About


FIT TO DIVE ltd is a micro-organisation based in the United Kingdom.  Founded by Dr Laura Walton, Clinical Psychologist, it exists to help divers towards physical, mental and emotional wellbeing in diving.  

We offer education and training for divers to share knowledge about niche topics in diver behaviour. Further research on these topics is needed and we seek to address this gap.  For this reason, we reinvest funds raised by courses and training into our research activities - to inform our education aims. 

We intend to create space for divers to talk about things that affect all aspects of diver fitness and wellbeing.  We are also a small community of divers seeking to motivate and inspire each other to be fit-to-dive.

Our Values

  • CURIOSITY - Being open to exploring new perspectives and discovering concepts, knowledge and all kinds of useful stuff.

  • AWARENESS - Being aware of thoughts, feelings and action; bringing conscious attention to what drives what we do as divers.

  • EXPLORATION - Exploring the underwater environment and delving into the world of ideas that may help us there.

  • SAFETY - Sharing information and skills that can help us to protect safety and enable development.

  • CONNECTION - Engaging with environment, connecting to nature and being present with other people and creatures.

  • GROWTH - Adapting to context, overcoming challenges, learning effectively and building behaviours to improve knowledge, skills and experience in diving.

Instructor

Instructor & Course Creator Dr Laura Walton

Diving since 2007, Laura is an active scuba diver and instructor (& Clinical Psychologist in the UK) with range of experience from low visibility, cold water dives to tropical locations and the various challenges different sites offer. Her perspective in training is influenced by 20 years of studying psychology & 7 years as a diving professional. Alongside this she previously co-managed an active dive club and school in Scotland, and has experience of the dive industry and community. Laura holds multiple relevant qualifications including PADI Master Instructor, DDI Instructor, EFR Instructor & DAN Instructor. With her interest in diving psychology and physiology, she seeks to learn more through research and to share understanding through creation of unique courses that help divers to be physically, mentally and emotionally fit-to-dive.

Why .org ?

If you have noticed the .org, you may be wondering if Fit to Dive is a non-profit or a charity.  It's not.  The intention with Fit To Dive is to run it with divers, for divers.  The original plan was to make it a community interest company (CIC).  With a CIC most of the profits go back into the company/community and the owner(s) may take a smaller share.  However, that entity just worked out more complicated, and risked taking up the time needed for research, resource creation and provision of services.

So, in the end it's  a limited company.  I stuck with the .org, because it felt appropriate.  Fit To Dive still works with divers and respond to the needs of this community.  Most of the funds are put back into building Fit To Dive.  For example: course fees contribute to research activity into important and under-researched topics. Then there is investment in training to provide specialist services. In future, we hope to subsidise  services for deserving individuals. 

Essentially, the intention is to support the work.