It's only February, but SWODA already has a number of trips lined up for the 2010 season, including an exciting trip to North Carolina. Check out or Trip List page for complete details and payment options. The dive season is soon approaching!

It has been long overdue... SWODA now has a Facebook group! Join us by clicking here and keep in touch with fellow SWODA members, past and present--sharing your pictures, videos, and memories. Non members interested in the club are also more than welcome to join! An included feature of the group is an RSS feed of our website updates. Each time story is posted on our site's blog, a copy will be added to the Facebook group so you can stay up-to-date with club activities. Just another way we're keeping divers in touch!

Need a diving fix? Want to blow off some cobwebs? Get ready for a winter trip? Or check out some new gear? Our popular pool night is back

Wednesday, February 10 at the London Downtown YMCA 382 Waterloo Street.

IMPORTANT DETAILS—Please read carefully.

The door from the parking lot into the pool is only open for a brief window at 7:30. If you miss it you will have to lug your gear through the whole “Y”.

Free parking is available. Enter from Waterloo St and try and make your way to the lower level near to the exit ramp. The pool door is here and it will be open briefly at 7:30 and then again when we leave at 10. Pool time will be 8 until 10. Cost is $5 per participant.

Join us on this year's Winter Getaway to the Bay Islands in Honduras (March 1-8). For complete details, please see the flyer here --> http://swoda.ca/files/upload/doc/Honduras2010.pdf

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and getting many great dives under their belt. In case you aren't getting enough SCUBA pumped into you, get a fix of our summer editions of the SWODA Guidelines. Happy Diving!

View Newsletters Here.

Club SWODA is all about activity. We want to give our members as many chances to get out diving as possible. Although we host many dive trips all year round, we know that our members also want to dive on their own time. We also know that finding a buddy to go diving with can be difficult at times. Enter the SWODA Buddy List.

The Buddy List is a (e)mailing list available to all SWODA members, allowing them to keep in touch outside of club dives and activities. As a member, you are automatically signed up for this list and will be able to send/receive emails to/from other members. This is how it works:

1. You're itching to dive but need a buddy to share the experience with
2. Simply send an email to buddylist[a t]swoda[d o t]ca with details about your request (e.g. "I'm looking for a buddy to dive with this Wednesday night in Sarnia")
3. SWODA members subscribed to the list (all, by default) will receive your request and can respond by replying to your email
4. You and your new found buddy enjoy a fun and safe dive

It is our hope that this list allows our members to have a more enjoyable diving experience. Please remember that although SWODA is providing this contact service, any dives/events that arise from the list are outside of SWODA's responsibility. Dives organized by individuals through the list are viewed as regular, non-club dives.

At this time, the buddy list is available to SWODA members only. If you are a member and have not received your notification of subscription, please check your junk folder. If you still have any issues, feel free to contact us.

Happy Diving!

On Thursday, April 16 at 7:00pm, the Southwestern Ontario Divers Association will be hosting a free screening of the award-winning documentary Sharkwater. The event is open to the public in association with the Central Library's Enviro-Week programs. Please come on out, bring a friend, and enjoy an intriguing film on us. For more information, see the below pdf.

Event: Free Public Screening of Sharkwater
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2009
Time: 7:00pm-9:00pm
Location: Wolf Performance Hall, London Central Public Library. 251 Dundas St. London, Ontario
More Details: Click Here

The main objective of SWODA is to bring divers together so they can share their scuba experiences. For this reason, we am very excited to introduce a new club feature: the ability for club members to upload and share their pictures on our website. It can sometimes be a hassle to orchestrate the collecting and posting of members' pictures from dive trips, especially with so many people having digital cameras and underwater housings. For this reason, we decided to put it to the people; share your favourites with the world!

How it works:

Rather than type out step-by-step instructions on how to upload your images, I have created a video tutorial to help guide you through the process. The video guides you through every step of the way, so you can see exactly where to click and what to do--you don't need to be a brain coral for this one.

You can view the tutorial HERE.

A short note on moderation: All pictures uploaded by members go into a private folder that is not visible by the public until the images are reviewed and released by our webmaster. This precaution should i) deter the uploading of any inappropriate images and ii) catch such images before they are released, should someone upload them anyway.