14 December 2009
ASADA Safety and Training News Letter for 2009
Note from The Chairman – Lt Col Guy Wallis
The purpose of this letter is to update the members of SB 651 and ASADA Registered
Clubs following the cancellation of the AGM and Joint Services Sub-aqua Dive Conference
(JSSADC). As I am sure most people will appreciate money is very tight across Defence
and with some fairly stringent cuts being proposed it was almost impossible to justify the
JSSADC and subsequently the ASADA AGM. I welcome the views of Clubs and 651
members on this as I don’t envisage things getting any better in the near to mid-term. As
turn-out is usually low at the AGM and the JSSADC do people really feel we need these
“get-togethers” ? It is always nice direct feed back but in the technological age I and the
rest of the ASADA Committee are just “one click away”. That said, my intent is to invite all
those who want to air their views to the next ASADA Committee meeting which will be late
Jan or early Feb 2010. Exact date TBC but it will probably be the last week of Jan or the
first 2 weeks of Feb.
As Chairman I think we have had a strong year. ASADA have supported the “Battle-Back”
(BB) Sub-aqua initiative. The program was designed to use sub-aqua as a means of
rehabilitation for disabled servicemen and after a number of “try-dives” run by Headly
Court with the Gibraltar Barracks Club in support ASADA sponsored 2 expeditions. The
first was to Cyprus in April this year with a second to Malta in October. I won’t provide any
more detail as there is an article later in the News Letter which covers the BB Sub-aqua
project in depth. I would like to congratulate those who supported the first Expedition to
Cyprus on their being presented the BSAC “Neptune” award at the DOC in December.
This is a new award for diving projects which serve a greater good than simply sub-aqua. I
would also like to congratulate Maj Andy Reid for another Duke of Edinburgh Award for the
conservation work conducted during Ex JURASSIC SHARK 2.
Battle Back Sub-aqua
Although we got the “Battle Backers” in the water there is still a question on where this is
leading us. Clearly the MOD policy is one of inclusion so it follows that the medicals they
receive (and they have to pass a full services diving medical) need to cover them to dive
back with their units (they are currently restricted to BB). There will be a meeting in the
New Year to carry this forward which the ASADA Chairman, DO and Medical Officer
should be attending. In addition the staff at Bovisand and Bovington (and the other Subaqua AT centres) need to be “Diving Disabilities Aware” (DDA) trained and the centres
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need to be “disabled friendly”. All this needs to be achieved against a bleak financial
outlook.
DAN Insurance
We are still picking our way through the ramifications of our HSE “at work” status. The
latest conundrum is that DAN are now saying their insurance will not cover military divers
while they are “on duty” (basically all diving during the firms time or using the firms
equipment). It would appear that the DAN problem revolves around the difference that the
underwriters have interpreted over diving while on duty for mil purposes – mine
clearances, welding boats underwater etc the DPM variety and diving for sport while on
duty. DAN’s view is that they are happy with the latter but understandably not the former
and the problem is about interpretation and understanding of the two which they are
addressing. We are hopeful of a statement of clarification soon.
Cadets
The next issue is the governance of Cadets (Joint and Single Services) carrying out subaqua. When the Officers in charge are being paid they are at work, so should their be a
SADS and should they comply with Joint Service Regulations? The gut reaction is yes but
this places even greater strain on the services doctors to run medicals and on the Cadets
to get folk through the SADS course!!
DSO Reports
I have attached several pieces of work from Nick Harrington, Diving Standards Officer
(DSO). You will be aware that Nick has a wide portfolio and is bearing down on a number
of important issues of note to clubs and individuals are the following:





