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Discover Scuba -
 Our Discover Scuba Program is designed for teachers, school & youth groups - especially in rural areas in the province as an introductory session to the exciting activity of Scuba Diving. Students/youths will learn the very basic techniques of Scuba Diving and then will have hands on experience diving in a pool. This exciting program has been used to enrich the physical education program curriculum in schools for over 20 years.
The Council delivers an introductory Discover Scuba outreach program to Alberta schools, youth groups and pool facilities in rural Alberta upon request at a nominal (cost recovery) fee. All equipment and an experienced instructor are provided. See here for answers to most commonly asked FAQ's about this program (for schools, youths only).
Please note the AUC does not teach the basic Open Water Scuba Diver or  Advanced Scuba Courses - please contact the nearest dive store, or independant recreational instructor or dive club in your area of the province. You'll find a directory of these resources in Alberta in the Resources section.
Unde rwater Sports
Underwater hockey is supported and promoted throughout Alberta where clubs gather to play and help develop these sports. The AUC supports training for recognized national and international competitions.
New to Edmonton/Calgary & close proximity areas is the new "Intro to Underwater Hockey Program" for schools, youth clubs, camps, etc. See here for more info about this program.
See list of underwater hockey clubs in Alberta here
Club Development
The AUC promotes the development of diving, underwater sports and training clubs in Alberta providing resources and financial assistance for events and activities of its members.
List of Alberta's scuba dive clubs here.
The Divescapes Conference & Exhibition brings world class dive experts, speakers, film presentations and product companies directly to Alberta. Divescapes has been held annually from 1995 to 2001 and then again in 2006 in Edmonton and 2009 in Calgary.
DIVESCAPES ‘09” – Everything Underwater!” - Western Canada’s biggest Underwater Exhibition and Conference - continued to bring products, innovations and people together, under one roof, for the safe promotion of underwater sports, scuba and dive travel industries. See here for Divescapes 2009 Synopsis!
Divescapes ’09 mandate included striving to promote safe & environmentally responsible diving and provide all participants with the opportunity to partner with other industry organizations, government agencies, tourism, travel, clubs, service groups, etc., to develop a network of resources for underwater sports & diving.
 Dive Alberta Events
The AUC promotes diving in Alberta by sanctioning and providing support for events held yearly by affiliated clubs & the AUC around Alberta. Each time an AUC member enters 2 or more events they become eligible for a prize draw (usually a $250 Gift Certificate from an Alberta Dive Centre of their choosing) at the end of the year. Plus chance to win prizes from additional generous sponsors representing the dive community including Alberta's dive retailers, dive equipment distributors & dive travel whenever available. See Dive Alberta 2010 list of events here.
Bingos & Casinos
Bingos generate revenue for the AUC that is used to fund our programs and club projects. The monies received from each bingo are divided among the participating clubs based on the number of volunteers from each club. The AUC retains a portion of the bingo revenue to offset operating costs. Clubs receive quarterly reports on their fund status. The AUC must follow the Alberta Gaming Commission guidelines on how the money can be spent to ensure the continuation of these funds for future use. For example, some clubs decide to use their credits to pay for pool rental or travel to competitions (underwater hockey) or purchase equipment - note Gaming guidelines encourages at least 50% of Gaming proceeds are to be spent on "Youth & Youth Programs".
Contact: Bingo Coordinator:
Edmonton - Tom Davies, Hm Ph: (780) 462-1551
Dive Buddy List
 Looking for a dive buddy in your area of the province or at a particular lake on a particular day?? Be sure to post your dive date on the AUC FACE BOOK page (be sure to provide just enough info that you feel comfortable sharing with the world wide web!) or join in an AUC Alberta dive event or lake cleanup or contact a dive club in your area. Check with your local favourite dive store for their listings of upcoming courses, travel to BC or exotic dive destinations as this is another great way to meet other divers.
 Environmental Projects
Resources, guidance and financial assistance is available to affiliated clubs or member groups who endeavor to operate an environmental project to enhance the underwater environment. Valid projects include lake and river clean-ups, dive site improvements or heritage interpretation. Most of the yearly AUC Dive Events include an underwater lake clean-up component in addition to some fun dives or are dedicated underwater lake cleanups in their own right, i.e. Banff Lake Cleanup, Sylvan Lake Cleanup.
