Just a Thought

[Ken Twat]

Please note that I am not after an argument here.
I would just like to know if anybody can answer the following questions

1. If I leave my club and join the BSAC direct, who would be my governing body?

2. If I left my club and joined a club in England but still lived over the border in Wales who then would be my governing body

3. If someone living in England is a member of a Welsh club as well as one back home, who is his/her governing body.

4. If a club is full of divers from Wales and keeps all their kit in Wales but have a nominal address over the bridge in England., who is their governing body.

I think I know the answer to these questions but I would like the opinion of others and maybe the official line if there is one. Especially to Q4 as I have an address across the border that Welsh clubs may be able to use if it will help them to be treated as equals

[Philip Smith]

You need to distinguish between a "governing body" (GB) and a "recognised national governing body" (RNGB) in the eyes of a sports council. The following assumes WASAC (or similar) can be resurrected.

1. If I leave my club and join the BSAC direct, who would be my governing body?

GB -- BSAC. If you live in Wales then you would not be represented by a RNGB unless you could take out a personal membership of WASAC or its successor.

2. If I left my club and joined a club in England but still lived over the border in Wales who then would be my governing body

GB -- whichever organisation the English club was affiliated to. RNGB -- BSAC.

3. If someone living in England is a member of a Welsh club as well as one back home, who is his/her governing body.

GB -- whichever organisations the clubs are affiliated to. RNGB -- WASAC and BSAC for the clubs in Wales and England, respectively.

4. If a club is full of divers from Wales and keeps all their kit in Wales but have a nominal address over the bridge in England., who is their governing body.

GB -- whichever organisation ...
RNGB -- BSAC, but the club would not be able to obtain funding from the Sports Council for Wales and might find it difficult to obtain funding from Sport England when its circumstances became known.

All in my opinion, of course.

Affiliation to a recognised national governing body is a prerequisite for lottery funding for hazardous sports ostensibly for public safety. Most of the sub-aqua clubs in Wales are affiliated to BSAC or the SAA, which are both responsible governing bodies. It seems to me that these organisations should be striving for recognition as governing bodies in their own names (with a Wales section tag if necessary) without having to contrive an umbrella organisation which is not really a "governing" body. WASAC may have produced guidelines for safe diving in Welsh conditions, I don't know, but standards of training and qualification were and are the responsibility of the actual governing bodies, BSAC and the SAA.

Philip Smith

[Nigel Hewitt]

If *VARIOUS* who would be my governing body?

I don't think you personally can have a governing body. A sport that is within the remit of a regional 'Sports Council' is dealt with by that Council via a group that they designate as the 'Governing Body'. It is just a name chosen to reflect the concept of a rule setting authority for a competitive sport.

When I raced motorcycles I had an ACU licence and a big book of ACU definitions of what was what. The ACU was definitely the governing body. For scuba, being non-competitive, it's a whole lot more woolly. They have tried to keep the same structure and just find similarly placed organisations to talk too but in reality they do not exist. Poor old BSAC doesn't govern anything and certainly doesn't set rules that must be obeyed outside of the BSAC empire.

Hence your questions are meaningless and we are in this whole sorry mess. It actually does not matter if the WASAC has ceased to exist or not, it is the governing body while the Welsh Sport bunch want it to be. Since non-competitive sport is not very high on their agenda that could be for some time yet by default.

[howard lewis]

Please note that I am not after an argument here.
I would just like to know if anybody can answer the following questions

1. If I leave my club and join the BSAC direct, who would be my governing body?

2. If I left my club and joined a club in England but still lived over the border in Wales who then would be my governing body

3. If someone living in England is a member of a Welsh club as well as one back home, who is his/her governing body.

4. If a club is full of divers from Wales and keeps all their kit in Wales but have a nominal address over the bridge in England., who is their governing body.

I think I know the answer to these questions but I would like the opinion of others and maybe the official line if there is one. Especially to Q4 as I have an address across the border that Welsh clubs may be able to use if it will help them to be treated as equals
Look Ken you may be the self proffessed mayor of Fishguard but even you know that to get the top dogs of BSAC and the Welsh lottery purse string holders together even over one e:mail is like asking John Bantin to endorse Dive magazine. Come on guys ask the right people the right questions.

[MarkA]

Please note that I am not after an argument here.
I would just like to know if anybody can answer the following questions

1. If I leave my club and join the BSAC direct, who would be my governing body?

2. If I left my club and joined a club in England but still lived over the border in Wales who then would be my governing body

3. If someone living in England is a member of a Welsh club as well as one back home, who is his/her governing body.

4. If a club is full of divers from Wales and keeps all their kit in Wales but have a nominal address over the bridge in England., who is their governing body.

I think I know the answer to these questions but I would like the opinion of others and maybe the official line if there is one. Especially to Q4 as I have an address across the border that Welsh clubs may be able to use if it will help them to be treated as equals

[james berry]

Please note that I am not after an argument here.
I would just like to know if anybody can answer the following questions

1. If I leave my club and join the BSAC direct, who would be my governing body?

2. If I left my club and joined a club in England but still lived over the border in Wales who then would be my governing body

3. If someone living in England is a member of a Welsh club as well as one back home, who is his/her governing body.

4. If a club is full of divers from Wales and keeps all their kit in Wales but have a nominal address over the bridge in England., who is their governing body.

I think I know the answer to these questions but I would like the opinion of others and maybe the official line if there is one. Especially to Q4 as I have an address across the border that Welsh clubs may be able to use if it will help them to be treated as equals