Set up 30 years ago and based at Penarth Leisure Centre, the Penarth Sub Aqua Club is hoping, after receiving a £1,000 Community Chest grant,to make a fresh splash by recruiting new members.
Agreed by a panel of volunteers with support from the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s sports and play development team and the Sports Council for Wales, the grants scheme supports clubs and organisations that aim to provide new and improved opportunities for local people to take part in sports and physical activities.
The grant has helped the Penarth club buy vital new equipment so that they are geared up to help novices learn the skills to dive not only in the comfort of the leisure centre but also on regular trips to the West Wales coast.
Once you have built up the necessary experience you will also be well on your way to one day fulfilling the dreams most divers have of tackling the world’s top dive sites such as The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Egyptian Red Sea.
Absolute beginners are welcome, and club representative Dave Morgan said: “Diving is a great sport and, even if you only want to dive abroad in warm clear waters, come along and learn how to do so safely. The club welcomes anyone over the age of 16 to come along and have a free taster session.”
Congratulating the club on their grant, the Vale council’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, Cllr Anthony Ernest, said: “I am delighted that another club is benefiting from the Community Chest scheme, and hope that the grant will help them attract further people to have a go at this fascinating sport.”
The club meet every Wednesday at Penarth Leisure Centre between 8pm and 10pm. The first hour of a beginner’s session is spent focusing on the theory of diving, with the second hour in the pool, practising with equipment so that various routines soon become second nature.
To find out more about the club, please call Dave on 029 2070 5209 or Richard on 01446 749826.
Seventeen different organisations have received a share of Community Chest grants so far this financial year in the Vale, and the maximum grant available is £1,000. If you are part of a Vale-based organisation, club or workplace and would like to discuss a potential application, please contact the Vale council’s sports and play development manager, Karen Davies, on 01446 704793 or request an application form by calling Julie Morgan on 01446 704754.
