having had to focus so much on the accounts side, but if we are the best diving club in the world, we need to have the best training programme."
Harrison says he now has three priorities. "Supporting safe and adventurous diving comes first - that's what we're here for. The expeditions scheme is very important in that respect, and we also have to deal with the whole question of wrecks.
"Second, we have to get the training right, and make sure the schools are playing their part." Sales of Ocean Diver training packs number fewer than 3,700, more than three years since the non-branch entry qualification was launched, and Harrison agrees that that's "not many".
"But we need to be more flexible and avoid getting hung up on training - we must remember that the end game is diving," he says.
A current review has indicated that members seek some changes in the training scheme, such as greater ability to train Advanced Divers within branches, and Harrison says the review will be acted on.
"We also have to increase the sense of connection between branches and HQ, and to get our membership services right, though HQ has really improved its responsiveness and taken the blockages away." How had such strides been achieved with what amounts to a skeleton staff? "That's down to the quality and dedication of those people we still have."
On the thorny issue of UK wreck protection, Harrison says education is the only way forward. "Questions are being asked in Parliament, and if we don't regulate ourselves, others will do it for us.
"We're talking about a comparatively small number of divers, but the Ministry of Defence's perception is that every single diver is going down and taking pieces off wrecks every day.
"We don't want to talk about divers 'shopping' other divers, but if people within a branch are known to be taking things off wrecks, it's down to their peer group to tell them that it should be reported.
"I am a strong believer that divers should protect wrecks and the whole marine environment. They should be more vociferous, join Greenpeace or the Marine Conservation Society.
"We're working closely with the MoD and the Receiver of Wreck, who is very supportive of divers. I think we can show that we are responsible and I believe things are already changing - there is a real upswelling and a lot happening across the board."
Phil Harrison said that the five Council officers who had stood down after only a year had done "a fair amount of work" but that it had been "a very intense year. People don't always realise the vast amount of work that goes into organising a club, and what a big commitment they are expected to make.
"I've enjoyed the challenge over the past year, but there have been times when I felt like just walking away from it," he admitted. He said replacements for the Council members could have been co-opted under the club's constitution, but that he preferred people to volunteer rather than be compelled.
The new intake had brought back former Chairman Howard Painter, who had voiced some criticisms of the current regime in Diver in August. "I like Howard, I'm very comfortable about his return and he has accepted that we need to establish a team-working relationship," says Harrison. "He is helping us on the tax angles."
Though all BSAC directors are now also directors of its commercial arm, BSAC International, the intention to merge the two for tax purposes had so far foundered. It is understood that Painter is examining the implications for the club.
Of Painter's criticism of Treasurer Maureen Coulthard for not resigning after last year's results, he said: "I have worked with Maureen for a year and the amount of effort and commitment on her part over that time has been outstanding. She has done some excellent work for the club. And if Howard wants to make improvements to how we present our accounts, that's fine - it would be stupid not to let him do that."
But he insisted that both the club's auditor and bank manager were happy with the presentation of accounts and with the financial recovery of the club.
"I think the Inquiry drew a line under past events," he says. "It's history now."