The Auckland University Underwater Club is a not-for-profit dive club run by volunteers. We’re not interested in instigating lots of rules and regulations. However, here are some suggestions on club etiquette that if followed, will hopefully keep all of our members and associates happy.
Be nice to your Committee
Committee members are volunteers. Generally they are people who have been members of the club for a couple of years and are doing their bit to give something back to AUUC for all they’ve been given. They are friendly, approachable people who are doing their best to make AUUC the best dive club in New Zealand. They welcome your feedback/comments/suggestions so send them an email (it’s best to avoid raunchy subject lines like ‘grow yourself longer easily’ or you might end up in their spam folders).
Committee members are also very busy people. Please respect that and be nice to them. Afterall, they’re not being paid to take your crap! Their reward is seeing lots of divers out there enjoying the sport. Help to make their job easier by taking a few seconds to communicate with them and follow through (pay for courses and trips on time). Please don’t stuff them around. Ask a committee member how you can help out your club or join the committee yourself!
Be nice to the Dive Shops who support AUUC
Several dive shops in Auckland have agreed to discount dive courses, gear hire and products for AUUC members. Some of these deals are for student members only. If you’re not a student anymore, don’t try and take advantage of the student-only deals. When you get caught doing it, you’ll be in big trouble. Meanwhile you’ll seriously jeopardise the club/dive shop relationship which will adversely affect all of our members.
Please repay the generosity of our affiliated dive shops by frequenting their stores and being friendly. It only takes one obnoxious member to abuse a dive shop owner and do serious damage to the relationship. Don’t be that one member!
Keep your gear tidy on dive boats
Diving is a gear intensive sport. Dive boats full of divers are incredibly crowded places. When on a dive trip, keep your dry gear in a tidy pile in the boat cabin and keep your wet gear in a tidy pile on the boat deck. If you don’t, chaos will promptly ensue, gear will get lost and broken and the boat skipper will get very pissed off!
Listen to the boat skipper
They are the boss! Please follow their boat rules, they’re there to make the trip work for everyone. If you don’t, they might not let us charter them anymore and that would suck for all of us.
It’s okay to be nervous, talk to the trip organiser
It is very common for our club trips to have new divers on them, people fresh out of their open water course (we’ve all been there). If you are one of those people – awesome – welcome to the world of scuba! Feeling seasick, not confident you’ve set up your dive gear correctly, don’t know who your buddy is or when you should start gearing up…these are all valid concerns. If you have them, identify yourself to the trip organiser (generally a committee member) and they’ll help you out. Listen to any instructions given on the boat by the skipper or trip organiser as these will help you organise yourself. We want your scuba diving experience to be a rewarding one so let us help you out.
Get involved in your club and have fun
For many members, the joy of scuba diving is as much about the people as it is about the sport. Come along to a club meeting, meet other members, enjoy a social drink with mates. You’ll make friends you’ll keep for life.