DSO’s Report on MOD Sport Diving Presented to JSSADPAC on 08 Dec 09.
DSO’s Report on NATIONAL DIVING COMMITTEE (NDC) DIVING INCIDENTS
REPORT (DIR) 2009.
BS 8478 – Breathing Gases for Diving and Hyperbaric Applications
HSE Diver’s Breathing Air Standard and Frequency of Examinations and Tests.
(This is a PDF file and will be attached rather than included to this document.)
Actions from the JSSADPAC Meeting 08 Dec 09.
There are several items in Nick’s report given to the JSSADPAC of interest. The “Pusser’s”
diving Log is not available to recreational divers. You can’t dive if you are taking anti
malarial drug ‘Meflaquine’ (issued in Kenya), there are several interesting comments on
diving incidents and be aware that Nick has a number of visits to ASADA Registered Clubs
due. Every club has to be visited over a 5 years period so there is no point in trying to
dodge the issue. You will get a visit invited or not otherwise so please liaise with the
ASADA Secretary and confirm when you want Nick to visit.
Compressors
For those with Club compressors the breathing gas standards are covered in more detail
at Enclosures 2, 4 & 5. The bottom line is that as we are “at work” our club compressors
need to meet some stringent requirements. You will need and annual inspection of the gas
produced (about £500) and quarterly reports (the test kit is about £200 and the tests about
4 x £15). They will also have to keep records for 6 years showing that the tests have been
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completed. You should also be aware that a number of dive shops are giving this a stiff
ignoring so if you decide to or have to go to a shop please ask them what standard they
produce air to! Could I also ask clubs with compressors to e-mail and let me know the
scope of the problem? I want to try and force people’s hands and say this is a safety
requirement and that the services should pay but I need to know how much of a problem it
is!
Incidents
Nick’s report from the NDC lays out the incidents from the 3 services and the centres
which appeared in the in the Annual BSAC report. Loss of integrated weights crops up
several times, there are several cases of DCI and ear injuries and some rapid ascents. I
understand that the BSAC review a divers qualifications (they are on the data base) after
each reported incidents and then try to see if there are implications or shortfalls in training.
Regretably this does not get reported as the BSAC are worried people will stop reporting
incidents if they know they are being “looked in to”.
BSAC DOC
A summary and a copy of the handout from the DOC is at Enclosure 6. A full read from the
DOC is at:
http://www.bsac.com/login.asp?section=000100010008001300020002&loginerror=1&dest
=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebsac%2Ecom%2Fpage%2Easp%3Fsection%3D1737%26sec
tionTitle%3DNDC%2BBulletin
From an “Army perspective” the most significant moment was the presentation of the
Neptune Trophy to the BB team that went to Cyprus. The Neptune Trophy is a new award
presented for diving for a purpose that fulfils a greater good – but please look at the
Enclosure and the BSAC Web for more detail!
Tech Diving
You will have seen from the DOC report that the BSAC have changed their range of tech
courses on offer. Although on the face of it this all looks good (and the materials look to be
exceptional). As Chairman ASADA I have a few issues. The standard of the instructors the
BSAC are crossing over is questionable. In the BSAC’s own words they have established
a pool of instructors from the “upgrading of ERD Instructors with mixed gas qualifications
to Sports Mixed Gas Instructor”. There is no way a reputable Tech Diving Agency would do
this! They will insist on the instructor candidate having separate instruction and then
assisting on a number of courses before he is signed off. Of the 127 new Instructors who
will be supporting BSAC Technical courses in the future 95 came through the upgraded
ERD Instructor Route!
My other huge concern is that the BSAC are no longer teaching the correct out of air
procedures for tech diving. They have now mandated that instructors cannot teach
breathing from the long hose and either donating or letting the OOA diver take the primary
regulator on the long hose. Instead they are directing that the long hose can be used for
an air share but should not be breathed. The claim is that air sharing from a long hose can
only be achieved if the donor is horizontal. Not only is this untrue but it ignores the fact that
divers should be horizontal and the main reason for divers breathing the long hose – which
is because they know it works.
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The real reason for adopting this configuration, which is not covered in the BSAC letter
(attached to this e-mail) is because when the primary reg fitted to a long hose being (see
picture) is attached to the left hand cylinder (as you look at it) it cannot “roll-off”. A roll off is
when the pillar valve knocks on the ceiling of an OHE and the valve is inadvertently shut.
The left hand valve rolls open. The right hand one can roll shut but! If a diver monitors the
gas by looking at the SPG he will notice if the pressure has not dropped and will know that
the valve has rolled shut. He should also note when he has passed through a low section
of cave or wreck and reach back and check the valve is open. In addition he should
periodically check throughout the dive. This means that the diver must be able to reach
back and close and open the valves on the cylinders and close and open the isolation
manifold on a twin set. None of this is complicated or difficult but if you intend to do a
BSAC tech course check the instructor knows why the long hose should be breathed and if
he is teaching with a twin set of single cylinder with an H valve check he can do shut
downs. If he can’t ask for your money back and walk away. He has clear gaps in his
knowledge and skill and should not have an instructor’s ticket! A copy of the letter on
Hogarthian kit configuration concerns is attached to this e-mail as PDF.
Finally, Steve Kirkman has taken over from Dave Taylor as the Tech Officer. Steve has just
completed a Poseidon Regulator Servicing Course and will start servicing the regulators in
time for the new diving season. Other than routine services the Tech kit is in good order.
The wings and harnesses were renewed and are available for hire at a low cost. Steve will
consolidate the inventory over Xmas and will be producing a break-down of hire costs in
the New Year.
Finance
Due to a delay in the ATG(A) funding for this FY coming through we are now scraping the
bottom of the barrel and our cash assets are only several hundred pounds. ATG(A) have
said we can plan on a grant of £5K which as in previous years will be forthcoming early in
the New Year (Feb 10). Depending upon the budget situation and in view of ASADA’s
contribution to the BB Adaptive Program there is a possibility of a slightly higher level of
Grant but it will not be less than £5K!! Once we have sorted out the grant the Treasurer will
produce and itemised break-down and circulate it to you all. Other than the tech kit there
are a number of other items held that are available for rent. ASADA now have 4 Silent
Submerge DPVs (underwater scooters). These are available for rent by either a DPV
instructor or a qualified DPV diver. Those wanting to know more or to do a course please
contact the ASADA Tech Officer. The Satellite EPIRBs are still being held at Bovi and can
be signed out for expeds going to remote locations. I understand that some of the clubs
feel that their “ASADA Registration” is being spent on tech dive gear. The reality is that the
subs just cover the cost of the ASADA Web. The money for Tech Gear, BB and High profile
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expeds comes from ATG(A), Nuffield Trust and money generated from kit hire. If it were
not for the top end expeds and the BB Sub-aqua we would get considerably less cash
from ATG(A) so please don’t feel ASADA are short changing the registered clubs.
The Web
The Web has undergone a few tweaks but not the overhaul envisaged at the end of last
year. It is up and running again though so please check for news updates, exped details
etc. Regrettably the risk assessment disappeared but the Chairman will sort this out.
Those writing an RA are advised to look on the BSAC web at:
http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=1586&sectionTitle=Risk+Assessment
Where there are a number of useful examples and a blank template.
Expeds
Please keep forwarding the Exped PXRs to the Expeds Officer. There were a number of
questions concerning the cost of using Ascension. Chairman RAFSA briefed the Joint
Services Sub-Aqua Policy Advisory that the diving exped facilities at Ascension received
NO funding other than the charges paid by expeds. He emphasised that much of the
expense of using the facility goes toward equipment (incl a nitrox membrane compressor)
and building upkeep, and water rates since the centre is non-publicly funded. All this is
maintained & sustained by RAFS-AA using non Public funds. Despite some price
increases the costs were very favourable compared with other expeds - the last ASI exped
cost circa £4,200 for 12 divers for 12 days Nitrox diving versus my costs of £12,384 for 12
divers to Malta for a week & approx £16,000 for 18 divers on a Red Sea live-aboard.
Ascension provides a unique diving opportunity, 'proper' AT and when compared to exped
destinations elsewhere around the world it remains particularly cost effective option.
To close out on the Risk Assessment issues raised above, when planning expeds and
submitting the JSATF(A); Look on the generic Risk Assessments on the BSAC web and
also look at the SITA sight: http://www.sita.org.uk/Downloads/downloads.html and read the
notes on recreational risk assessment for diving professionals. In addition a copy of the
Risk Assessment for Ex Cave Finn is attached to this e-mail as a guide. Please be aware
that additional sections need to be included depending on the location. For sea dives, sea
states etc will have to be included. For those planning HIGH RISK REMOTE the advice is
as follows:
HIGH RISK NOTES
1.
Expedition involving High Risk must be additionally scrutinised to ensure that
the expedition is achievable and if it is, that all safety aspects have been addressed.
This is to include an assessment of the contingency plans in the case of accidents or
circumstances which would require rescue. A High Risk exercise is one in which the
physical risk to life and limb are high and where the expedition members may be
operating at the upper end of their qualification and or experience. The following
factors should be considered when producing a presentation:
a.
b.
c.
Ability of the group members.
Technical difficulty of the routes and activity.
Experience of the leader and the activity group leaders.
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d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Conditions of water, ground, caves etc.
Time of year and climatic/environmental conditions.
Communications.
Medical.
Rescue availability.
Access.
Conclusion
Despite a number of policy issues which need to be overcome and the prospect of their
being even less cash available ASADA still plans to be at the forefront of Tri-service subaqua. There is a cave diving expedition to Florida in January 2010 where it is hoped 6
divers will be trained to “Intro Cave”. This will be supported by four members of the cave
diving trip from 2007 to France. It is also hoped that a further cave diving trip will visit the
Republic of Ireland in September 2010. Battle Back continues. A further trip to Cyprus is
scheduled for the spring with a joint trip to the Red Sea with British Ex-Services
Wheelchair Sports Association (BEWSA) in October 2010. The ASADA Diving Officer, John
Gibbon, is also preparing to do a DDA “Road Show” so Services Diving Clubs across the
country can be trained to ensure that the BB divers can continue diving when they return
to their units. And of course, Andy Reid is preparing for another Jurassic Shark Expedition
to the Cocos Island’s in 2010. If there are any further questions please don’t hesitate to email the committee!
Guy
G Wallis
Lt Col
Chairman ASADA
Enclosures:
Enclosure 1. DIVING FOR SERVICE PERSONNEL WOUNDED ON COMBAT OPERATIONS –
John Gibbon (ASADA DOC).
Enclosure 2. MOD Sport Diving Report – JSSADPAC
Enclosure 3. BSAC NDC DIVING INCIDENTS REPORT (DIR) 2009
Enclosure 4. BS 8478 – Breathing Gases for Diving and Hyperbaric Applications
Enclosure 5. ACTIONS FROM THE JOINT SERVICES SUB AQUA DIVING POLICY ADVISORY
COMMITTEE MEETING HELD AT HMS TEMERAIRE ON 08 DEC 09
Enclosure 6. DOC 2009 Report
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Enclosure 1.
ASADA
DIVING FOR SERVICE PERSONNEL WOUNDED ON COMBAT OPERATIONS
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Diver training for those wounded, often with life changing injuries, on operations in both
Iraq and Afghanistan.
After the Falklands War, where he fought as a platoon commander, Guy Wallis, Chairman ASADA,
continued to dive with his fellow Para Regt enthusiasts. However, now his diving buddies included
a leg amputee (Photo 1).
In January 2008, Guy conceived the idea of using sub-aqua as a means of rehabilitation for the
wounded at DMRC Headley Court. He issued a typically short, effective email to Mark Foster,
ASADA Medical Officer and myself the DO. He was to consider the medical implications, including
clearances, and I was to come up with a training plan.
A couple of months later and the first Diving Disability Awareness course was run by Dennis Wigg
(NI) at Minley and attended by most of the ASADA committee. In the margins of this, the first
outline plan was pulled together. One of the major decisions was that we would need someone
from Headley Court on the exped, preferably a Remedial Instructor (RI).
In fact it was to be several months later, after the formation of the Battle Back (BB) Team at
Headley Court consisting of Major Martin Colclough APTC and WO2 QMSI Ash Clare RE, that real
progress was to be made. Happily both had done some diving in the past. In the meantime,
ASADA had run some more DDA courses and trained about 25 DDA instructors. During this
process Dennis and I recrafted the dated and not very focussed BSAC DDA syllabus.
In late November, the first try dives were run. This was definitely stepping straight into the deep
end as our first try-divers included a double leg amputee, who was Estonian with limited English.
(Photo 2). Frankly it didn’t matter what language he spoke: I thought we would have to empty the
pool to get him out. To say he loved it would be a major understatement. All involved in that
evening’s training were mightily relieved and took some valuable lessons away with us. Perhaps
the most important is that the Battle Backers (BBers) are soldiers and despite their injuries like to
get on and participate, often at a speed rather faster than the instructor is expecting. As Ash Clare
remarked in between taking pictures, this would be their first adrenalin rush since being wounded.
At the same time, the ASADA Project Team of Project Officer WO1 (RSM) Mick Stewart, Exped
Leader Lt Col Greg Wilson and myself as Training Lead was established. We knew we were going
to CJSATC in one of the exped slots in early June, but that was the only concrete information we
had.
The next 5 months saw a busy RSM, Mick, liaising with the BB team, many units and individuals,
with Mark Foster and Capt (Dr) Kelly Frowen about medicals and with INM for the referred
medicals. We had agreed that all had to have try dives before going on the exped; a lesson well
learned from previous able-bodied expeds. It is a real tribute to Mick’s powers of persuasion, his
charm and simple determination that all the slots were filled a couple of weeks before flying out.
We had a tri-Service, male and female group. Then one of the team had to withdraw due to her
unit refusing to release her. This was a double blow as she was the RAF rep. A couple of days
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after that, another team member had his medical revoked by INM. At the very last moment, a
replacement was found, but he didn’t have the chance to try dive as the focus was on getting his
medical sorted out. The major lesson learned in the planning phase was that you must get the
volunteers identified, they must immediately start the medical clearance process and while that is
going on a try dive must be sorted for them. Time simply flew by. While Mick was doing the hard
work, including securing BA flights at a good price, I cracked the Risk Assessment and produced a
training programme.
This was the first time that INM had had to consider the implications of disabled Servicemen and
women diving as sports divers ‘on duty’. The support received from the IMN and the knowledge
they passed onto the instructors was superb. We are extremely grateful to INM for their
involvement - as it makes absolutely sure that these injured men and women really are fit for
diving. Since many had been blown up by IEDs or mines, the majority had whole body blast
injuries, with the concomitant concerns about chest and head injuries and recovery.
At the end of May, Mick and I flew out as the advance party to take over the stores, sort the other
admin and for me to validate the Risk Assessment for the Sheltered Water training. This was a
really wise move as otherwise we would have lost a day’s diving. The other purpose was to
conduct try dives for the Multi-Activity Camp that BB were running at CJSATC immediately before
our deployment. Many of these were so badly wounded that they would never get an INM medical
for a diving course, but their consultants had signed the try dive proforma agreeing that they were
capable of, and fit for, a try dive. This was one of the most rewarding and moving experiences of
my diving career. All who tried it found it very challenging, but two of them voted it the best activity
that they had done in 10 days of fun in the sun. For Mick and I it was simply humbling to see men
with such wounds trying so hard to do what we do for fun. We had 2 visitors: Comd ATG(A) came
and was clearly happy with what he saw, and we also had BFBS Cyprus, who frankly just got in the
way. Ash had a very special technique for dealing with them.
The exped finally consisted of 7 SADS/instructors, 5 wounded Servicemen (all Army, less one
Royal Marine) and one RI. All the wounded were private soldiers, less one lance corporal. We
deliberately overloaded with senior instructors and SADS to cope with challenges. The Malta
exped, on the other hand, was run on minimum scales.
The difficult decision at CJSATC is whether to use the swimming pool, which is about 100m from
the dive stores or the designated sheltered water, which is less. Given that all the wounded had
leg injuries, I opted for the sea. For the first 2 days, I was the equivalent of the pool attendant,
while lots of very happy instructors and students went diving in the clear, sheltered, shallow water.
The feeling as the first wave disappeared under the surface was fantastic: we had achieved what
we set out to achieve 18 months earlier. We had planned on 1:1 tuition, but as soon as the
students were in the water, it was quite clear that we could revert to 1:2, with the other instructor
holding off as support diver. This worked extremely well, and resulted in all students being taught
by 2 instructors. It also enabled Mark Foster to take some stunning video footage. There was one
student who simply hated the whole thing about diving. Despite very careful nurturing by Greg,
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after 2 days, he asked to be taken off the diving programme. This was where the planned 1:1
worked well. We also learned that being wounded is not just a physical assault on the body, but
affects all, to a greater or lesser degree, mentally. This wasn’t on the DDA course! Naturally, this
was the one potential student who we had not been able to see on a try dive; a lesson re-learned
firmly.
Having trained in the sea, the transition to Open Water was seamless. A trip to the Dolphins off the
old Jetty and back into the familiar sheltered water was achieved entirely comfortably, although all
noticed that there really isn’t much sea life around Cyprus. As with all diving courses, the theory
lessons had to be fitted in among the practical wet lessons. Another lesson emerged here:
despite their unquestioned fitness (Headley Court after all is about fitness as well as rehab), the
students tired more quickly. The above average heat didn’t help a bit.
Those of you who have dived on a CJSATC exped will know that you get 5 days diving on Zenobia
2 from Octopus Diving run by Mr Ian McMurray. Chad Wilkinson and his team at CJSATC had
bent over backwards to help us in setting up for the exped, but now they went a step further and
