This is what the Rugby Advertiser had to say on October 16th 1997. It is mentioned in What's Bubbling December 1997.

Going in at the deep end is fun experience

Scuba diving club teaches safe ways of making a splash

IF YOU want to try your hand at deep sea exploring then it is best to learn in the safety of a pool.
And you can do this with Rugby Scuba Diving Club at the Ken Marriott Leisure Centre.
Advertiser reporter and photographer, Matt Dicks and James Robbins, took the plunge to see what it was all about.
Once qualified, club members will have the chance to go abroad and dive on wrecks.
And this will allow them to get up to all sorts of adventures. Club treasurer Matt Bullen told the Advertiser about the last trip to the Scilly Isles.
He said: "We had a great trip and came back with a marvellous treasure haul! It was thousands of leprechaun fridge magnets which were lost from a ship off the south coast.
"But It's not all about treasure, you will be able to dive anywhere In the world and view all sorts of different creatures."
To qualify to dive in open water you have to pass a series of written and practical tests.
Matt and James went along to an introduction evening and found out how to make a splash.

IT WAS a case of being thrown in at the deep end for a first experience of aqua lung diving.
The instructor for my night with Rugby Scuba Diving Club was 36-year-old Malin Dixon, a club member with 14 years of open water experience, so I felt quite safe.
We threw on the tanks, masks and flippers, and with a few rudimentaries about breathing tewchnique submerged and made our way to the deep end.
Malin who is Managing Director at OnSpec in Nuneaton, took the group of beginners through a series of exercises.
This included switching the regulator, the device which allows you to breathe underwater, which could be necessary in an emergency underwater. — Malin told the group that the activities were meant to get the diver used to the equipment.
At first it feels strange that you are breath ing under water, but once you get used to it you can concentrate on enjoying the wonderful weightlessness of spending a long period under the surface.
Among the first time divers were the Gaynor family from Addison Road, Rugby, including Tom and his two sons, Mathew and Kevin.
Tom said: "We were on holiday in Eilat, Israel, and wanted to go diving but it would have meant a week being trained which would have eaten into our holiday. So we have decided to get tuition here so we can go diving when on boliday next, we are definite ly going to take the novice course."
Kevin added: "it is great fun and the club offers discounts when there are more than one person from a household taking the course.
And if we share equipment the cost will be even less."
Steve and Jennie Nichols, of Bronte Close, Rugby, also took to the deep for the first time.
Jennie said she found it a bit difficult at first but added that the instructors did make her feel safe.
And Steve said: "Everyone at the club is very friendly. A mate from work told us about it and we are really thinking about giving it a go."
Club treasurer Matt Bullen was quizzed about the cost of diving and replied: "On the surface it may seem expensive. But the cost includes hire of equipment. There is a huge trade in second hand equipment now because the technology gets better all the time, so in the long run the sport is relatively cheap."
For further details about forthcoming courses ring John Cooper on 01788 891617.

Try your hand at diving under careful tuition at Rugby club

IF YOU have fancied following in the air bubbles of intrepid under water explorer Jacques Cousteau, then there is a chance to try your hand at scuba diving in Rugby.
Rugby Scuba diving Club runs three novice courses a year.
The 12 week course, which takes place at Ken Marriott leisure every Monday night, includes practical training as well as theory.
John Fletcher, a dive leader at the club with four years' experience told would-be divers, at the introduction session, that the three month course would mean qualification to dive in open water.
He said: "There are five stages of qualification in scuba diving, from novice through to advanced diver.
"To qualify for the first two stages you have to a pass a series of written tests on compressed air use and safety. You then have to get familiar with the equipment." Each week, the novice course comprises an hour of theory and an hour in the pool John added: "The theory lessons include lectures on equipment and how it works, safety, and what to do in the event of an emergency. We are affiliated to the British Sub Aqua Club, which insists divers are knowledgeable about the effects of compressed air.
At the end of the 12 weeks, the diver then goes out to open water and makes a dive with an experienced club member to get the novice one and two qualifications. You should be able to dive quite safely in any open water on go on trips with the club to the warmer waters."
The cost of the 2 week course, which includes free use of the club's equipment and a year's membership of BSAC, is £172, but this goes down to £87 in the second year.


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