FAQ’s

Here are a few of the more common questions we are asked. Please contact us if you have additional questions

iDive Membership and other Fees 2026

Annual Fees                  Full                       Discount

Full Member                   £150                    £135

Instructor                         £135                   £110

Junior/Student               £70                     £70

Snorkel                             £90                     £90

Family                              £90                     £90

Social                                £10                     £10

Honorary                         £0                       £0

Try Dives                         £35

Ocean Diver Training Equipment Package  £120

Boat daily usage            £15

BSAC fees as of February 2026

BSAC                               £71

BSAC Junior/Student £39

Notes.

1. Membership fees are paid every year at a common renewal date of 1st March
2. There is a discount, given above for fees paid by 1^st March. Fees paid after that date must be the full amount.
3. The fees are agreed each year at the AGM
4. Anyone joining the club after the 1^st March must pay the full year amount. At the next common renewal date, they will be asked to pay just the pro-rata amount to pay for the remainder of the club year.
5. The iDive membership fee does not include the BSAC membership fee and this must be paid directly to BSAC by the member.
6. Anyone joining in January or February having paid the rate current at the time, are deemed to have paid for the following year and have effectively had up to two months free membership.
7. Family membership. Full members or Snorkelling members may pay an additional subscription to enable partners and dependent children under 18 years of age to make use of the club’s pool facilities.
8. Honorary membership. iDive membership fees are waived. Honorary members who wish to dive with the club must have current BSAC membership.
9. Junior membership. Full diving members between the age of 10 and 18.
10. Student membership. iDive have available for members in full time education undergoing current training in scuba diving.
11. Social Membership. This covers members who do not dive with the club but wish to keep in touch with the club’s activities. It entitles them to receive copies of the newsletter, be on any “internal” e-mail circulation lists and attend club nights as well as all social events.
12. iDive membership aid. The club fee shall be discounted at the discretion of the Committee for those who are on low incomes, in temporary financial difficulties or who qualify under other circumstances.
13. Guests. May use the pool facilities and need not be iDive or BSAC members. Guests are defined as people attending for no more than two pool visits in either of the following categories:

• for Try-Dive sessions (which may include the use of aqualungs).
• people attending for purpose of swimming or snorkelling that have been invited by a current member. This member will be responsible for the guest(s)

Can you dive if you have a medical condition: All divers need to complete a medical declaration annually and, if you have a medical condition, you may need to see a BSAC registered doctor before being passed fit to dive.

How old do you have to be to learn to dive: We train divers from the age of 12, providing their parent/guardian are also club members. You can train with us from the age of 18.

Is diving equipment heavy: The cylinders and weight belt are heavy but there is usually a helping hand to help you carry and move dive equipment around the pool or dive site. In the water you are neutrally buoyant so you don’t notice the weight of the diving equipment, although it can still feel quite bulky and cumbersome until you get used to it.

Is it cold in the water: We dive in the UK all year round and it can be quite cold (~8C) during the winter. We all wear wet suits (good in the summer) or dry suits (good all year round). In a good dry suit, you will feel quite comfortable, even in the winter. Oversea, we dive in warm waters (e.g. the Red Sea) where water temperatures are 25C+ and a shortie wetsuit is perfectly adequate.

Are their loos on the dive boats: All the commercial dive boats that I’ve dived on have toilets. These can be quite basic but they are functional and private. Our own boats do not have toilets so it is either a pee in the sea or a bucket (and we’ll turn our backs and be discreet). If we are diving from our own boats, you are typically out at sea for 2 to 3 hours.

What is it like diving underwater: Once you get used to the different environment and over your, understandable, nerves, it is fantastic. It is like flying as you are neutrally buoyant. The sea life around the UK is fantastic from friendly seals around the Farne Islands to crabs and lobsters all around the coast line and many different types of fish and other sea creatures. We dive on reefs and the many wrecks around the UK. Sometimes the water visibility can be quite poor (say 2m visibility) but it can be up to 25m.

Overseas there are equally fantastic dive sites. The water can be clearer (40m+) and warmer and you can sometimes see larger sea life (manta rays, sharks, turtles etc).

Do you dive on wrecks: We frequently dive on wrecks around the UK and overseas. Many vessels were sunk during the two world wars but the UK coastline has claimed many vessels over the years and we have dived wrecks which foundered in the 1800s onwards. Wrecks overseas can be covered in beautiful marine corals and other life and attract large shoals of fish.

Is diving dangerous: Like all active sports, diving can be dangerous if you don’t respect the conditions and if you push yourself too far beyond your training and experience. We train divers to BSAC standards which are well respected globally. We are careful to tailor the dives we organise to the skills and experience of our divers and we maintain the appropriate safety equipment on our dive boats.

Further Information: The news section of our website News – iDive  describes some of our diving holidays, some of the training we do and some of the non-diving social activities that we organise. You can also find details of how to contact us on our website.

If you are interested in joining us, please send us a note to info@idive.org.uk from your phone or other device and we will respond.

Or if you are thinking about joining us and want a chat, call paul on 07710350794