gave us a day’s RIB diving. Not only did this give us another day’s diving at no cost, but we also
validated injured soldiers diving from RIBs. This wasn’t a calm day at sea either. We dived the
Power Station Reef and Fraggle Rock. While the training objectives were being knocked off one
by one at a very satisfactory rate, all noticed the real absence of sea life.
The next 5 days were spent diving the Zenobia in the mornings and other sites in the afternoon.
Diving with Ian makes life much easier for the SADS as he works comfortably with the exped
leadership to achieve what you want. He also knows the Zenobia better than anyone else and has
set up deco trapezes and good shots to the appropriate points. By the end of the exped the
students were leading each other around the top of the wreck, scrupulously keeping above 19.9m
and clearly loving it. Their enjoyment was captured on video: the Village People YMCA routine
underwater is something else! The instructors managed some deeper dives and even some
qualifying dives for a couple of Dive Leaders working towards their Advanced Diver qualification.
One completely unexpected bonus was that Mick Stewart identified a vacancy on an AI course
being run at CJSATC and passed, without any preparation at all: this was a tremendous
achievement, particularly for a Sapper Diver.
CJSATC were great hosts and Dhekalia Garrison provides some facilities that other expeds don’t
need, such as plentiful ice to reduce swelling, a gym to stretch muscles and above all, a familiar
Services environment. The RI was busy every night and his contribution was invaluable, another
lesson for future expeds. We also learned that kitting up can take longer, but not significantly.
Both RIB and small hard boat (without lifts) diving is possible. But the bottom line: 4 wounded
soldiers, 2 of whom were amputees fully earned their Ocean Diver qualification and an RI did so
too.
Lessons learned from the diving were fed back into BSAC for the revision of the DDA course.
At the end, all the students asked if ASADA would run the Sports Diver course for them as a group.
As it happened, an OWI combined event was scheduled for Malta in late October. Not everyone
could make this, but a quick check revealed that no single period in the next 12 months would
accommodate all 5 new ODs. Most gave career reasons for not being able to attend, which is truly
encouraging. Indeed since the exped in Cyprus one has been promoted.
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The Malta Exped was put together quite quickly. Happily I was there in August with WO2 Mark
Devlin and a group of Officer Cadets from Sandhurst. Both Mark and I learned much on that trip
and since it had already been planned to bring the OWI Combined Event to the same venue,
planning could start in earnest, but from a known platform.
Taking on board the lessons from the Cyprus trip, the first task was to identify the divers and get
them started on the medical process. One instantly fell into place from 2 PARA and he already had
his medical, which was an encouraging start. The remaining place was taken by an RAF SNCO
responding to an email from Martin Colclough to all on the BB database. He immediately started
on the process of getting medically cleared, but was thwarted by the need for a scan following
some chest problems. I telephoned my successor at HQ ARTD, who dropped all his work and
started calling round not only the units in ARTD, but also all the Regimental Adjutants in the
Household Division since he is of that persuasion. Within 6 hours the place was taken by a Welsh
Guardsman. That was late on a Friday. At Monday lunchtime he had been medically examined by
Kelly Collins (née Frowen) and referred to INM. Since Kelly’s MRS is close to Gosport, the soldier
took his own docs there, saving a huge amount of time. This was the perfect example of a lot of
people working swiftly for the injured and wounded and to good effect. The expedition is indebted
to Kelly and to Capt Darren Priddie WG and Lt Col Tim Jalland Gren Gds for their prompt work.
This soldier finally had his try dive during the next DDA course I was running in preparation for
Malta, providing some realistic training for the student instructors.
Having learned the value of an advance party in Cyprus I duly went out to Malta 24 hours ahead of
everyone else to be greeted by a Force 8 gale, gusting more. It was sufficient to pick the
pavement up on the seashore road and dump it the other side of the road. That particular place
had been my first choice as a training site, so the next day was spent finding a suitable shore
diving location for sheltered water for the trainee ODs with enough depth to refresh the SD
students’ skills and good for the IFC too. I knew the site was right when I saw a placid horse
having a quiet paddle.
There were 3 different groups of students in Malta: the OWI combined event students, with Dennis
Wigg as their Instructor, the SD students (3) with myself and 2 OD trainees under Mark. The diving
group would operate together, while Dennis would join us for the diving parts of his courses. This
concept worked really well. It just took some coordination and it did mean that we could guard the
vehicles properly too.
The major problem on the first day was jellyfish: these little horrors stung each one of my students
and the stings resulted in really nasty swelling. It was their turn to laugh (and I’ve got the photos to
prove it) when a wasp stung me!
After 5 days, all the courses were complete with all passed, less one OD who withdrew as he
clearly hated diving. The try dive is a crude mechanism for judging people’s aptitude, but it is the
only one we have short of loading a man on a course. The original plan for several days RIB
diving was scuppered by the weather, but we managed a hard boat day on Comino skippered by
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Tony. For most people this was the highlight of the trip. Funny how you always get a couple of
people who are sea sick as soon as they seen a boat! For the new Sports Divers, we had already
managed some depth progression post qualification going 5 metres deeper daily and on this day’s
diving we got to 35m on the wreck of the P29. The afternoon was spent exploring several swim
throughs and dodging more wretched jelly fish. The last day was spent at the Blue Hole, where
one new OD enjoyed leading a new instructor as the he had dived the site before. After that, we
helped the annual beach clean up, contributing greatly to the process, mostly above but also below
the water.
A month later saw a familiar team assembling at Sandhurst, who had asked for an IFC for some of
their OCdts in order to deliver pool training prior to their mandatory expeds. Dennis Wigg, Greg
Wilson and I were to deliver the course and a couple of BBers came too. It was fascinating to see
how really effective the BBers were: they knew their stuff in depth and were forthright in
contributing. Their diving skills in the pool were really good too. So in 7 months, a couple of
people had gone from being non-divers to Assistant Diving Instructors and their only question at
the end was “how do we go on from here” – talk about rewarding!
In Cyprus it had been suggested that ASADA apply for the BSAC annual expedition of the year
award. We looked at the criteria and took some advice: our work did not fit any of the parameters,
principally because it was not a one-off event to a single destination, but a programme for people.
We sent in our application anyway and heard nothing for some weeks. We were all stunned to
receive a message from the National Diving Officer, Dr Jeff Reed, “I have commissioned a new
award, which will take the form of a medal which is being cast by the Royal Mint. This will be
special award, which will be only awarded under special circumstances by the NDO for outstanding
achievement where diving is supporting a greater goal/initiative. I have called it the Neptune
Medal”. Most of us who were involved in the expeditions were presented with our certificates and
Greg with the Neptune Medal in front of a well-attended Diving Officer’s Conference in London on
Saturday 5th December. Three instructors could not make it: one was on a charity dive marathon
for Help for Heroes and OCdt Steve Howard was on the drill square at Sandhurst – some things
never change!
As I said earlier, this has never been a single venture, but a programme. Next year we are working
with BB at DMRC to deliver some training in Cyprus in the early summer and a joint expedition in
October with Nick Harrington’s Millennium Divers to Egypt to bring the serving wounded and exService men and women in wheelchairs together: this promises to be a very special trip. We will
also continue to help those we have trained already progress in their diving careers.
Unlike most other AT disciplines, we have been able to use the BSAC Ocean Diver syllabus as a
platform for rehabilitation. The outcomes have been 5 new ODs of whom 3 went on to qualify fully
as Sports Divers, of whom 2 are now Assistant Diving Instructors. Diving is now a valued tool in
the BB armoury.
Despite the undoubted strengths of ASADA and several other military clubs, ASADA alone could
not have done this and we must thank Dennis Wigg for delivering the initial DDA training and then
following up on both expeds, the 2 exped leaders Mick Stewart and Mark Devlin for their
determination to get these expeds going, Maj Martin Colclough and WO2 Ash Clare at BB DMRC
for their support, Capt (Dr) Kelly Collins and INM for prompt medical clearances and finally both the
Chair and NDO of BSAC, Drs Clare Peddie and Jeff Reed for their enthusiasm and support.
12
Enclosure 2.
MOD Sport Diving Report – JSSADPAC
1.
S1627 (Revised 10/03) Military Diving Log
a.
b.
FPGO FA13 SO2 Tony Devitt has received numerous demands for this
publication.
This is NOT available for AT community, only RN & RE Military divers.
`
LF HQ ATGA SO2 David Reed – Felstead request for PADI Confined Water Diving,
Kenya
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3.
Due to the continued use of anti malarial drug ‘Meflaquine’ for OTX Troops
deployed to Kenya, no open water diving is permitted due to the risk of seizure
while underwater.
However, Surg Cdr Ravi Ramaswami HDHM has granted permission for ‘Try
Dives’ and PADI ‘Confined Water Training’ to take place in accordance with the
criteria listed in his e-mail dated 17 Jun 09.
In summary all dives must take place:
i. In a swimming pool.
ii. Maximum depth of water 3m.
iii. Safety diver in the water and fully briefed on rescue of a convulsing diver.
iv. Medical kit including O2 and FAK with trained personnel available at
poolside.
Those AT ‘Dive Expeditions’ which deploy independent of the OTX Training
should source another ‘anti-malarial’ drug which is allowed when diving such as
‘Malarone’.
Compressed Natural Breathing Air (CNBA) Testing
New JSP 319, Annex A, Para 2.6.4.09, note 2. – If CNBA is to be used solely for
Adventurous Training diving then it shall comply with the requirements of BS EN
12021.
Defence Instructions & Notices (DIN) 2009DIN04-184 highlights this change to air
quality testing.
At present no CNBA cylinder is available for sample analysis as UWS has no safety
case for AT diving. However, Defence Fuel Group (DFG) is sourcing a contract
cylinder from BOC which will be delivered to the unit/branch then returned for
analysis and results will be electronically communicated to DST and the branch.
DSO(AT) hopes to release details at the JSSADPAC meeting 08 Dec 09 after a trial
has been conducted.
The 3 monthly ‘stain tube’ test in accordance with HSE Diving Information Sheet
(DIS) No 9 (Revision 1) is still extant and branches/AT centres are being made aware
that the Carbon Monoxide (CO) tubes that have the first graduation of 5 ppm must
have the test modified to reflect the 3 ppm maximum permissible level.
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. BS 8478 HSE Guidelines
e.
f.
Branches/AT centres are being made aware of the guidelines outlined by HSE
to clarify the situation of CNBA used in the production of Enriched Air (EANx) or
NITROX and the testing regime.
To date DSO(AT) has only found AT centres to be producing EANx to support
BSAC Training programmes and not branches.
13
5. Board Of Inquiry (BOI) Decompression Illness (DCI) Incident 2006
a. DSO(AT) has been fully engaged as a SME support for the board members who are
conducting a BOI into a DCI incident which took place in Egypt in 2006.
b. As a direct outcome of this involvement DSO(AT) is strongly recommending to
branches that first aid training is conducted collectively at branch level with
emphasis on Decompression Illness (DCI) recognition and treatment. This training
should be recorded and will feature as part of 2010 Recreational Diving Standard
Checks (RDSC) conducted by DSO(AT).
c. Also, this theoretical training is to be supplemented with Practical Rescue
Management (PRM) scenarios, again as a branch collective ideally before the start
of the main diving season or prior to an ‘Expedition’ or at the beginning of a
intensive dive activity.
d. All this training can be conducted at branch level and is contained in the BSAC Dive
Leader syllabus which will act as revision for more experienced members and
continued personnel development for less experienced.
e. In accordance with Para. 38 JSSADR’ s dated 01 Apr 09:
38.
For all open water diving, suitable oxygen resuscitation equipment is
to be available on site, together with personnel trained in its use.
Oxygen resuscitation equipment is to be checked before all diving
activities to ensure it is operational and sufficient gas is available for
transfer of a casualty to Emergency Services.
f. Expeditions sanctioned for ‘live aboard’ style diving whether in ‘Scapa Flow’
or the ‘Red Sea’ must understand that the ‘contractor’ provides the means to
get to the dive site and back but the SADS has the full ‘duty of care’ for those
placed in his/her charge.
6. HSE Reported Dive Site Breach of Supervision Incident
a. HSE HM Principal Inspector Peter Sieniewicz informed DSO(AT) about a breach of
supervision he personally observed while conducting a follow up investigation (not
related) at an inland dive site called Capernwray which involved a Military branch.
b. This breach contravened ‘Diving at Work’ (Recreational diving projects ACOP)
regulations and the JSSADR’s (para 19, sub para h).
c. The SADS involved in this incident has had his supervisory status removed for 6
months by the OIC of JSSADC and invited to return on a SADS refresher course.
d. DSO(AT) has informed the Single Service Chairman that the branch will receive a
RDSC in the New Year as to date this branch has not received one.
e. DSO(AT) has discussed this incident with HSE HM Principal Inspector and
forwarded the actions carried out by OIC JSSADC and acknowledged by SofD in
the form of an e-mail trail.
7. DSO(AT) Recreational Diving Standard Checks (RDSC)
a. DSO(AT) has conducted 100% of his AT centre inspections for this year.
b. As far as branch RDSC for 2009, 18% have been conducted (2008 saw 26%) which
means in the last 24 months a total of 44% of the branches have had visits.
c. The take up on RDSC has seen a slight decline from one single service (ASADA)
which I would put down to operational tempo and which hopefully can be addressed
in 2010.
14
8. Recreational Diving Incident Reports (RDIR) from 30 Sept 08 – 01 Oct 09
a. The incident reports received from the 30 Sept 08 – 01 Oct 09 totals 33 reports
which is a slight increase on the same reporting period in 2008 (27 RDIR).
b. All AT centres are actively using the new BSAC produced PDF format and the
majority of branches are too.
c. As a defence cost cutting exercise all RN laptop air cards have been suspended
which has caused delays but if a branch/SADS contacts DSO(AT) they are informed
to fax the details through to the admin clerk back at FDHQ.
d. The following pie chart reflects the type of incidents reported in this reporting period
which reflects the HSE categorization.
9. Joint Services Sub Aqua Diving Regulations 01 Apr 2010
a. Outstanding action: MDSMP Meeting 26 May 09:
ITEM 6, Para 23, Sub Para a. – DSO(AT) will convene a meeting of key stakeholders in
advance of the annual promulgation of the JSSADR in order to review the regulations
before being issued.
b. DSO(AT) Comment – This will be an agenda item at the next Joint Services SubAqua Diving Policy Committee (JSSADPAC) Meeting to be held on the 8 Dec 09
when a suitable date can be arranged by all key stakeholders.
c. Recommend next JSSADPAC meeting 22 – 26 Mar 09?
10. DAN Insurance update
11. Military Recreational Diving Supervisor (MRDS)
15
Enclosure 3.
THE BRITISH SUB-AQUA CLUB (BSAC)
NATIONAL DIVING COMMITTEE (NDC) DIVING INCIDENTS REPORT (DIR) 2009
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The BSAC Diving Officers Conference (DOC) again took place in London this year on the
5 Dec 09 and the NDC DIR 2009 was presented by Brian Cumming the BSAC Diving
Safety and Incidents Advisor(DSIA)
Diving Standards Officer (Adventure Training) (DSO(AT)) has been collating all MOD TriService Recreational Diving Incident Reports (RDIR) and after analysis forwarding them
after removing ‘data protection’ material onto BSAC HQ in order that we contribute to the
national overview.
The reporting period again runs from 30 Sept – 01 Oct. This gives time for the BSAC
NDC DSIA to compile his report in time for the DOC.
To assist the MOD Tri-Service community to learn from other people’s mistakes I strongly
recommend that you obtain a copy of this report to illustrate the kind of incidents that get
reported and could be avoided.
However, to put this into context at the time of writing out of the 381 UK incidents
reported the MOD AT represents 4% (14) of the total.
The overseas statistics appear to be high, 28 overseas incidents reported of which 60%
(17) represents MOD AT. However, as we conduct our business overseas usually on
Expeditions and the robust reporting system in place by the SADS scheme I think it is a
fair comment to say a lot of ‘recreational holiday diving’ by BSAC members will go
unreported.
The following is a table which shows the serial number of the RDIR allocated by DSO(AT)
and corresponding BSAC reference in the NDC DIR 2009.
RDIR
Ser. No.
01/09
Unit/Branch
Summary of Incident
BRNC1816
02/09
03/09
JSSADC
BATSUB SAC
04/09
GIB UK
05/09
06/09
07/09
JSSADC
JSSADC
JSSADC
08/09
09/09
10/09
CJSATC
JSSADC
JSSADC
Minor air embolism/Pulmonary
Barotrauma
Rescue diver - separation
Loss of buoyancy – damaged
BCD
Deep dive – N2 Narcosis rapid
ascent
Man overboard – surface incident
Loss of integrated weight pouch
Loss of 2 integrated weight
pouches
Bruised left ear drum
Out of breath – surface swim
DCI – O2 administration &
recompression
11/09
12/09
13/09
JSSADC
RAF
Lossimouth
CTC RM SAC
14/09
JSSADC
15/09
JSSADC
16/09
WSBA
Fouled prop – deploying shot
Skin bend on completion of 9th
dive – Scapa Flow
OBM Engine failure – run out of
fuel & dead battery
Octopus failure during ascent drill
– water to diver
CCR course – loss of weight
pouch
Loss of integrated weight pouch -
BSAC HQ NDC
DIR Ref.
09/017
Overseas/UK
09/079
09/078
UK
Overseas
09/034
Overseas
09/039
09/040
09/041
Overseas
Overseas
Overseas
09/084
09/087
RIDDOR
02484621
(Note1)
(Note 2)
09/130
Overseas
UK
UK
09/131
UK
09/134
UK
09/150
UK
09/132
Overseas
Overseas
UK
UK
16
17/09
18/09
19/09
(Akroteri)
RAF
Waddington
JSSADC
20/09
RAF
Waddington
JSSADC
21/09
JSSADC
22/09
23/09
RESDA 1216
RAF Brize
Norton
Aborfield
Amphibians
Waterbeach
Waterbeach
SEME
Hammerheads
CJSATC
35 Engr Regt
24/09
25/09
26/09
27/09
28/09
29/09
30/09
31/09
MARSAC
171(S)
CJSATC
32/09
JSSADC
33/09
CTCRM SAC
found
Shoulder pain - DCI
09/154
Overseas
DSC alarm on VHF Radio –
SADS course responded
Mask squeeze during descent –
borrowed equipment
Misreading dive computer unfamiliarity
Tympanic membrane reversed medication
Gastrointestinal gas expansion
Loss of buoyancy – rapid ascent
(poor drills)
Head wound caused by Titan
Trigger fish
HP hose burst
Mask shattered – poor drills
Rapid ascent – ‘EARS’ (nasal
congestion)
‘EARS’ – on descent
Dizzy spell after diving – exercise
taken
Panic attack at depth
09/153
UK
09/177
Overseas
09/281
UK
09/282
UK
09/284
09/285
UK
UK
09/283
Overseas
09/288
09/287
09/289
Overseas
Overseas
UK
09/291
09/290
Overseas
Overseas
09/286
Overseas
CBL demo – pain in sinus, sent to
Hospital
Slipped weight belt – controlled
ascent
Surface rescue of solo diver (nonMilitary)
09/293
Overseas
09/292
UK
09/294
UK
Notes:
1.
2.
3.
RDIR 10/09 was RIDDOR to HSE (02484621) and e-mailed to BSAC HQ on 06/05/09,
however it does not appear in the NDC Report 09.
RDIR 11/09 was e-mailed to BSAC HQ on the 06/05/09 but does not appear in the NDC
Report 09.
A DCI incident has been reported to DSO(AT) from HSE via the Maritime Coastguard
Agency (MCA). This should have been reported immediately in order for a RIDDOR to be
