Ontario Underwater Council

Underwater Enthusiasts:

~ Are you interested in: Scuba diving? ~ Snorkelling? ~ Meeting new friends? ~ Marine history? ~ Shipwrecks? ~ History of the Great Lakes?

Click this link to: Join up through one of our Clubs

~ Our Clubs provide:

Dive buddies, new friends, access to fabulous dive sites, wrecks & technology
Snorkelling adventures, vacation trips, sports & fitness
Safety, consulting, liability insurance, loan of safety gear
Group purchase of safety equipment: e.g., Lifejackets, oxygen analyzers
Seminars, newsletters, marine history, aquatic knowledge
Comprehensive Liability Insurance Coverage

~ Let us help you experience the underwater world and expand your interests and knowledge!

Club Membership Directors:

Fill in the OUC 2026 Excel Membership Submission Spreadsheet:

– Available now for download – OUC Club Membership Submission (Excel spreadsheet).
– Go to your Downloads folder and open the OUC Excel Membership Submission Spreadsheet.xlsx
– “Save As” with your club’s name and the date in the filename.xlsx
– Add your information for new and renewing members to the spreadsheet and Save.
– Email your club’s completed spreadsheet to: membership@underwatercouncil.com

New Member Submissions to OUC

  • All submissions to add new members of your club to the OUC database, must be made by the official, authorized Club Membership Director of your OUC club, as approved by your OUC club’s board of directors.
  • Individual members wanting to join OUC: Contact your OUC club’s membership director – See list of OUC clubs.

Renewal date:

  • OUC clubs are advised to maintain continuous liability insurance from year to year for your club, and your club’s board of directors, instructors and divemasters. To do this, clubs must renew their OUC membership before Dec. 31 when the previous year’s membership and liability insurance expires. Please renew the following:
    1. Club membership as a training club or non-training club. Note: If you were a training club in previous years, you must renew again as a training club to maintain your continuous liability insurance coverage from year to year.
    2. Renew with at least 6 members. OUC recommends that the 6 or more members renewed in December each year include:
      (a) your board of directors
      (b) all professional leadership members, such as Instructors and Divemasters from previous years, to ensure their continuous liability insurance coverage
      (c) any other club members who join or renew in December.

OUC Club Fees:

  • Non-Training Club $150
  • Training Club $550

OUC Individual Member Fees:

  • BLUE Members $50
    • A Blue Member may be selected by their Club’s executive as their club’s voting delegate at the OUC Annual General Meeting (AGM).
  • GOLD Members $67
    • An individual OUC Member may choose “Gold Member” status which provides the member with the option to have their own vote at the OUC AGM rather than be represented by the club’s delegate.
      .
  • GOLD LIFETIME Members – no charge!
    • Recipients of the Lt. Cdr. Ken Grant Memorial Trophy are given Gold Lifetime Membership in OUC as part of the award.

OUC Payment:

  • By eTransfer: Send payment to: payment@underwatercouncil.com
  • By Cheque: Payable to Ontario Underwater Council
    1. eMail a photo of both the front and the back of your cheque to payment@underwatercouncil.com
    2. Then follow up by mailing the actual cheque to:
      Ontario Underwater Council, 206 Payne Cres., Aurora ON L4G 0T6
  • Include your club name on the eTransfer and cheque.

OUC Official Membership Status:

  • Pay your Club Fee (Non-Training Club $150 – or – Training Club $550)
  • with at least six club members @ $50 each.
  • Club Membership year runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, and expires Dec. 31.
  • Why we recommend membership renewal before December 31 each year – To maintain continuous Errors & Omissions (E&O) liability insurance coverage into the next year for your professionals and leadership team of Training Clubs. Avoid gaps in coverage, which could affect future claims related to past incidents. Read more about the importance of a December renewal at: OUC Insurance Reminder

Benefits to joining OUC:

  • The same terrifically low price this year for comprehensive liability insurance coverage for scuba clubs and members.
  • Liability insurance for the Board of Directors of your OUC club: Directors and Officers insurance.
  • Promotion of safe practices in all aspects of scuba diving.
  • Subsidy of $150 for member clubs and individual OUC members to purchase their own oxygen analyzer for scuba tanks, especially Nitrox.
  • Loan of scuba safety equipment such as AED (Automated External Defibrillator) to take with you on your club’s events.
  • OUC online directory with your club listed, including website, social media, contact info.
  • Free advertising for club events.
  • Space to promote your Club at OUC’s booth at various annual venues, such as The Outdoor Adventure Show, NDA’s Shipwrecks, OUE’s Scuba Swap.
  • Invitation to Zoom and live events for the diving community (e.g., Jan 28 SUCI seminar with Heison Chak on the discovery of a schooner off Toronto, HHUC Inner Space Seminar with Jill Heinerth on Zoom re her career in cave diving.)
  • Mustang Lifejackets/PDFs group purchase.
  • Membership card.
  • Below the Surface monthly newsletter from OUC with helpful info on scuba safety, group purchases, recalls & service updates, risk management, liability insurance, community events, scuba swaps, seminars, shipwreck symposium, marine archaeology discoveries and highlights from Great Lakes underwater history.
  • Representation of the scuba diving community to provincial and federal governments, with the goal of deferring government regulation, and preserving self-regulation and community-led governance of the sport.
  • Knowing that your membership supports OUC’s many sport safety initiatives.
  • A supportive community for your aquatic adventures.

Guest Diver Program:

Liability Insurance details: