DATELINE: 29th June 2001

SAA - THE THIRD WAY
Until recently, as its chairman Colin Bryan agrees, outsiders had only a vague idea of what the Sub-Aqua Association stood for. Now he wants his organisation to stand up and be counted.
Recently Divernet has profiled British diving's heavyweights - returned-to-earth governing body BSAC, and commercial colossus PADI. How does that other training agency, the SAA, fit into the picture?
The SAA is a loose federation of independent clubs. Its national officers have little say in how these are run, and that's how everyone likes it. So long as the clubs observe guidelines and standards laid down by head office, they can organise training their own way, reflecting the varied backgrounds of the membership. Or they can just go diving.
"We're an umbrella organisation," says Bryan. "We advise, and find that educating people through co-operation rather than legislation seems to work. People come into diving to relax and enjoy their hobby, not to be dictated to. They get that all day at work."
Originally a breakaway movement from the BSAC, the SAA is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Bryan, who stands down this year after a three-year term, had been a BSAC-trained diver for 15 years and a police diver for 11 when he joined the organisation in 1991.
He set up West Yorkshire Police SAC with the help of SAA members "because they were on the doorstep".
By 1994 he was on the National Council. "It seemed a natural progression from helping out to being elected National Diving Officer, then Chairman. It all seemed to happen very fast," he says.
"When I came in as Chairman, I felt I was being watched by the fathers of the club to see that I was looking after their child properly.
"I still feel like the son-in-law at times. They want it to be professional but not too commercial. It's a nice feeling to be where people are so proud of their organisation."
He joined the SAA in its heyday, when it had some 10,000 members. This later dipped to 6000 but has since recovered to 7000 or so. Annual turnover is just under 30 per cent, which Bryan says he would like to reduce.
"Our low point was all about economics, the sort of problems all clubs had," he says. "Now the interest is back and we're getting a steady influx, not the mad rush we had in the '90s."
The SAA prides itself on its friendliness, the quality of its follow-up training and ancillary courses and its availability to divers of all qualifications and budgets.
"We don't know how many new members have been trained by which agency, we don't label people, we just say 'you are a diver'," says Bryan. "And we're not rigid about how they do something, only concerned that their training equips them to complete particular tasks or goals. We're not teaching robots - sensible, educated adults respond to flexibility rather than narrow-mindedness. "
The SAA is based in Liverpool. If "head office" conjures visions of bustling open-plans and corridors of power, this one is manned by two full-timers, a part-timer and a casual. Before 1994, it didn't exist.
That's when administrator Irene Sartorius arrived. Much responsibility seems to rest on her shoulders. "Seven thousand members know her personally," says Bryan. "We had to make her go to the last Dive Show - everyone always wants to speak to Irene!"
Bryan's six-person Executive is voluntary and unpaid. Their home phone numbers are public and they handle endless calls from members. They get together twice a year with the 14 regional representatives at National Council meetings.
Colin Bryan is a police trainer. Pressure? "Balancing work, a diving organisation and home life can be a strain, but the rewards are good." Diving? "I haven't done any yet this year, but I intend to!"
Had the membership changed in his time? "We seem to be getting more 25- to 55-year-old 'kidults', with a good disposable income, and they like toys. They probably have a Gameboy at home, they're kids at heart and want to have fun. And that's brought in a lot more females and children."
Bryan reckons families are the future of diving. "I used to see people disappearing from diving clubs because of home-life pressures. Unless it's a pastime they can share, families will say: 'Sorry, we want some of your time'."
The SAA has lowered its scuba-diving age limit from 14 to 12. "We're monitoring it closely with our medical advisor, but feel that for diving in this country, that's low enough. It's up to individual clubs whether or not they train children, because it's a big commitment."
He says members are becoming more demanding. "Not in a nasty way, but we're no longer a cottage industry - they expect much more professionalism, which is a good thing. All organisations go through this evolution."
Might that compromise the SAA's easy-going appeal? "We've tried to keep our friendly, open-door attitude and avoid having a hierarchical situation. That's why people can ring us at evenings and weekends. We don't want to isolate anyone."
He says the SAA's internal communications work "99.9 per cent of the time. We have the occasional breakdown, but as we're set up at the moment, we could manage a few thousand more members. If it got bigger, we'd have to review staffing levels."
With the club's low overheads, and despite a few past "hiccups", Bryan describes its financial situation as comfortable. "We've been careful never to over-reach."
Under his guidance, however, the organisation has worked to raise its profile. Why? "We became aware that we had responsibilities other than just training and going diving.
"We needed to stand alongside the other agencies and say this is how we fit in. We wanted members to know that the SAA was out there fighting for them."
Old inter-agency rivalries are evaporating, says Bryan. "We work and socialise together. There are areas of competitiveness, but when it comes to issues like safety standards, heritage, conservation and funding, we all sing the same song. That's what I'm proudest of achieving, working together to get people into the water safely."
He is also proud of the SAA's safety record. "When you see how many dives we do annually, we're very safe. We have been concerned about serious incidents that have occurred recently with technical divers, and have to review whether we have the best standards in place, but what we won't have is a knee-jerk reaction."
As Chairman of the British Standards Institute Recreational Committee, Bryan is collaborating with the other agencies on minimum training standards for CEN, the European Standards organisation. "It's about setting standards everyone can follow, and reducing the incident levels we've been getting through centres that aren't as good as they should be. I'm proud that we're all working together on this.
"Since Phil Harrison became BSAC chairman, our organisations have been able to work closely together, as we're doing now on Lottery funding. We've been able to approach the non-changing attitude of the Sports Council to the fact that SAA members can't get grants.
"A lot of people blame BSAC but it wasn't its fault, it was down to inflexible Lottery funding rules which said that because diving was a sport, a club must be a member of the governing body."
Were they getting anywhere? "At least we're being listened to. That's a change."
When BSAC was expelled from CMAS, the World Underwater Federation, the SAA stepped in smartly to become Britain's only issuing authority of CMAS qualifications. Bryan sympathises with BSAC members, particularly expats, who can no longer use these abroad. "We're working closely with both organisations to find a solution and I'm optimistic that we will do so before I retire."
The SAA was also a prime mover in the Respect Our Wrecks campaign. "We should carry on with the education process. I'm glad the Amnesty came in when it did, and the reaction I've received has been fairly positive. The other thing is to work closely with the Nautical Archaeology Society on Adopt A Wreck, a good scheme that's helping to make people more responsible for our heritage."
A self-confessed optimist, he says: "I always see the good in people, and hope all parties will see that the majority of UK divers are law-abiding, respectful individuals who want these sites protected, though not by a piece of knee-jerk legislation."
But then the police officer comes out: "We don't want the criminals in our sport and I think you'll find those criminals will be given up by other individuals. Enough's enough. It's not for the agencies to become a police force, it's for the community to police itself, as we would in the surface world. If someone has some information, it's their moral duty to report it to the Receiver of Wreck.
"The SAA is just a bunch of people who enjoy going diving, and we don't see the need to fall out just because we're trained by different agencies," sums up Colin Bryan. "The best thing that ever happened was when PADI, SAA, BSAC, TDI, IANTD all turned up under one roof at the Dive Show and said: 'We're all divers, and we're all here'."

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