submitted to HSE within 10 days of the incident. Further investigation into this incident is
ongoing.
17
Enclosure 4
BS 8478 – Breathing Gases for Diving and Hyperbaric Applications
British Standard 8478 specifies requirements for the composition and purity of breathing gases,
other than compressed air, for diving and hyperbaric applications. It specifies reduced levels of
contaminants compared with those required to meet the compressed air standard, BS EN 12021.
HSE supports British Standards as a means to enhance safety and provide guidance to industry. In
particular HSE endorses the need for increased gas purity, over and above the levels required in
BS EN 12021, where equipment is exposed to oxygen levels greater than 21% and for gas mixes
used at increased depths. Compliance with a British Standard is, however not a legal requirement
but their observance provides a means of demonstrating that appropriate risk controls have been
applied. It is open to gas manufacturers/providers to produce gas to their own standard provided
these also apply appropriate risk controls. Ultimately it will be up to the courts to decide if such
other standards are sufficient.
HSE is aware that areas of the recreational diving industry have concerns with some aspects of BS
8478. It is believed these concerns are based on whether the demanding purity criteria are
justified for all gas mixes used in recreational diving, as well as the potential impact the standard
could have on the continued use of Nitrox in the recreational sector.
BS 8478 is currently being considered as a basis for a new European standard. When this
European standard is finalised it will supersede BS 8478 which will then be withdrawn. The
process for developing the new standard is now underway within Europe and the resulting
standard will almost certainly be different in some respects from the current BS 8478.
In the interim period before the European standard is finalised and published HSE expects the
recreational diving industry to take all reasonably practicable steps to minimise the contaminants in
the gases other than air which they provide, and where practicable to meet the contaminant criteria
detailed in BS 8478. These steps should include robust systems of work to ensure that any
impurities are maintained at the lowest levels practicable as well as periodic tests to ensure the
contaminants are maintained at these low levels. BS 8478 currently requires testing at least every
6 months.
In the event of diving incidents where gases other than air have been used, the breathing gas
composition and purity criteria in BS 8478 will continue to be referred to as part of the investigation
process. Should these investigations lead to legal proceedings, and the gas provider did not follow
the requirements in BS 8478, it will be up to a court to decide if the steps taken to ensure the purity
of the breathing gas were sufficient.
Recreational diving gas providers may wish to take account of the views of their insurers when
deciding their course of action.
The process for developing the new European standard is now underway. Stakeholders within
recreational diving are urged to actively participate in this process to ensure the new European
standard both enhances safety and is workable for all sectors of the diving industry.
18
Enclosure 5
HMS TEMERAIRE
Burnaby Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
Navy Command
PO1 2HB
Telephone: 02392 722590
Military Net: 9380 22590
Fax: 02392 723960
Email: temso2at@fleetfost.mod.uk
All meeting attendees
9 Dec 09
ACTIONS FROM THE JOINT SERVICES SUB AQUA DIVING POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING HELD AT HMS TEMERAIRE ON 08 DEC 09
Present
Item
Cdr H Wrightson
Lt Col N Bruce-Jones
Lt Col M Morgan (Retd)
Surg Cdr S Phillips
Cdr P Jones
Col S Cox (Retd)
Gp Capt R Powell
Lt Col J Gibbins (Retd)
Lt Col G Wallace
N Harrington
Maj E Hassan
Maj M Colclough
Cdr D Crees (CCF)
Maj K M Craig RM
SO1 PAT
Chairman, RNRMSAA
SO1 Ops/Plans-ATG(A)
SMO(DM), INM
SofD, DDS
OIC, JSSADC
Chairman RAF SAA
DO ASADA
Chairman ASADA
DSO(AT)
SO2 AT(Army)
OC Battle Back
FOSNNI Youth SO1 Cdt Trg
SO2 AT (RN)
Discussion and Decision
Chairman
Sec
Action
ITEM 1 – CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION
1.
The Chairman opened the meeting by welcoming all attendees and
apologised for the date of the meeting being somewhat later than originally
planned.
ITEM 2 – MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
2.
The Minutes of the last meeting were accepted as a true record.
ITEM 3 – ACTIONS ARISING FROM THE LAST MEETING
3.
Dan Insurance - The issue of DAN insurance in Gibraltar remains open
with Col Cox commenting that DAN will not insure divers on duty. Nick
Harrington explained that DAN were currently revisiting certain wording in their
policy that might clarify the matter. To be chased. ACTION
DSO(AT)
4.
Other actions - It was agreed that other outstanding actions would be
addressed during the course of the meeting.
19
Item
Discussion and Decision
Action
ITEM 4 – JSSADC BOVISAND UPDATE
5.
JSATF Approval - OC JSSADC was concerned about a number of
Exped JSATFs that had been approved at PT Staff/Regional ATI/CO level,
whose content was either unrealistic or potentially dangerous. He further added
that expeds often have to seek approval prior to SADs being appointed and as a
result, JSATF content need not necessarily have been informed by an expert.
He extended an invitation to check JSATFs on behalf of authorising individuals
who did not feel sufficiently knowledgeable or qualified to do so. ACTION.
OC
JSSADC/SSAs
6.
Diving Medicals - The length of lead-in time for diving medicals was
raised as a concern despite there having been work carried out to improve it. It
was agreed that this would be investigated by INM. ACTION.
INM
ITEM 5 – AT DIVING SAFETY UPDATE
7.
Amendment to JSP 319 - DSO(AT) notified the committee that an
amendment was now in place concerning new measures for the testing of diving
air/gases. It was explained that the new annual test, required in addition to 3
monthly FACT air testing, could add significant expense to branch annual
running costs (approx £400 per test). There was much concern as to where the
funding for this would come from. DSO(AT) agreed to research the extent of the
financial implications and asked SSAs to forward numbers of their affected
branches in the first instance. ACTION.
SSAs
8.
Exact details and further information on the amendment would be
forwarded. ACTION.
DSO(AT)
9.
BOI Lessons Identified - DSO(AT) was recently involved in a BOI
whereby an individual was significantly affected by decompression illness. He
recommended that all SSAs review their systems for refresher training on
decompression illness, and that it should be conducted annually and pre-exped
as a minimum. ACTION.
SSAs
10.
Incident Reporting - The DSO(AT) stated that despite general
improvements in incident/near miss reporting, there were still occasions where
messages/reports were not getting to him in a timely fashion. He reiterated that
branched must waste no time in informing his organisation of an incident so that
action can be initiated where appropriate. Those generating reports must ensure
that their receipt is suitably acknowledged. ACTION.
SSAs/DSO(AT)
11.
Military Recreational Diving Supervisor Qualification. The DSO(AT)
suggested that the concept of a Military Rec Diving Sup Qual be investigated.
The principle was accepted for further investigation. ACTION.
OCJSSADC/
DSO(AT)
12.
Cadets - Cdr Crees reassured the committee that moves were
underway to better formalise the guidelines for participation of cadets (CCF or
otherwise) under military auspices. He informed the committee that JSP 814
details the liabilities associated with cadets diving. That being said, it was
agreed that there was still work to do on this subject and that a specific meeting
would be put together out of committee in Jan to take it forward. ACTION.
SofD
20
Item
Discussion and Decision
Action
ITEM 6 - DIVING MEDICAL ISSUES
13.
Surg Cdr Phillips informed the committee that Surg Cdr Ramaswami had
only minor issues to raise as follows:
a. INM are about to undergo some disruption to their phone system
during which a number of phone numbers will change.
b. INM Officer manning will be significantly reduced temporarily in Jan.
c. The Haslar decompression chamber has now been moved to
Chichester. It is hoped to have it up and running in Jan.
ITEM 7 - RN UPDATE
14.
No significant actions.
ITEM 8 - ARMY UPDATE
15.
No significant actions.
ITEM 9 - RAF UPDATE
16.
Ascension Islands Dive Facility - Gp Capt Powell highlighted that the
Ascension Islands facility remains open for use however, attracts constant
scrutiny. It remains good value for money and use by all 3 Services will ensure
its continued survival. In answer to a later question from Lt Col Wallis, he further
explained that much of the expense of using the facility goes toward equipment
and building upkeep, and water rates since the centre is non-publicly funded.
Despite this, when compared to exped destinations elsewhere around the world
it was agreed that it was a particularly cost effective option.
ITEM 10 - ADAPTIVE SPORT/DISABLED DIVING
17.
There was much discussion concerning the specific difficulties involved
in integrating the Battle Back scheme into JS Diving. It was agreed that these
were by no means insurmountable and that work would continue. It was agreed
that in particular, medical issues would be further investigated and that this
ought to be done by a separate meeting out of committee, organised by INM. All
committee members were invited to suggest attendees for this meeting.
ACTION.
INM/All
ITEM 11 - FUTURE OF BELIZE
18.
Lt Col Morgan reported that the future of the Centre in Belize is one of
many facilities whose future may be decided in the PR10 round. Until then he
could not comment.
ITEM 12 - JOINT APPROACH TO EXPED APPROVAL PROCESS
19.
Gp Capt Powell reported that the RAF currently operate a slightly
different system from the other 2 Services for the approval of Expeds/AT activity
of less than 48hrs duration. Currently in the Army and RN, COs can approve AT
activity for less than 48 hrs duration whereas for the RAF, full JSATF action is
required. He hoped that a move to adopt parity across the Services would assist
21
Item
Discussion and Decision
Action
the RAF by increasing their freedom in this area. The Chairman (Cdr Wrightson)
agreed that he would assist in this proposal.
Chairman/Gp
Capt Powell
Date of next meeting: Suggested date for the next meeting is Tue 16 Mar 10
AT 1000. All are requested to send availability on that date or if unavailable
preferences in that week. ACTION.
All
Signed on original
K M CRAIG
Maj RM
SO2(AT)
9380 22590
22
Enclosure 6
DOC 2009 Report
Michelle Haywood provides a full round-up of the day's activities at DOC:
The Diving Officer’s Conference (DOC) 2009 took place at the Institute of Education on Saturday
5th December.
After the welcome from Clare Peddie, BSAC Chair, Jeff Reed took the helm of his first DOC since
his election earlier in the year. Jeff outlined his approach to the role of National Diving Officer,
including the schedule of revisions for Skill Development Courses and the substantial progress
being made in a number of areas. Jeff handed over to the team leaders for the diving,
instructing and technical updates, as well as the instructor awards. The National Diving
Committee bulletin was distributed to the delegates detailing progress so far and can be
accessed here. Immediately after the announcements had been made the DOC delegates had
the chance to ask questions and raise points relating to the announcement in a sometimes lively
and well received open forum session.
Brian Cummings released the Incident Report 2009 and discussed the trends and warnings. Brian noted that a shift to webbased reporting seemed to have encouraged more succinct reports, and that he was missing the more unusual reports that
used to land on his desk, however his job had been helped enormously by the elimination of bad handwriting. A large number
of safety awards were made this year, reflecting the life saving actions of
BSAC members both in and out of the water.
George Brooks came onto the DOC stage for his last time as the senior
adjudicator of the Heinke Trophy. The trophy was awarded to Edinburgh
University. Recognising the hard work put in by all entrants, the two
commended clubs – Southsea SAC and the Sub-Aqua Club of Southampton
Solent University - were also invited to collect their certificates on the
stage. Despite the rapidly approaching lunch break, George managed to
share the history of the Heinke and his thoughts on branches before
handing over the mantle to Phil Harrison. In recognition of his sterling work
spanning more than five decades, BSAC Vice Chair Tony Marshall joined
Clare Peddie and Jeff Reed to present George with a certificate of thanks
and a gift from the Club. George was given a standing ovation by the
conference delegates.
In another new development, senior members of the National Diving Committee (NDC) joined the Regional Coaches in the
lunch hall this year. The opportunity to talk to the people who make the decisions was eagerly sought by many delegates and
seemed to be much appreciated. Also sharing the hall were BSAC travel partners blue otwo, Malta Tourism Authority and
and Scuba Financial Services. Outside in the foyer, the BSAC shop supplied delegates with new copies of the Seamanship
for Divers as well as a range of other materials and the Scubapro reps were kept busy discussing their equipment.
After lunch the conference resumed with an update from world-renowned cardiologist Peter Wilmshurst on PFO and
decompression. Peter discussed a variety of real life cases using video clips. The delegates enjoyed extending their
23
knowledge although it did leave a few of the audience feeling a little queasy! To read a summary of Dr Wilmhurst's
presentation, click here.
BSAC Expedition reports covered an expedition to the remote isle of Gigha
(Operation Sunrise) and a comprehensive wreck survey (Thor Survey).
Andy Bennett collected the BEGS award for his Gigha expedition. John
Kermode then took to the stage to introduce a concept of mapping wrecks
and underwater features using GPS units attached to SMBs. John explained
how he has used a number of BSAC instructor exams and first class diver
exams to trial and refine his idea before putting it into practise surveying
Eel Grass around the Isle of Man. Many of the audience left the hall with
plans to copy John’s idea during the next dive season.
The BSAC Jubilee Trust made presentations of the Peter Small trophy to Clidive for their expedition to Unst and the Colin
McLeod award to Kendall McDonald for publishing. Suunto generously sponsored the Volunteer of the Year awards and despite
the closing date for nominations only being 6 days before the DOC, some timely judging and phone calls meant that 9 of the
30 winners were present to collect their D6 computers as prizes. The inaugural Jonathan Crusher award made to the
Volunteer of the Year was presented to Rory Budds by Clare Peddie in front of Jonathan’s family and friends.
The keynote speaker was Callum Roberts from York University. Callum took the audience back in time to look at a marine
environment very different to the one experienced today, some of the older delegates even remembered the differences!
Callum showed how extensive and continuing over fishing, destructive practises and inept fisheries management has brought
the marine environment to the brink of collapse. When was the last time anyone dived with a 5ft cod? Callum closed on a
note of optimism, that marine environments have a potential for recovery that exceeds terrestrial environments, so that while
we shouldn’t lose hope, neither should we stop working for change. Callum’s book The Unnatural History of the Sea is
available from the BSAC Shop.
The Scubapro Branch of the Year award was made to Calypso Sub
Aqua Club, second place Mid Herts Sub Aqua Club and third place Ras
Al Hamra Sub Aqua Club. The Scubapro Cousteau award was made to
Richard Scarsbrook for his massive contribution to publishing the
updates and revisions of existing courses and extensive work in turning
scribbled instructor notes into superb manuals for new courses. Jeff
Reed presented a number of thank you awards to those who had
served on the NDC or as Regional Coaches.
The second open forum session took written questions. Some had even come prepared with typed questions for the panel. At
the end of a long day, the bar was a welcome
24
National
Diving
Officer
Without question,
this has been a
very difficult year
for the majority of
BSAC members,
coupled with the
organisation
going through an
election
process with
subsequent
change of some
Council
Officers' and a
very closely controlled and managed budget, it has been a
very challenging first 6 months in office. The following articles
are focused on what is coming in the next 12 months.
Skill Development Courses
At the outset, I reviewed all of the 60+ projects under the control of NDC. The projects had made headway, but based on skill
development course popularity, condition and currency of the supporting materials I reprioritised activities and asked Richard
Scarsbrook to lead the initiative. We have focused on bringing the courses into line with the quality and production standards of
our recent SDC offerings, along with making any obvious or overview due corrections and/or updates. The revamped/updated
courses that will be coming on line between now and March 2010 are:
1.
Practical Rescue Management
2.
Dive Planning and Management
3.
Search and Recovery
4.
First Aid for Divers
5.
Chartwork and Position Fixing
Marine Life Identification is on the radar and we would like to be in a position to launch this in 2010. In the background, the next
wave of courses in need of revision are being reviewed; for example - equipment maintenance. Other new courses are also being
considered; for example - a practical course on line laying and belaying (as a result of analysis of the incident reports).
Retention I also commissioned NDC to produce a white paper on the question of retention. The report, written and produced by
Andy Henning, is being acted upon. The report involved data mining various databases, the reviewing of past and current surveys
and the available data on our competition, both passive and active, etc. The report contains sensitive information that we do not
wish to enter the public domain, so the document is not in general distribution. What is interesting is that 47% of our membership
today is achieved through 'word of mouth'. Our greatest attrition rate is identified for members aged between 21 and 30. The key
reason sited for departing is the inability of our system to train members at a "reasonable rate". We have a high proportion of
members that have joined the BSAC that have not achieved Ocean Diver status within a 2 year period. 72% of our members are
happy with the benefits.
Seamanship: a guide for divers
At DOC we are launching Edition 2 of the manual 'Seamanship: a guide for divers'. This is virtually a complete rewrite of the
original with all new colour graphics.
A new manual on Expedition Diving should be released in the first half of 2010.
Snorkelling for All
The BSAC received a grant from Sport England to sponsor the creation of 200 Snorkelling Instructors by March 31st 2010. The
initiative was initially led by Bob Healey and Mary Tetley. Through perseverance, i.e. several applications, we managed to secure
a grant. To-date we have received 400+ applications. Logistically, this is very challenging. Andrea Dickens is the Project Leader.
Snorkelling Programmes
Two new snorkelling programmes will launch in 2010, currently scheduled for March 31st. The new Corporate Snorkelling
Programme will shortly be piloted. The system includes a badge based snorkelling scheme that should appeal to the under 18s.
The replacement Snorkelling Training Programme will be introduced and follows closely the style and quality of the Diver Training
Programme. Although there are synergies between the two programmes, the programmes are targeting different markets with
their own specific demands, so will have a different deliver model. This is a significant undertaking, I am very thankful for the
efforts of the snorkel core team, Council and BSAC HQ support and to all those volunteers that have contributed towards its
25
development.
Snorkelling Branch
of the Year
In line the Branch of
the Year, we are
introducing the
equivalent award for
Snorkelling Branches sponsored by
Scubapro. We will accept entries from
January 1st 2010 with a closing date of
October 31st 2010.
Events 2010
The BSAC programme of events has
been outsourced for the last
few years. This year I took the decision
to ask for it to be produced and managed in-house electronically. It does allow us more flexibility in updates/changes/to have a
rolling programme and hope that this is viewed as a positive step. User can save a local copy or print a copy from the Events 2010
