Manchester Diving Group (MDG) is an independent not-for-profit scuba diving club. We’re a club by divers for divers and have a mandate to promote the sport and make it as affordable as possible.

We welcome all levels of diver. We believe that both absolute beginners and seasoned scuba salthounds can benefit from an active club of enthusiasts.

Scuba training and certification is overseen by Martin (Doc) our very qualified Diving Officer. We provide fully internationally recognised certifications through IANTD. (International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers) 

Tests

If you are new to scuba diving we will run through pool tests using club scuba equipment.

Some of these pool tests involve demonstrating basic swimming competence as that is a requirement for safe scuba diving.

You will be given your own personal training card to keep track of your achieved pool and open water tests.

Alongside this we will give you information and advice to support you in acquiring a drysuit so we can take you out to a dive site to begin training and achieving tests in open water.

Equipment

Club equipment is available to hire free of charge for trainee MDG members, however we do not hire drysuits.

As part of your training our club-members will arrange trips to Roho Watersports and Otter Drysuits which give you the opportunity to try on drysuits and discuss your budget.

We can also assist you in searching for safe second hand drysuits. It may happen that one of our club-members has a spare they would be willing to sell you.

The Pool and Theory

The pool that we use for scuba training is Hough End Leisure Centre on Friday nights 8pm-9pm. To cover the costs of hiring the pool there is a £5 charge per person for its use.

Our club lectures on the first Monday of every month give us the opportunity to run through theory elements necessary for safe scuba diving and qualification.

These practical and theory sessions will allow you to display the skills and confidence that will allow our instructors to sign you off as qualified divers.

Costs

As an independent club our instructors don’t charge for their time or services. You will only be charged to cover our own costs. If you are happy to spend on hiring a drysuit the costs involved with achieving an Advanced Open Water qualification could be around £550 and is made up of:

• The club membership (£162 a year)
• The cost of the IANTD certification (around £100 for a combined Open Water and Advanced Open Water)
• Cost of being added to our instructors insurance (around £25)
• £50 to cover 10 Friday pool sessions that you are able to attend, prearranged to ensure the appropriate training is provided to match your progress
• Cost of renting or aquiring a drysuit, if you haven’t got one
• Cost of entry to quarry dive sites such as Eccleston Delph Watersports Centre and Capernwray Diving Centre

You can save some money in the long run by buying a drysuit instead of hiring.

To put these costs in context, PADI diving schools charge £450 just for the training and certification of a basic open water that only lets you go down to 20m. Their Advanced Open Water costs another £295 and at the end of the course you may not have anyone to dive with! We fully recommend learning to dive as part of a club of enthusiasts like MDG, instead.

Our mandate to promote affordable scuba diving as a not-for-profit club means we take a different approach than many other scuba diving training schools. Our qualified and dedicated instructors are volunteers and our training moulds with you over the course of weeks and months.

At Manchester Diving Group you will be given the conditions in which you become a confident scuba diver that your dive buddy will be glad to have around.

Logistics and Further Training

If you need a lift from the Clubhouse to the pool and back, or to any dive-sites or club trips that is never a problem. Once you’re signed up let another member know you’re in need of a lift and it can be arranged.

For a beginner an Advanced Open Water with Nitrox certification can comfortably be achieved around the six months mark.

Our training doesn’t stop at Advanced Open Water. We are signing our clubmembers off on a number of other courses including:

• Nitrox certification
• Divemaster
• Instructor courses
• Boat handling courses
• Compressor handling and maintenance
• Radio operation
• and many more

And to say it again: if you are a member no-one at Manchester Diving Group will charge you for their time or their services relating to sea and scuba training. We only charge to cover costs. For example our boat handling practical two-day course has a charge of £65 to cover the cost of the fuel and Debdale Waterpark launching fee of the club boat.