MEMBERS of a Bradford scuba diving club are celebrating after scooping a national award for the first time in its 58-year history.

Bradford Sub Aqua Club won the British Sub-Aqua Club’s (BSAC) premier award, the prestigious Heinke Trophy. The BSAC is the national governing body for scuba diving.

The club, which has more than 70 members, won the award after being praised by judges for its members’ work to maintain and develop its Queensbury club house.

It was also recognised for its membership recruitment activities and its community work as well as the club’s success in a range of other BSAC schemes.

The club meets at its clubhouse at The Fin Inn, Queensbury, every Tuesday and Friday and it uses the pool at Tong High School on Mondays from 8pm.

Mick Barraclough, the Bradford branch's diving officer and chairman, said: “We decided to put the club forward for the Heinke Trophy after we won the BSAC Branch Diamond Event, a competition designed to celebrate BSAC’s 60th anniversary.

“It’s just massive as far as the club is concerned. I could not be more proud of the club and each and every member.

"It means we have been recognised for the work we have done to further the club and our efforts to give the wider public the chance to learn more about, and experience, the joy of diving.

“To celebrate the 60th anniversary club members did 60 dives at 60 different locations around Britain as well as abroad. More importantly we also gave 60 people the opportunity to tackle a try dive in the pool we use at Tong High School.

“We could easily have chosen 60 professional people for the try dives in an effort to boost club membership.

“However, we decided to go down a different route and try and give 60 people who would not normally, through financial restraints or family pressures, have the chance to try diving.

“We took people, from young children to pensioners, for a dive in the pool and tried to show them what diving was all about. If we can promote diving and BSAC in any way we can, then we will.”

The trophy was donated to BSAC in 1958 by British diving firm Heinke, which had been making high quality hard-hat diving equipment for many years and then developed its own special range of diving apparatus.

Phil Harrison, a BSAC regional coach and Heinke Trophy adjudicator, said: “The club, and its members, deserves to be congratulated. Bradford SAC is a fantastic example of members working together to create a thriving club within their community, supporting and working with others while still maintaining their ethos of an active and social diving club.

“Bradford should be proud of their achievements and are a real example which I hope others clubs will be encouraged to follow.”