page on bsac.com.
Neptune Medal
As NDO, I was approached with an application for an award that did not fit with anything we had on offer and yet was deserving of
recognition. I therefore took the opportunity to create a new award. Note that the medal illustrated is a mock-up.
The award is to be identified with any project, individual or team that uses diving to support or serve a far greater cause. The
award goes to the Army Sub-Aqua Diving Association for its work on supporting our service personnel wounded on combat
operations and who are coming to terms with their disabilities, both physically and mentally and contributes to the process of
rehabilitation of those whose wounds often lead to life changes. The service personnel were wounded in both Iraq and
Afghanistan. A picture paints a thousand words:
Thank you!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our volunteers, including our members, NDC, Council, Coaches and BSAC HQ
staff for all your hard work, self sacrifice and continuing contribution to the BSAC. Without the team we cannot succeed.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy diving in 2010
Jeff Reed
National Diving Officer
Awards
Neptune Award
ASADA
The Scubapro Award
Richard Scarsbrook
Jonathan Crusher Award To be announced at the DOC
Thank You Awards
Paul Beal, Martin Briggs, Susannah Calderon, Richard Handy,
Bob Healey, Roxy Jackson, Sue Mitchell, Alan Thomas, Howard Barnes,
Chris Cook, Andy Eliott, Alan Goodwin, Martin Hammond, Allan Jeffery,
Allen Murray, Andy Seddon, Dave Sydenham
Reports from the Groups
Diver and Coaching Group
This is a new group on NDC and has a wide area of responsibility. Below is a list of our roles and who is responsible for the
various areas. Please note, that not every role holds an NDC position, in general an Advisor does not sit on NDC but provides the
26
information to the Group Leader to feed into NDC.
Group Leader - Dave Lock
Manages the group and represents them on Steering Group.
Diver Training Chief Officer - John Kermode
Responsible for Diving Grades from Ocean Diver to Advanced Diver: The current remit is to look at the development of these
grades, the interface with technical, instructor and specialist qualifications (such as boat handling). A particular focus will be to
ensure that the widest range of BSAC qualifications is attainable within the Branch structure.
Coaching Team Leader - Dave Lock
Responsible for the Coaching teams and their integration into NDC: Dave will look at the roles of the coaches and try to simplify
their job descriptions. At the moment they have very diverse roles and responsibilities.
Coaching Team Advisor - Alison Farrow
Responsible for developing the roles of the coaches and ensuring they have the tools they need to support their Regional Teams
and Branches
Military Advisor - Nick Harrington
Responsible for advising NDC about Military Diving Qualifications
Joint Services Liaison - Steve Cox
Responsible for advising on the integration and suitability of BSAC training and its adoption by Military Diving Schools for their
non-Military Diver Training
BSAC Centres Liaison - position vacant
Will be responsible for advising on the integration and suitability of BSAC training and its adoption by BSAC Centres
Safety and Rescue Skills Chief Officer - Andy Procter
To ensure that Rescue Skills are updated to reflect current thinking with other organisations.
First Class Chief Examiner - Andy Hunt
Responsible for maintaining and developing the First Class Diver Exam, making it more relevant to diving today: Will also look at
the progression of skills needed to develop Advanced Divers into First Class Divers.
Expeditions Advisor - Max Ruffert
Responsible for promoting and encouraging BSAC Expeditions, including the BSAC Expeditions Grant Scheme (BEGS) and the
Regional Expeditions Diving Scheme (REDS).
Snorkel Training Chief Officer - new position
University Branch Liaison - new position
So what have we been doing? 2009
SDC development - most of the current SDCs have been updated and the visual aids and instructor/student manuals have been
made into BSAC "house style". The remaining SDCs will be updated over the next few months.
New Manual - A new Seamanship Manual should be available at DOC 2009.
Integration of Military training into BSAC qualifications - Military Divers now undergo a Sports Diving qualification before
Military Diver Training. This introduction to diving proves their suitability for working underwater to the exacting Military standards,
they then progress to a Military Diving Qualification. Previously there was no easy cross-over to BSAC grades but the introduction
of a Sport Diving course make this relatively easy. The cross over criteria will be produced by the Military and accepted by BSAC
by January 2010.
Working with the Coaches - The Coaches have been utilised to preview and review the new SDC material. They are ideally
placed to do this as they have good experience of running these SDCs within their Regions.
Expedition Grants are not solely allocated to expeditions within UK or home waters. The process has now been simplified to
ensure it reflects the sort of diving expeditions being completed by BSAC members.
What will we be doing?
All of the above and more . . .
Other publications planned in the near future are a Safety and Rescue Manual, as well as an Expeditions manual.
We need BSAC members input to let us know what you want. This can be done via your Regional Coaches or directly to the
Coaching Team Leader.
27
Dave Lock
Diver Training and Coaching Group Leader
Awards
Heinke Trophy
1st - Edinburgh University
2nd - Southsea Sub Aqua Club
3rd - Southampton Solent University Sub Aqua Club
George Brookes Award
George Brookes
Peter Small Jubilee Trust Award Clidive and Rory Budds (Unst, Shetland)
BEGS Award
To be announced at the DOC
Branch of the Year Award
To be announced at the DOC
Lighthouse Torch Award
Ed Howarth
Suunto Awards
To be announced at the DOC
First Class Divers
Congratulations to all our new First Class Divers accredited in 2009:
Steve Capes, Brian Hickman, Gary Whyke, Ed Howarth, Lisa Shafe, Luisa Smith, Stephen Adams, Mike Holroyd, Paul Compton,
David Taylor
Instructor Training
Instructor Training Scheme achievements 2009
The role of the instructor Training Group is to focus on reviewing, developing, refining and keeping up to date all the instructor
grades within the BSAC.
OWI has been very busy again in 2009. In total we ran 54 Instructor Foundation Courses. When you consider each event has on
average 6 staff available from a pool of 300 or so, you can appreciate we're kept quite busy. In addition to this the same staff are
working on the 38 Open Water Instructor Courses, 35 Practical Instructor Exams and 42 Theory Instructor Exams. And what did
all that effort really add up to? We're delighted to say it has resulted in 259 new Open Water Instructors and many more well on
their way to the qualification. Congratulations to all who have been successful. On the flip side we are constantly looking closely at
the reasons for students not achieving the grade on occasions and looking at how we can improve our own training and guidance
to ensure more positive results in developing our instructors.
Advanced Instructor has been busy too. This year we ran 10 Advanced Instructor Courses from the South West of England up to
Scotland. This year, we're delighted to announce, we have 33 new Advanced Instructors. It's culmination of a tremendous amount
of work and effort so well done to each and every successful new AI.
Once people have passed AI we ask them if they would like to attend an Instructor Trainer Development Courses (ITDC). The
ITDC is the first step to becoming an Instructor Trainer. This year we ran 1 event resulting in more keen new members of the team
ready to continue their development on the ITS by working under supervision of an experienced ITS instructor on courses (IFC &
OWIC) and Exams (PIE & TIE) until they are confident and competent to go 'live'.
This year we ran 5 formal prep events for would be National Instructors. Even for these very highly motivated and experienced
candidates there is much to learn and these prep events serve to let those attending know what they need to concentrate on.
Prepping for NI is a long term commitment and this year 3 people passed NI, a huge achievement.
Contrary to popular belief NI is not an impossible task, far from it. We clearly state what we need in all our material, we also know
there are many more people capable of passing the exam, they just need to register, prepare well and take the exam. The added
bonus for BSAC is that even starting on the route to NI improves the skills of Instructor Trainers teaching on other ITS events.
28
Looking ahead 2010
During the year we will continue to monitor the ITS and ensure our events run as smoothly and successfully as ever. In addition
our biggest challenge has and continues to be looking at Advanced Instructor in detail and develop the grade so that it reflects our
training needs as an organisation. We have identified that we need to work towards producing better Dive Managers. To help do
this we need to equip our Advanced Instructors with the skills to be able to teach Dive Management. We also have a responsibility
to develop instructors after they qualify as Open Water Instructors, so we are developing our thoughts on instructor tutoring.
Finally it has long been recognised that there are many times when a teaching opportunities naturally occur, we need to arm our
Advanced Instructors with the tools to be able to identify these chances and exploit them to the benefit of the membership. It's a
big project and we are aiming to pilot courses early in 2010 and develop on from there.
We have also been working on several initiatives to encourage and make our club more appealing to a younger age group. If we
can develop our membership in this area we will continue to develop as an organisation. With that in mind we are investigating the
idea of crediting those who have attended a Snorkel Instructor Trainer Course and are Dive Leaders with the equivalent status of
those who have attended an instructor Foundation Course. This will be of interest to a large number of our younger members who
are keen snorkellers and divers. In addition we are looking at ways we can support and develop our student members to help
them achieve instructor status. Student branches not only train significant numbers of new divers every year they also inevitably
have a high turn over of instructors as they move into work etc. So we are looking at initiatives to support student branches so
they can continue to develop instructors and divers within their branches.
Another area we will be looking into is the standard of the instructors we are producing as an organisation. It has been brought to
our attention that once qualified the level of instruction provided by our instructors varies. Often it is excellent, but not always. As a
consequence of this we will be looking at the way we train our instructors and see if there are any improvements that can be made
in the way we assess would be instructors when we examine them.
One final issue we will be addressing is our own instructors on the Instructor Training Scheme. This team continues to provide
excellent instruction, but there is always room for improvement. So to start with we will be inviting feedback from students
attending courses to assess our performance from their perspective.
Thanks
We'd like to thank all the students for coming forward to the ITS and encourage them to keep developing and progressing. We
also wish them all the best when they take their next steps.
We would also like to thank all the ITS staff. Their commitment is extraordinary, their enthusiasm seems to be boundless and their
expertise is a great credit to them and a great asset to BSAC.
Mark Wilson
Instructor Trainer Group Leader
Awards:
Wilkinson Sword
Sophie Dyhouse
Analox AI Award
Stuart Jones
Collins & Chambers OWI Award Joe Sniadek
Weezle Award
Sophie Dyhouse
Congratulations to new instructors accredited between December 1 and November 26 2009.
National Instructors:
Sophie Dyhouse, Phil Harrison and Jamie Heptonstall.
Advanced Instructors
Steve Cowley, Brian James, Timothy George Partridge, Margaret Ruth Dunn, Jason Bird, Iain Dixon, Stuart Jones, Michael
Peakman, Teresa Darbyshire, Mark Steinhart, Dean Watson, Laurence Connors, Mark Gosling, Matthew Newman, Evert Moes,
Richard Savage, Michael Whitley, John De Lara, Jennifer Hall, Simon Mortimer, Paul Cadenhead, James Jardine, Jez Spring,
Michael Stewart, Chad Wilkinson, Edward Haynes, Brynley Clode, Joe Adshead, Lindsey Doyle, John Stephen Howarth,
Catherine Cogman, Gareth Morris, Robert Christie, Victoria Elliott, Sheli Bowman, Paul Bayne, Andreas Fabian, Alessandro
Grioni, David Jones, Philip Morris, Richard Burdekin, Wolf Wolvekamp, Roger Purvis, Allen Murray, Alistair Ross, Guy Story, Neil
Barker, Martyn Bowie, Timothy Gort, Paul Newell, Keith Sargeant, Peter Hopson, Tim Butt, David Bell,
Open Water Instructors
Richard Bentley, Chris Wade, Craig Malcolm, Julie Shanahan, John Hayes, Clarke Duncan, Llewelyn Williams, George Hooper,
Nicholas Potter, Dawn Blackman, Heike Weichert, Nigel Keighley, Martyn Brown, Robert Waterfield, Jason Pepper, Steve Elliott,
29
Simon Brown, Chris Clayton, Rebecca Midtkandal, Andrew Winnett, Catriona Walker, Grainne Sugrue, David Sawdon, Peter
Nicholls, Pavel Loiteris, Faye Nicholls, Robert Charles, Trevor Payne, Scott Holland, Nigel Woolley, Matthew Borges, Paul van der
Lem, Piotr Lukasik, Shaun Martin, Richard John Harris, Natalie Eleanor O'Sullivan, Stuart John Stubbs, Robert Luke Barnett, Ruth
Hughes, Paul Halford, Neil Garry Richardson, John Gladding, Jay Kaminski, Dennis Gutteridge, Andrew Mason, Kendra Coufal,
Susan Foye, Ruselle Meade, Gerard O'Neill, Luca D'Avenia, Rowena Marzoli, Peter Huson, Ben Suzuki, Andrew Eastwood, Keith
Woolgar, Paul Cank, Joanne Claire Dowling, Stephen Clark, David Leverton, Debbie Heaton, Amr Samir Hamdy, Quentin Mortiner
Meyer, Terence Wood, Jim Buntin, Caroline Pillow-Charlesworth, Sian Griffiths, Kevin Fox, Steve Mason-Thompson, Jason
McNaught, Craig Scholes, Kristina Downey, Jason Polson, Catherine Buckland, Mark Shilling, Jens Fasterling, Ian Barbara,
Corinna Heipcke, Diana Jones, Stuart Norris, Robert Owen, Margaret Ashton, Jonathan Baker, Bob Huyton, Andrew Judson, Gary
Friedman, Ian Macdonald, Anne Buchan, Colin Wishart, Paul Thomas, Naomi Keir, Alan Rees, Julie Oswald, Gerard Storey,
William Jones, Thomas Hazel, Kelly Collins, William Higgin, Kay Rafidi, Steve Kinson, Simon Crook, Brian Pentland, Sam
McCarlie, Rosanna Milligan, Peter Webster, Peter Deane, Nicola Mc Donnell, Lee Coleman, Ian George Wilson, Gavin Wilkie,
Alexander Zacheshigriva, Christine Tyson, Peter Walsh, Roger Jenkins, Shaun Lambert, James Pickup, Sarah Louise Iles,
Daniele Zanoni, Tarek Mohammed Mahmmoud, Mandy South, Graham Thurlbeck, Rebecca Filtness, Steven Beasley, Paul
Spence, Noel Talbot, Neil Martin, Leon Nesbitt-Hancock, Joshua Finley, Mark Griffin, Hayley Louise Weeks, Damian Middleton,
Philip James Makin, Alison Beasley, Alan McKewan, Ghassan Aljefri, Christopher Orritt, Paul Corner, Ian Corner, James Winfield,
Arran Waters, Pieter Severein, John Raine, Jonathan Platt, Nicholas McPherson, David Launder, James Ellis, Oliver de Wilde,
James Bromige, Wayne Dunn, David Clack, Rhys Lewis, Christopher Jiggens, Benjamin Morgan, Dale Roberts, Paul Jobbins,
Crispin Richards, Frank Bell, Zoe Diderich, Toby Hope, Tim Collier, Peter Exton, Paul Prater, Ian McDean, Hazel Gidley, Chris
Bond, Alison Gaudion, John Fellows, Shaun West, Patricia Carter, Susan Thompson, Susan Spence, Gavin Burgoyne, David
Spencer, Ronald MacRae, Peter Hawkins, David Rogers, Neil Hillyer, Iain Spence, David Harvey, Eamonn Britnell, Andrew
Woods, Clare Barber, Chris Higgins, Robin Harris, Neil Crawley, Fiona Crawley, Adrian Colegate, Sara Platts, Neil Greenfield,
Tom Tongs, David Michael Bates, Craig Bate, Sarah Dickson, Lee Cawkwell, Cedric Milcendeau, Richard Anthony Andrew
Makepeace, Mike Keep, Jonathan Lord, Kevin Gleeson, Kennedy Sampson, Andy Manning, Brett Bader, Nora Holford, Sean
Taylor, Robin Smith, Paul Fry, Mark Mosley, Fiona Imlach, Christopher Barr, Bruce Mills, Stephen De Burgh-Thomas, Bryan
Llewellyn, Matthew Lawrence, Robert Hugh Fraser, Robert Davis, Colin Walker, Neil Oliver, Gino Pulizzi, Nicholas Todd-Jones,
William James McDonald, Gavin Watson, David John Lord, Mark Thompson, Bernard Peterson, Pamela Keenan, Mohamed Al
Hosani, Antonio Greco, Etienne Legendre, Peter Degiorgio, Anna Degiorgio, Gordon Brown, Chris Goddard, Dave Taylor, Sue
Rosser, Andrew Last, Christopher Price, Nick Martin, Mark Orchard, Wendy Stoltz, Mohammed Ali Humaid, Cliff Reeves, David
Reid, Chris Gooda, Andrew Mulholland, Simon Child, Oliver Meaden, Catherine Boorer, Rilana Goossens, Michael Milner,
Rebecca Goodwin, Stephan Honig, Robin Jones, Rikki Harden, Laura Mulhair, Laura Nolan, Andrew Foster, Paul McBride, John
Cronin, Stuart Peel, David Keogh, Lloyd Smith, Edward Hartwell, Christopher Hewitt, Sonia Jones, Elizabeth Straughan, Craig
Russell, Ian Mackay, James Stewart, Nicki Martin, Ross Pollard, Matthew Paul Newbound, Alexander Fox, Lyden Singleton,
Graham Rintoul, Colin Bancroft, Stephen Morgan, Rod Reeves, Lynn Campbell, Ian Lingham, Duncan Lamont, Kathryn Sizer,
Alexander Duval, Geraint Griffiths, Greg Williamson, Lesley Harper, Christopher Chubb, Jeremy Davies, Andrew Edwards, Ian
Clarke, Mark Barrier, Richard Parry, Wayne Rowland, Sophie Howell, Deiniol Williams, John Chambers, Ciara Cronin, Alexander
Dougal, Jonathan Drinkwater, Garry Hems, David Hughes, Steven Riley, Joseph Sniadek, Gregory Taylor, Celia Lane, Paul Sully,
Robin Doran, Josette Farrugia, Nigel Kitchingman, Stuart Duncan, Darren Weller, Grahame Gordon, Ian Clooney, Ian Peers,
Lyndon Hamer, Paul Bowman, Emma Yates, Desmond Powell, Nial Greeves, Russell Heath, Andrew York, Alvaro Pereira, Roger
Reynolds-Smith, Peter Sullivan, Paul Marc Reid, Michael Oxborrow, Kathryn Pelham, Joseph Bone, Chris Lienhard, Daniela
Popper, Donna Bowen, Denis Durrant, Penny Orford, Scott Foster, Davorin Dobravc, Neil Leslie Phillips, Wendy Northway,
Jonathan Hoult, Gordon Kaye, Ian Firmin, Frank Buskase, Cor Balk
Advanced Snorkelling Instructors:
Keith Lewis, Lesley Flitcroft, Philip Hill, Thomas Greally,
Open Water Snorkelling Instructors:
Michael Hulmes, Sheila Holt, Simon Stickley, Warwick Saunders, Guy Dubois De La Cotardiere, Dennis Murphy, Christopher
Tomas Brayshaw,
Snorkelling Instructors:
James Packer, Owen Morris, Tammy Blunt, Paul Spence, Guy Dubois De La Cotardiere, Michael McGuirk, Dennis Murphy, Jodie
Cox, Richard Hollis, Neil Alfred Weddell, Michael Smith, Jennifer Harknett, Colin Bennett, John Wake, Helen Joy Whitmore, Adam
Gossage, Howard Crabtree, Brian Goddard, Melvyn Heath, Stacy Hammond, Miles Mitchell, Lucy Bradshaw, Hannah Matthews,
Emma Swift, David Cripps, Adrian McDowell, Daniel Kennedy, Michael Fox, Laura Hartley, Howard McGlashan, Holly Bambury,
Technical Group
The Technical Group team has changed a little since Jeff Reed was elected National Diving Officer in May. Some members have
changed positions and new members have joined us. Currently the group is as follows:
30
Technical Group Leader - Mike Rowley techg.leader@bsac.com
Technical Chief Examiner - Nick Jewson techchief@bsac.com
Responsible for maintaining quality of courses, instructors and instructor trainers; contributes to the development of new training
programmes and improvement of existing ones and contributes to all policy and strategy formation.
Instructor Development (North) - Paul Haynes techdevn@bsac.com
Responsible for promoting, organising and managing technical instructor development in the northern half of the UK.
Instructor Development (South) - John Adams techdevs@bsac.com
Responsible for promoting, organising and managing technical instructor development in the Southern half of the UK.
Equipment manager - Mark Callaghan equipment@bsac.com
Responsible for managing the allocation and maintenance of the BSAC Rebreathers.
Advisors
Trevor Davies - Author, editing & DTP Gavin Anthony - Scientific Sarah Gauci Carlton & Des Murray - Technical diving Ray
Mckee & Gary Whyke - Twinset course development
Two new courses announced at DOC 2009
The Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver Course (ADPD) supports the use of up to 50%
Nitrox as a dive gas and up to 80% Nitrox to accelerate decompression. It is open to BSAC Sports
Divers (or equivalent), who have completed a buoyancy workshop to gold standard and evidence of 20
dives. Those Sports Divers (or equivalent) whose course has not included Nitrox will need to complete
the Nitrox workshop in addition. The ADPD course in not intended to be a direct replacement for the
Advanced Nitrox course, as the course covers more than Advanced Nitrox.
The course has three main objectives:

