Diving safety is central to everything we do as a club community and building a positive safety culture is one of the most powerful ways clubs support safe, enjoyable diving — helping divers make good decisions before problems arise.
At BSAC, promoting safe diving is an important part of our role as National Governing Body. Each year we compile the Annual Diving Incident Report, bringing together incident information from across UK recreational diving to help identify trends, improve guidance and shape training.
One consistent theme emerges year after year: most incidents don’t begin with major failures. More often, they develop from small factors that build over time — rushed preparation, poor communication, loss of awareness, stress, complacency or divers continuing when conditions no longer feel comfortable.
That’s why creating a positive safety culture within clubs is so important.
What does a positive safety culture look like?
A positive safety culture is about creating an environment where divers naturally build safe habits, make good decisions and feel supported by those around them.
In strong club cultures, divers:
- plan dives properly and brief clearly
- carry out meaningful buddy checks
- monitor depth, gas and buddy position throughout the dive
- feel comfortable ‘calling a dive’
- continue developing skills through training and experience
- openly discuss lessons learned from incidents or near misses
- support newer divers with patience and encouragement
Importantly, safety becomes something proactive rather than reactive.
Intervene early
The safest divers are prepared.
Good planning, buoyancy control, situational awareness and buddy discipline all help prevent small issues becoming bigger problems. Incident analysis repeatedly shows that early intervention makes a huge difference — whether that means adjusting a dive plan, pausing to resolve a problem or simply deciding not to continue.
One of the healthiest things a club can encourage is an environment where divers feel comfortable speaking up and making conservative decisions without pressure or judgement.
The role clubs play
Branch Officers, instructors and experienced divers help shape the behaviours and attitudes newer divers adopt.
Simple actions can make a big difference:
- normalising thorough dive briefings
- encouraging post-dive debriefs and reflection
- promoting refresher training, diver training and Skill Development Courses
- discussing relevant learning from incident reports
- supporting divers returning after time away from diving
- recognising that confidence and competence develop at different rates
- submitting written risk assessments to BSAC HQ for unique projects, expeditions, events or other non-everyday diving/snorkelling activities
Positive safety cultures are built gradually through consistent behaviours, conversations and leadership.
Learning from incidents
The BSAC Annual Diving Incident Report exists to help the whole diving community learn. The information shared — often courageously by divers involved — helps identify trends and prevent similar situations happening again.
The report is about understanding contributing factors and improving awareness across the sport.
BSAC's Safe Diving Guide, Diver’s Code of Conduct, and Risk assessment guidance are also valuable resources for clubs and members, bringing together current thinking, guidance and best practice from the National Diving Committee.
Supporting safe, enjoyable diving
Ultimately, a strong safety culture helps clubs create better diving experiences for everyone. Divers feel more confident, supported and prepared — and clubs become stronger, more welcoming and more resilient as a result.
Safe diving is about helping ourselves and others stay ahead of problems, make good decisions and continue enjoying the underwater world for years to come.
Thank you and enjoy your diving!
A big thank you to all our amazing club volunteers for everything you do behind the scenes to support safe and enjoyable diving. Have a brilliant summer season ahead — let’s hope for sunshine, calm seas and great visibility!