With your help, a combined estimate of over 10 tons of garbage has been removed by volunteers from all over the province from the waters of Sylvan Lake since 2002.
With your help, a combined estimate of over 25 tons of garbage has been removed by scuba divers & shore volunteers from all over the province from the lake waters of Alberta since 1975 when awareness of environmental issues started to be enthasiastically embraced by many in Alberta's diving community.
Dive Guides and Log Books
The AUC produces a high quality log book and Alberta Dive Guide available to members and dive stores. The Dive Guide includes locations and conditions of all the dive sites in Alberta. Divers can use the log book to record their dives and order refill pages to maintain an ongoing and informative individual log book. (Currently being updated for publication in Fall 2010). Log book refills are still available.
DM Insurance
AUC event volunteers (Divemaster or Instructor level) are encouraged to apply for insurance coverage within the AUC Liability Program at no cost in appreciation of their volunteer assistance at the dive events & lake cleanups. Please contact the AUC office for more details.
 Newsletter & Monthly eNews
Underwater Alberta Newsletters are produced Spring, Summer & Fall/Winter Editions yearly. The publications update and inform members of all activities of the Council. They try to provide current technical and safety information plus news of the members, clubs & supporters affiliated with the AUC.
An eMail Bulletin goes out (usually monthly) to a data base of interested members with news & reminders of upcoming events, happenings, store news, trips, sales, course schedules, etc.
Resource Library
 The AUC Office houses a resource library of videos, magazines, brochures, posters, and other reference material available to loan to all current members. A complete listing of the resource library to come soon! Loan of books, video's, dvd's, etc, are available to members for maximum of 4 weeks with their credit card. Please contact the AUC office for more details.
Safety Programs for Divers: Dive Flag Safety: The AUC is developing a Public Service Announcement video for airing throughout Alberta and Canada. The video's aim is to educate divers and boaters about the importance of recognizing and understanding the meaning of the Diver Down flag.
In addition to this, the AUC attends many provincial outdoor adventure and boat shows to help educate our boaters about the meaning of the Dive Flag and to promote our programs to the public. AUC volunteers put up dive flag safety awareness signs at docks, marinas, lakes and other common dive sites to help make the public aware that divers also use the local waters. AUC has supported dive clubs to help purchase AED & 02 Kits, plus additional safety gear that's provided at most AUC Dive Alberta & Lake Cleanup events whenever possible
Sport Accident Insurance
All registered & current members participating in AUC sanctioned events are covered by our sport accident insurance policy. However, divers & underwater hockey players are encouraged to purchase additional medical insurance while traveling to dive or compete.
Acknowledging and Thanking Our Volunteers!
All registered & current members participating and volunteering in AUC sanctioned events and lake cleanups are acknowledged and thanked for their involvement at each event & are also encouraged by being eligble to win prizes donated by our sponsors at the events (when available).
See the volunteer heading as we honor and especially appreciate our volunteers who put in hours of their own time over the past 50 years at the various events: the Board Members (past, present & future) who've accumulated many hours in meetings, functions, events, tournaments, etc, the safety volunteers who donated their time to putting in the: Banff Safety Marker Buoys, Dive Flag Awareness signs at Alberta's boat launches, also the bubble-blowing hours spent underwater by those who have created, maintained underwater parks and navigation courses at Alberta's lakes and the countless hours and tons of trash removed from lakes including Twin Lakes, Cold Lake, Sylvan Lake, Banff, Jasper lakes, etc, over the past 50 years.
UW SPORTS VOLUNTEERS: Let's not forget all of underwater hockey's volunteers from the u/w hockey coaches, their parents for volunteering at fundraisers and board meeting s & the volunteers helping at the tournaments!
We couldn't do it without you! AUC celebrates fifty (50) years in 2010 and is still going strong supporting underwater sports activities in Alberta!
Thanks to your membership support providing real dollars to support these programs plus the countless hours of volunteers' precious time that have been donated over the years!
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