Firstly it is a stand alone course designed to meet the needs of those divers who wish to use Nitrox, either to gain
maximum safety advantage or to achieve maximum diving advantage.

Secondly it is the pre-requisite and a grounding course, which lays the foundations for all BSAC Technical courses, both
Open circuit and Rebreather.

Thirdly the course attempts to promote progression to a culture and attitude of self reliance, as well as redundancy of
essential equipment and techniques, within a buddy diving ethos. It attempts to support divers with information and skills
that allow them to begin make informed choices about their diving, the risks they are prepared to accept and the
solutions they choose in order to moderate those risks.
The course is designed to be taught in Branches, by Regional Coaching teams or in BSAC Technical Centres. It is sufficiently
flexible to be delivered over a weekend or a number of evenings or a combination of both.
There has been a high level of interest in this course and many people have enquired as to when it will be ready and what it will
contain, both directly and on the BSAC forums. We expect a healthy uptake as this course, which should appeal to recreational
divers who wish to maximise their diving opportunities, as well as by aspiring technical divers. The feedback from pilot events has
been very positive. We expect the course to be very popular.
Some 'real' comments taken from the feedback on the pilot courses:
Did you learn anything?
"Almost as important to all the O2 theory that we learnt over the weekend, I particularly benefited from Mike's comments about
adjusting my trim, having been observed 'paddling constantly' during one of my deco stops. The movement of just 2 lb of lead
from my weight belt to the top of my cylinders made a fantastic change to my physical attitude in the water and made the next
dives' deco stop far more comfortable and relaxed. This 'revelation' will stay with me for the rest of my diving time. I believe that
the whole membership would benefit from looking at this simple but very important aspect of their diving technique, and the benefit
and enhanced enjoyment that it will bring to them when in the water." BSAC Dive Leader
"Yes for me the biggest learning for me was the importance of trim rather than buoyancy control having not dived previously with a
stage I had not considered this before but this will has a big impact on my diving with or without the additional cylinder. Another
point of clarity was the adjustment of the PP02 limit to 1.6 from 1.4 for decompression." BSAC Advanced Diver
31
"For the first time ever I believe that I understand the principles of 'on' and 'off' gassing and how this effect varies with different
tissue types. Added to this, I believe that I now understand the effects of increasing and decreasing the nitrogen differential
pressure and the subsequent physiological effects that this has on the diver." BSAC Dive Leader
"Learned from dive 1 that I really needed more time to configure kit as I had issues re-stowing decompression regulator and could
not have unclipped the decompression cylinder by myself (either above or below water). There was not time built into the course
to re-configure kit and try it again at 'safe depths'. Also learnt the procedures for using a decompression gas underwater - bubble
checks, charging regulators, procedure prior to switching to deco gas." BSAC Advanced Diver (OWI)
"The role of gas mixes became much clearer; I could now explain this easily to someone else. The rest was fairly straightforward."
BSAC Sports Diver (PADI Open Water)
Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver Course Upgrades
The table below details the various means of upgrading to Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver, Instructor and Instructor
Trainer. There will be a short upgrade workshop involving theory and tutorial sessions to facilitate existing Advanced Nitrox Divers
to upgrade to ADPD. They will need to complete the buoyancy workshop and achieve a gold standard of buoyancy and trim to (+
0.5 metre) as a pre-requisite to the workshop. There will also be procedures for upgrading Advanced Nitrox Instructors to ADPD
Instructors, see the table below. The automatic upgrade upon application is based on those instructors who, by virtue of their
current grade have been assessed to the standard of buoyancy and horizontal trim of + 0.5 metre.
Mixed Gas Try Dive The Mixed Gas Try-dive is aimed at the following specific groups of divers:

