The Northern Ireland Federation of Sub-Aqua Clubs (NIFSAC) is the National Governing Body (NGB) for ''Sub Aqua'' in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. ''Sub Aqua'' is a broad term encompassing both recreational underwater activities such as

recreational diving Recreational diving or sport diving is diving for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment, usually when using scuba equipment. The term "recreational diving" may also be used in contradistinction to "technical diving", a more demanding aspect of ...

and

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

, and competitive underwater activities such as

underwater hockey Underwater hockey (UWH), (also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom) is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling ...

. It was formed in 1975 at the request of the Sports Council for Northern Ireland (now Sport Northern Ireland) to ensure that clubs affiliated to either the

British Sub-Aqua Club The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by UK Sport as the national governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom. The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid-1990s had over 50,000 members d ...

(BSAC) and the Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (English: ''Irish Underwater Council'') (CFT) would be eligible to apply for its grants. In the absence of a local sports governing body, the Sports Council for Northern Ireland could only recognise the BSAC as the official governing body with the potential for clubs affiliated to the CFT being excluded from access to its services. The foundation of the NIFSAC is attributed to Dr Douglas Boyd, who served as its inaugural President and who is acknowledged for his effort in obtaining agreement from both the BSAC and CFT and for preparing a draft constitution acceptable to all parties. The NIFSAC is one of four NGBs representing ''Sub Aqua'' in the constituent countries of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The others are the British Sub Aqua Club (England), the Scottish Sub Aqua Club (Scotland) and the

Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs The Welsh Association of Sub Aqua Clubs ( cy, Cwmdeithas Clybiau Tanddwr Cymru) (WASAC) was the national governing body (NGB) for ''Sub Aqua'' in Wales until January 2016. ''Sub Aqua'' is a broad term encompassing both recreational underwater acti ...

(Wales), with the British Sub Aqua Club being the NGB for the United Kingdom; a role it has held since 1954.

References

1975 establishments in Northern Ireland Diving organizations Sub-Aqua Sports organizations established in 1975 Underwater diving in the United Kingdom {{Underwater-diving-stub

See also

References