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Latest News From SITA
Chairman’s Chat May 2009
Well what a strange month May has been so far!
Dealers are still reporting high levels of sales, and many are still up on this time last year. Suppliers are telling us the same story. The past two months have seen a marked increase in sales, and across the board, product is moving. And service is well up on previous years. I am told by several people that it is as much as 150 per cent up and the trend is continuing to grow.
It looks like the old kit is coming out of moth balls and some of our long lost consumers are coming back into the water.
Training agencies have also reported that “Certifications” and training has increased in the last two months. I guess the market is still out there and consumers want to take the sport up. This has to be good for all.
Dive Fest
How strange was that! Driving down to the Fest in Cornwall on Friday morning to get our booth set up, it was wind, rain, a bit of sunshine and then more wind – even reports of hurricane forces heading our way. I was convinced that this was never going to happen. All the work and effort and all the late nights for the organisers, washed out with bad weather leaving some very upset divers.
We got on site at about 11am and everybody was very positive and joking about chasing their hats across the site (rather nice red beanies supplied free by the organisers to a 1,000 people). Mmmm…, I just hoped everyone was calling this right. A quick look at Met Watch on the laptop and I started to wonder what planet these guys were on. I thought that there is no way that this was going to be a easy ride – grumpy clubs, grumpy divers, and, no doubt, worse to come. I was sure we would all be heading home early after another weekend ruined.
Still everyone in the exhibition area seemed to be getting their heads down and making the best of a bad job. I couldn’t help thinking that this was all very weird. What happy pills were these guys on, or was I missing something?
We were all set up ready for the doors to open at 6pm on Friday night. I was expecting to be kicking our heels and talking amongst ourselves for the evening. How wrong was I! Within ten minutes the giant marquee was full of divers and the buzz was something else. Everyone was looking forward to having a great time whatever the weather!
Well Saturday came, and need I go into detail. I came out of my caravan and walked slap into a powerful head wind. Again I thought this was all wrong this was never going to happen. I walked up a slight incline which overlooked the whole campsite and what a sight! I had never seen so many BSAC flags flying in one spot in all my life, The campsite was full RIBs, caravans, American motor-homes and tents of all shapes and sizes. Clubs were flying their banners from all over the UK. It was a dive festival.
It was a sight I have never seen in this country in all my time in the Industry. It had a real positive buzz. Divers were wandering about chatting and mixing with each other. I went to the Dive Hut to see what diving was going on, fearing it would be carnage with growling divers everywhere. Wrong! It was calm with a really good and positive vibe.
Perhaps they were giving them chill pills on the gates into the site!
The evening came soon enough and the bands and the party with the hog roast were just great. Everybody was on good form - even the weather cleared up a bit and the sun shone. The good old British diving attitude hit in and took over. We were here for the weekend and we were going to have fun, and fun we all had,
If anybody tells you the club scene is on its knees in the UK, they are so wrong. Club divers are out there battling and fighting the odds no matter what,
I spoke to quite a few PADI-trained divers looking to go diving in UK waters who had seen it was a diving festival and wanted to find out how to go about it. Clubs took these people under their wings over the weekend and showed them just what it was all about, even down to going off site and finding beach diving on the north side of the coast. It was great to hear that these clubs found diving somewhere.
DIVE magazine had pulled it off. They gave lots to keep divers happy and a created a great social evening as well.
Sal Diving had the dive operations sorted and it would have run like a well- oiled military machine. They were really great at giving local information out about where to try and dive. Good job on their part.
The organisers had been great. Talk about thinking and acting on your feet, they certainly had plenty of that over the weekend and came good.
The only way I can see this event going is from strength to strength. It reminded me of when I was very young going to the first Run To The Sun event in Cornwall. It had the same feel as that. Give it five years and this event is going to be the event of the season for diving. It has the air about it.
I also found it very interesting on the Sunday when I was talking to non-diving groups on the booth and found out a lot of them had come down to the campsite for the week on holiday and had seen this going on and thought they would have a look around. They said the normal thing about always fancying having a go at this diving lark.
The dates have been booked already for 2010, and they have started taking booking for next year. It has the feel of going somewhere. Get it in your diaries – the 1st 2nd 3rd of May, a Bank Holiday weekend. Get your customers down there for the weekend. It is going to be an even bigger party next year. This is going to grow, big time. It works.
Not much else to report on really, but I will keep you posted on further developments as I get to hear about them.
Safe diving and keep your doors open,
Kelvin
SITA Chairman
Chairmans Chat April 2009 PDF
Chairmans Chat January 2009 PDF
Chairmans Chat November 2008 PDF
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