Divers diving regularly on air in the 35m to 50m depth range who have not previously experienced a narcosis free dive

Divers whose deeper diving has been restricted by narcosis
32

Dive managers who would like to experience Mixed Gas

In order to attend the try-dive, participants must comply with the following:

Be a minimum diver grade of BSAC Sports Diver or equivalent and having Accelerated Decompression Procedures Diver
qualification or equivalent or Advanced Nitrox Diver or equivalent.
BSAC mixed gas try-dives must be conducted by a BSAC Sports Mixed Gas Diver Instructor or higher. The Mixed gas try-dive
consists of the following elements:

One classroom session.

A dry practical lesson.

One dive, to a depth determined by the participant's experience and certification, with a maximum total planned run time
of 45 minutes and no longer than 60 minutes for a worst case plan.
For the try-dive, the participants should be using their normal deep diving equipment configuration. If the underwater visibility is
less than 5 metres but more than 2 metres or likely to deteriorate during the dive, the participant to instructor ratio should be
reduced to one to one. At all other times is assumed to be no more that two to one. Mixed Gas Try-dive is not a BSAC
qualification. The duration of the dive may, however, be counted towards the total open water duration required on the BSAC
Sports Mixed Gas course without reducing the number of dives required. It is not intended for divers to attend more than one Trydive or to use a try-dive as a means of going mixed gas diving!
Instructor Development in 2009
During 2009 we gained 127 new Instructors who will be supporting BSAC Technical courses in the future. Most of these (95) have
upgraded from Extended Range Diver Instructors and we look forward to the take-up of BSAC mixed gas courses continuing to
increase.
In addition we have gained 24 new Instructor Trainers, again mostly upgraded from Extended Range Diver Instructor Trainers.
These Instructor Trainers will train new instructors and continue the progressive expansion of Technical diving within the club.
Technical certifications in 2009
We are seeing a steady increase in the take-up of BSAC Technical courses and key to this is the expansion of the instructor base.
With the upgrading of ERD Instructors with mixed gas qualifications to Sports Mixed Gas Instructor there has been a marked
increase in the number of Sports Mixed Gas courses being taught.
A total of 336 courses have been run up to October 2009. These are made up as follows:

29 Extended Range Diver

84 Sports Mixed Gas

38 Explorer Mixed Gas

8 Advanced Mixed Gas

43 Closed Circuit Rebreather

110 Mixer Blender
In addition there have been 439 Advanced Nitrox courses run and we expect the take-up of the new Accelerated decompression
Procedures Diver course to continue and expand on this.
What we are doing in 2010
Expansion of the Technical Instructor base
The take up of BSAC Technical courses is increasing and we are seeing a steady increase in Technical Diving Centres wishing to
teach BSAC courses. It is important that we continue to build on the success of 2009 and in particular to promote the teaching of
technical courses in Branches and Coaching Regions. Key to this is development of new BSAC Technical Instructors at all levels.
Consequently 4 instructor development weekends have been planned for the coming year:
In the North of UK

