Training

Never Dived Before?

If you have never dived before I would highly recommend doing a try dive with us to see if diving is for you for the cost of £30.

This will involve one night in our swimming pool where a qualified instructor will take through the basics of diving. You will get a brief introduction to snorkelling and then be introduced to the diving equipment and get to use it in the pool.

If after this session you feel diving is not for you, you can walk away with no obligation.

If however, as we hope, you are amazed by the feeling of being underwater and want to continue learning, you can join the club and begin on the Ocean Diver course. This is the first step on the BSAC ladder.

Specialty Courses

Already Qualified?

If you are a qualified diver with the BSAC or with another agency you can join our club and whatever qualification you have will be honoured.

All we require you to do is have a session in the pool with one of our instructors and attend a short lecture introducing you to our club and the BSAC. If you feel your skills need refreshing we can provide a short course to assist you.

Within the branch we can run many skill development courses that incorporate supplementary skills not included within the main syllabus and develop known ideas to more advanced levels.

Refresher Sessions

If you’re already qualified but feeling a bit rusty, we offer refresher sessions in the pool for £30 a session.

BSAC Training Structure

The BSAC has been training people to dive since the early fifties. During this time the Diver Training Programme has been regularly updated and improved, to keep pace with developments in equipment and diving knowledge. The programme is designed to build confidence and self-reliance, whilst keeping safety uppermost.

Diving skills are taught progressively so that each new experience is built upon step by step. Following basic training in the safety of a swimming pool or protected area, students soon complete their first open water dives to achieve Ocean Diver certification. This progression continues to Sports Diver and beyond, where open water skills and techniques are further developed and experience gained.

Ocean Diver

This course provides you with the essential knowledge and skills needed to prepare for open water diving.

Learning to dive is all about learning to use your equipment properly and safely. The Ocean Diver training course concentrates on preparing you for this in the safety of a swimming pool or sheltered water and then introducing you to open water in a controlled and safe manner. This also gives you the opportunity to practice safety skills in the company of a qualified instructor or experienced diver.

Advanced Diver

The Advanced Diver course further develops your knowledge and skills. You will gain experience in planning and organising dives at different sites and under different circumstances.

Additional experience will be gained in using small boats, chartwork. navigation and many other related skills. The BSAC consider this grade as being a fully trained diver.

Sport Diver

In Sports Diver training, the emphasis is on building a sound foundation of open water diving skills and experience through a series of structured practical lessons.

Once you have gained this open water experience with a qualified instructor, you are ready to take part in dives with other Sports Divers or those of higher grades.

This qualification is considered by BSAC to be equivalent to PADI Advanced Open Water + Rescue Diver

First Class Diver

The BSAC's highest diving grade which requires a higher than average level of theoretical knowledge, organisational and personal diving skills.

The First Class Diver award is a culmination of a number of years' diving experience. BSAC 1st Class Divers are assessed through nationally conducted examinations.

Dive Leader

Dive Leader training concentrates on the responsibilities and safety aspects of leading other divers on an open water dive.

Practical lessons in rescue management and rescue skills will give you the confidence and ability to deal with those unforeseen emergencies. Leading a dive will develop your enjoyment, confidence and experience as a diver.

Internal Courses

Some of the courses that we run within our branch include the following:

  • Oxygen Administration

  • Practical Rescue Management

  • Dive Planning and Marshalling

  • Search and Recovery

  • Drysuit Training

Regional Training

Instructor Training

Once you have a few years experience a highly recommended, but by no means essential, route is to begin on the instructor ladder.

This not only helps the branch train new recruits, it also develops your diving skills immeasurably. All these courses are run outside the branch and again allow you to meet fellow minded divers from around the country.

Many other courses covering a very wide range of skills can be attended on external events run within our region. These include:

  • Boat Handling

  • Diver Coxswain

  • Chartwork and Position Fixing

  • Underwater Photography

  • Marine Life Identification

  • Nitrox and Extended Range

  • Lifesaver Awards

  • First Aid for Divers