Originally from Foynes in Co. Limerick, Ray Ward has lived in Galway since 1998, when he moved to the City of the Tribes to study science.

As a first-year student in NUI, Galway, Ray joined the NUIG Sub Aqua Club and received his first introduction to scuba diving.

"I was trained through the club, and I wanted to pass it on so I've been training people since 2000. I volunteer to train people during trips."

Ray's willingness to train other club members on an ongoing basis for the past year lead to his being nominated by the club committee for Comhairle Fo Thoinn's Diver of the Year Award, in the Western Region. He received the award last week and is obviously touched to be nominated.

"The award is meant as a thank you to someone behind the scenes who goes unrecognised. All the CFT clubs nominate one person, and last June our committee nominated me. I just got word last week, the committee had even forgotten about it, it was so long ago! And I didn't know I was nominated, so I'm delighted," says Ray.

Ray's interest in water sports did not begin with his term in NUI, Galway, however. "I've been in love with the water since a young age. There's an outdoor pool in Foynes, so all the kids are just thrown back to the pool during the summertime!" I always loved water, I was a lifeguard in Foynes when I was in school, and later I was a lifeguard in Leisureland when I came here for college." Ray has also been involved with Irish Water Safety, teaching water safety classes as a lifeguard.

In diving terms, he is an experienced operator after almost ten years in the water. He has been on a lot of trips with the club, including Scapa Flow, where there are wrecks from both world wars, and Loch Ness.

His favourite place to dive is the Bridges of Ross, near Loop Head in Co. Clare. "I don't get there enough. It's near Kilkee Co. Clare, there's a nice pinnacle there you can get to from the shore. You can go down 20m and look up through all the life that's there."

Another place he loves to dive is Malinbeg in Co. Donegal, where the club goes once a year for training purposes.

However, he's hoping to broaden his reach in the coming months, with a work trip to San Francisco providing a perfect opportunity for some warm water diving.

"I'm going to work in San Francisco for three months, and I hope to get some time off for proper diving. You don't have to wear a dry suit there as it's warm water, and there's totally different life there."

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