27/28 March

02/03 October
In the South of UK

10/11 April
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
16/17 October
Anyone interested in these events should please contact Paul Haynes techdevn@bsac.com or John Adams
techdevs@bsac.com
In general anyone interested in becoming a BSAC Technical Instructor should contact Paul or John; instructor development can
be tailored to suit demand where ever possible.
Development of new courses
There are plans in hand to develop new courses to build on the BSAC portfolio of Technical courses.
Twin-set course
This course is at an advanced stage of development and is scheduled to be introduced in the late spring. It will concentrate
specifically on the configuration and use of twin-sets in their various forms and will aim to provide divers with information and skills
to make informed choices. The course will be open to Sports Divers or equivalent, who have completed 20 dives. Divers will be
able to take the Twin-set course or the ADPD course as they choose. Those Sports Divers who complete both the Twin-set
Course and the ADPD Course will be awarded a 40 metre depth certification.
Expedition Mixed Gas
The Expedition Mixed Gas course objective is to complete the portfolio of Technical courses with a high end certification. It will be
open to Advanced Mixed Gas Divers (either open circuit or closed circuit) and will concentrate on the organisation and
management of technical expeditions for depths deeper than 80 metres.
Expansion of unit specific CCR Courses
BSAC has established a good reputation for the quality and thoroughness of its rebreather courses. Currently BSAC offers air
diluent closed circuit rebreather courses for the Ambient Pressure Diving Ltd range of rebreathers only. With new rebreathers
increasingly coming onto the market BSAC needs to provide members with courses to facilitate them. We have plans to do just
that and will be working to introduce more unit specific rebreather courses to the BSAC portfolio.
BSAC Rebreathers
I would like to take this opportunity to remind members that BSAC owns two APD Inspiration Closed Circuit Rebreathers. The old
ones have been kindly replaced with full specification models at no cost to the BSAC by Ambient Pressure Diving Ltd. These
rebreathers are available to any BSAC registered Inspiration or Evolution Diver who is a current member to run pool or sheltered
water try-dive sessions for their Branch. You don't need to be a rebreather instructor to run a try-dive, any BSAC registered
Inspiration/Evolution Diver can run one. The Materials and guidance notes can be downloaded from here: Rebreathers
They are also available to BSAC CCR Instructors to facilitate the running of Branch or Regional rebreather courses.
The costs of transporting them and consumables have to be shared among the participants otherwise there are no extra charges.
Anyone wishing to book these rebreathers should please contact Mark Callaghan cTechnical Group Equipment Manager
Mike Rowley
Technical Group Leader
Special Interest and Projects
Incidents
The number of reported incidents is comparable with recent years and the number of fatalities is a little lower than the average of
recent years. The number of incidents involving poorly controlled ascents continues to fall, cases of DCI seem to be similar to the
average of recent years and the number of incidents involving boating related problems has increased significantly. Following
presentation to the Diving Officer's Conference, the 2009 Incident Report is now available for all to read online or download at
Incident Report As in recent years making the report freely available in this way ensures the widest possible availability of the
lessons to be learned from the report.
Environment
England's sea life and habitats will benefit from greater protection after the Marine and Coastal Access Bill received Royal Assent
on 12th November 2009, creating the Marine and Coastal Access Act. No other country in the world has successfully introduced a
single piece of legislation to protect the marine environment. The Act will create a new marine planning system designed to bring
together the conservation, social and economic needs of our seas. A network of Marine Conservation Zones will be created that
will protect rare and threatened species and habitats. Four regional projects have started working with local groups and
businesses to identify which areas will be designated as Marine Conservation Zones. Businesses will also benefit from a more
streamlined consenting and licensing system through the creation of the Marine Management Organisation. A new range of
sanctions will also provide a more flexible approach to marine environment enforcement. The Act also includes new systems for
managing and protecting our coastal and marine waters through:

the establishment of a new Marine Management Organisation which will be a centre of marine expertise;

a new marine planning system which will enable a more strategic approach to be taken to the use of our seas;

a simpler more streamlined marine licensing system;
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
reform of inshore fisheries management; and

better management for migratory and freshwater fisheries.
Andrea Dickens
Deputy National Diving Officer
Awards
Colin McLeod Award
Kendall McDonald
Alan Broadhurst Award To be announced at DOC
Safety Awards
To be announced at DOC
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Some Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I attain Gold Standard Buoyancy (a pre-requisite for attendance on the ADP course)?
This can be attained by attending a buoyancy and Trim workshop and attaining gold buoyancy standard during the workshop.
Attainment of this standard must be registered at HQ (on Integra). There is no necessity to hold a Q card, so long as the standard
has been registered at HQ. All course bosses will check with HQ that attendees are registered at HQ as a sports diver and are
registered to gold standard, at the time of booking. Nitrox qualification will be checked, prior to the course attendance by the
course boss (e.g. inclusion in Sports Diver course or attendance on a Nitrox workshop/course) and that the diver (minimum Sports
Diver) has relevant depth experience to 30m
Having been on a Mixed Gas Try Dive, what am I qualified to do?
Whilst you will have a clearer level of understanding after completing your try-dive, the training and theory presented was minimal
and you will need to seek further training if you wish to continue diving mixed gas. You will have received only the briefest
theoretical information necessary to be supervised on this mixed gas try-dive. Considerably more training is required to achieve
the necessary level of understanding for safe and efficient mixed gas diving. All decisions regarding the planning and conduct of
your try-dive were taken by the instructor who also supervised the dive to ensure the safety of everyone concerned.
Mixed gas diving is very rewarding and enables a diver to progress the scope and range of their diving with safety and added
enjoyment. However, mixed gas diving is more complex and the risks increase as the depth and durations increase. Thorough
training is required to gain a good understanding of the knowledge, skills and techniques necessary. Your try-dive will simply have
qualified you to make a more informed decision, concerning your own further training and next steps.
The Mixed Gas Try-dive is not a BSAC qualification. The duration of the dive may, however, be counted towards the total open
water duration required on the BSAC Sports Mixed Gas course - this will not reduce the number of dives required to complete the
course. BSAC has a full portfolio of technical courses to enable the diver to progress to whatever level they aspire.
Who can teach on the Mixed Gas Try Dive?
There is no 'teaching' on a mixed gas try dive; however BSAC mixed gas try dives must be conducted by a BSAC Sports Mixed
Gas Diver Instructor or higher. The mixed gas try dive does not lend itself to training of Assistant Mixed Gas Diver Instructors
under any circumstances. The Mixed Gas Try Dive consists of the following elements:

One classroom session.

A dry practical lesson.

One dive, to a depth determined by the participant's experience and certification, with a maximum total planned run time
of 45 minutes and no longer than 60 minutes for a worst case plan.
What is different in the updated SDCs?
Practical Rescue Management

The course content is unchanged, and follows the material in Dive Leader lessons DO5 and DT9-21.

The Dive Leader VAs have been re-mastered with a PRM theme, and topped and tailed with Introduction and Course
Summary lessons.

The previous instructor notes and student notes have been replaced by an Instructor Manual and a Course Manual in the
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same style as other recent SDCs such as Wreck Appreciation and Underwater Photography.

The Instructor Manual contains a new section giving guidance on how to generate extra rescue scenarios.

A few small updates have been included, e.g., the latest BHA/RN phone numbers, use of DSC as the preferred method
of issuing a distress call.

Instructors are no longer required to have attended the course (they have to be >=OWI which means they have done all
the material as part of DL).

The Syllabus has been revised to reflect various minor changes and a Course Benefits section has been added
Dive Planning and Management

The course content is unchanged, and follows the material in Dive Leader lessons DT8, DT12 and DP1.

The Dive Leader VAs have been re-mastered with a DPM theme, and topped and tailed with Introduction and Course
Summary lessons.

The previous instructor notes and student notes have been replaced by an Instructor Manual and a Course Manual in the
same style as other recent SDCs.

The Instructor Manual contains a new section giving guidance on how to generate extra rescue scenarios.

A few small updates have been included, e.g. guidance on use of the Dive Manager's Checklist, and a model dive plan.

Instructors need only be an OWI with at least 5 days experience as DM and the entry requirement is now SD+20 dives
(was 'experienced SD').

The Syllabus has been revised to reflect various minor changes and a Course Benefits section has been added
What is the future of the Diving Officer's Conference?
This year Council reviewed DOC after the elections in May, considering costs, location, delivery, objectives, content, format and
options. Through tough financial negotiations and looking at several alternative venues and against the clock the decision was
taken to continue to hold DOC in London for 2009 to a very tightly managed budget. For next year, we will commence in January
to investigate and plan for a 2010 event. At DOC we are genuinely interested in what you want from DOC and desire your
feedback. A form will be made available on bsac.com to complete and submit. We have though reviewed and consolidated the
feedback from past events and are developing a detailed proposal with options. Cost is a major factor and ideally we want to be
cost neutral.
Appendix 2 - NDC Structure
NATIONAL DIVING OFFICER
Deputy NDO
Diving and
Coaching
Group
Instructor
Training
Group
Promotions
and Support
Group
Technical
Group
Projects
Teams
Corporate
Snorkelling
Steering
Advisory
Group
Processes and
Specialist
Team
Management
Andrea
Dickens
Diving and
Coaching
Leader
Dave Lock
Instructor
Training
Leader
Mark Wilson
Communications Technical
Leader
Group Leader
Maggie Driscoll Mike Rowley
Programme
Manager
Richard
Scarsbrook
Accessibility
Officer
John Strutt
Coaching
Team Leader
Dave Lock
Snorkelling
Chief
Examiner
Margaret
Baldwin
Conference
Coordinator
Michelle
Haywood
Technical
Chief
Examiner
Nick Jewson
Individual
Commercial
Projects
Coordinator
Team Leaders Mike Clack
Technical
Consultant:
Lizzie Bird
Incidents and
Safety Advisor
Brian
Cumming
Regional
Overseas
Coaching
Liaison
Representative
Phil Clifton
Alson Farrow
Council
Representative,
Marketing and
Support
Sophie
Dyehouse
Technical
Development
Officer - North
Paul Haynes
Technical
Authors
Technical
Consultant:
Trevor Davies
Environmental
Officer
Diver Training
Chief Officer
Communications Technical
Mary Tetley
Development
National
Instructor
Corporate
Snorkelling
Leader
Sophie
Rennie
Strategy
Group
Technical
Consultant:
Gavin
Anthony
Technical
Consultant:
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TBA
Wreck
Protection and
Underwater
Heritage
Officer
Jane
Maddocks
John
Kermode
Chief
Examiner
Maggie
Cowing
Expeditions
Officer
Maximillion
Ruffert
Advanced
Instructor
Chief
Examiner
Mike Thomas
First Class
Chief
Examiner and
FCD
Prearations
Andy Hunt
OWI Chief
Examiner
David
Wakelam
CEO
Officer - South
John Adams
Jim Watson
Marketing
Alison Dando
Safety and
rescue Skills
Advisor
Andy Procter
Snorkelling
Training Chief
Officer
Future
Armed Forces
Liaison Officer
Nick
Harrington
JSSADC
Liaison Officer
Steve Cox
BSAC Centres
Liaison Officer
Mike Clack
University
Liaison Officer
TBA
Appendix 3: Awards
AWARD
PURPOSE
HEINKE TROPHY Shield and Certificate
The Branch furthering the interests of all branch members and of the
BSAC
WILKINSON SWORD Hand engraved sword
First organised by Ken Clark and Wilkinsons in 1979. Awarded annually to
mounted on an elegant wooden stand. Small shield the candidate who through rigorous judging proves to have the most
engraved and nailed to stand Certificate
admirable performance in the BSAC nationally assessed examination.
LIGHTHOUSE TORCH AWARD Kowalski Torch
Awarded annually to the candidate who through rigorous judging proves to
have the most admirable performance in the BSAC First Class Diver
examination
ALAN BROADHURST AWARD Medallion and
Certificate
Awarded for the use of good diving lifesaving techniques. Presented to the
rescuer, acknowledging and recognising their extreme bravery and use of
good diving techniques
BSAC SAFETY AWARD Certificate
Presented in recognition of endeavouring to save life without involving
diving techniques
PETER SMALL JUBILEE TRUST AWARD
Awarded annually to the Branch who has undertaken of the most
worthwhile underwater project of the year
NATIONAL INSTRUCTOR Certificate
Awarded to successful candidates of the NIE
FIRST CLASS DIVER Certificate
Awarded to successful candidates of the FCD
ANALOX AI AWARD Analyser and £100 Cheque
and Certificate
Awarded to the most meritorious candidate on the AIE
COLLINS & CHAMBERS OWI AWARD Three
glass model divers Certificate
Awarded to the most meritorious candidate on the OWIC
37
WEEZLE AWARD Weezle thermal protection
clothing,
Award presented to the person who performs meritoriously in the NIE
THANK YOU AWARDS Certificates and plaque
Awards presented to those leaving the NDC or other positions at the time
of DOC
THANK YOU AWARDS Certificate
Awards presented to those leaving the NDC or other positions at the time
of DOC
COLIN McLEOD AWARD
Presented annually to person(s) who in the opinion of the Trustees of the
BSA Jubilee Trust have contributed to international co-operation and
harmony in diving and associated activities
THE SCUBAPRO AWARD (replaces Aqualung
Award in 2008)
Presented to a BSAC member who goes that extra mile in the promotion of
the Club's aims and objectives
SUUNTO AWARD
Presented to the BSAC Volunteer of the Year
JONATHAN CRUSHER AWARD
Award presented to the branch that best meets the promotion of the BSAC
through increased membership/SDC attendance etc.
BRANCH OF THE YEAR
Award presented to the branch that best meets the promotion of the BSAC
through increased membership/SDC attendance etc.
SNORKELLING BRANCH OF THE YEAR
Award presented to the branch that best meets the promotion of the BSAC
through increased membership/SDC attendance etc. New in 2010
NEPTUNE MEDAL
NDO award where diving has been used to support a far more reaching
and more vital goal, for example; rehabilitation of wounded soldiers
BSAC EXPEDITIONS TROPHY (BEGS)
Awarded annually and presented to the organiser of the most significant
British exploratory diving expedition of the year.
© Copyright December 2009. British Sub Aqua Club, Telford's Quay, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, CH65 4FL.
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