Lowestoft Sub Aqua Club is celebrating this month after receiving the news that it's been awarded the nationally recognised Clubmark status.

Di Cook, who took responsibility for the Clubmark application for the club, coordinated the collection of evidence required by Sport England. The whole process took a year to complete and is intended to ensure that clubs support excellent high quality standards and adhere to welfare and equity policies as well as being welcoming to young members. The club can now take in members from the age of twelve, enabling more people to enjoy the sport of diving and discover the underwater world.

For many clubs, achieving Clubmark status has opened doors for grant aid and sponsorship, and Di is hopeful Lowestoft Sub Aqua Club will benefit in this way too "I'm delighted about this; it's been a long and stringent process, but this is a fabulous start to 2009, and we're really looking forward to welcoming new members and growing the club and the popularity of diving."

Mark Owers, Chairman of Lowestoft Sub Aqua Club said "We're all really pleased and feeling proud that we've reached this national standard. Di has done a fantastic job of pulling together all the necessary evidence, but I want to give thanks to all our volunteers who've also worked hard to make this possible."

The British Sub Aqua Club has 1200 branches of which Lowestoft sub aqua club is the fifth to be awarded Clubmark status Mark said "Not only will this accreditation enable younger members to join the club, but we hope the local community will become more involved in our activities and be as proud as we are of this magnificent achievement."

The club meets on Tuesday evenings at Waterlane Leisure Centre in Lowestoft If you'd like to participate in a Try Dive or would like further information about the club, call Gary Knights on 01502 562779 or Mark Owers on 01502 501414, or log on to www.lowestoftscuba.co.uk  and click on the 'Try Dive' link.