CMAS Cards Now Available

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Dear All

Everything is now in place and the cards are available. See the link below and the information is also in the July BSAC Talk which should be on your club notice boards any time now.

Your thanks for this should be directed at our chairman Phil, with the support of HQ and many others he has been personally progressing this for some years and has established an excellent working relationship with our friends in the SAA and in CMAS. These cards are only a small part of the very wide range of general diving issues where we work closely with all of the diving agencies and organisations on behalf of all divers, not just BSAC ones.

Regards

Keith Lawrence
BSAC Council Member

[Nick McV]

I welcome the re-forging of links with CMAS (albeit via the SAA) and thank the members of BSAC council who have facillitated this...

I understand that there is a cost involved in the administration and production of these cards, but ?17 seems a little on the steep side. Is there a contribution to CMAS built into the price? Can you give us an idea of the breakdown?

[jens hucke]

Many thanks to all involved in making this happen.
I have just asked for several application forms for members of my club, with 2 different trips to South of France already planned for August and September.

Regards,
jens

[Matt Duke]

Thanks to all at BSAC/SAA who made this happen.

As a BSAC instructor who now lives in Norway, this change was welcome. Good work Phil and the team! I'm glad the previous problems with CMAS have been resolved.

Best Regards

Matt Duke,
Bergen, Norway.

[TerryH]

Excellent and well worth the ?17 for hassle free European
diving.

But ........

Can you clarify the bit where it says CMAS Instructor?
Hasnt got any number on it (just a name), so does this mean
that you would have the DO at the time or the actual Instructor? Or is it the SAA DO?

Bit vague.

More info please.

Rgds
TerryH

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

Excellent and well worth the ?17 for hassle free European
diving.

But ........

Can you clarify the bit where it says CMAS Instructor?
Hasnt got any number on it (just a name), so does this mean
that you would have the DO at the time or the actual Instructor? Or is it the SAA DO?

Bit vague.

More info please.

Terry

Can you feed your comments back to Tina at HQ please, ask for that clarification and ask that the page on the web site be made clearer.

Regards

Keith L

[Keith Lawrence(BSAC)]

I welcome the re-forging of links with CMAS (albeit via the SAA) and thank the members of BSAC council who have facillitated this...

I understand that there is a cost involved in the administration and production of these cards, but ?17 seems a little on the steep side. Is there a contribution to CMAS built into the price? Can you give us an idea of the breakdown?


I don't have the details myself but I know that we normally cost such things on the basis that it shouldn't cost us money - i.e. as it's a service to our members the only thing we're really interested in recoverring actual costs. Also it's a one-off cost if all you're trying to do is "prove" a CMAS level, my old SD card I got years ago is still going strong!

I'll be able to tell you without looking that there will be a significant element of time costs in there - it's a low volume labour intensive processes and people cost money. We're not expecting huge volumes, we can't really make any economies of scale.

I'm going to duck out of this one, take it up with HQ if you like, just don't "shoot the messenger" :-)) Sorry about that but I'm a bit time limited at present and up to my eyeballs in IT stuff, I only posted because I had been asked to look into it by a few people on here.

Regards

Keith L

[Mike Halligan]

I understand that there is a cost involved in the administration and production of these cards, but ?17 seems a little on the steep side.

Hi, Nick,

Hmmm, not convinced about that. ?17 represents less than one cylinder test, and the card lasts for ever. IIRC, my SD card cost me ?10 six years ago. Since then, BSAC has been reconstructed on a firm financial footing and we have seen all other prices rise.

5% per annum inflation compounded across 6 years represents half of the apparent 70% increase. I don't know for how long (before 1997) the same cards were available at ?10, but I doubt mine was the first issued at that price. Couple this with our need for an agent (since we wish to operate outside CMAS rules) and ?17 is not bad at all.

Well done and thanks to Phil, SAA and all at HQ,

Mike

[jens hucke]

Yes the new BSAC SAA CMAS card is excellent value. I travel to France at least twice a year, and having a BSAC only card was often an issue.

The alternative was to find a helpfull and friendly SAA branch,(40ish miles to my nearest), join them, join the SAA, drive a long way to meetings and pool sessions, convince them that you are who and what you say you are , and then get an equivalence, followed by application for a CMAS card requiring the signature of the club DO.
The Card did cost me ?12.50, but in order to get it, it took 3 months from 1st contact to card receipt, it cost me ?10 in pool fees, a branch fee, a SAA fee, and loads of fuel. Total cost was probably close to ?150. That done, I can only say good things about the SAA and those I met through it, but the new arrangements made are both a lot faster and a lot cheaper.

On behalf of those who need CMAS cards, I can only thank the council for the hard work done.

kind regards
jens

[Alan Taylor]

Dear All

Everything is now in place and the cards are available. See the link below and the information is also in the July BSAC Talk which should be on your club notice boards any time now.

Your thanks for this should be directed at our chairman Phil, with the support of HQ and many others he has been personally progressing this for some years and has established an excellent working relationship with our friends in the SAA and in CMAS. These cards are only a small part of the very wide range of general diving issues where we work closely with all of the diving agencies and organisations on behalf of all divers, not just BSAC ones.

Regards

Keith Lawrence
BSAC Council Member

Thanks indeed to Phil and the team, It's going to be helpful to be a Plonger and Monitor once more My original Blue and red CMAS embossed cards(no pictures) are just about knackered so replscements are most welcome and ?17 is about right as my old ones were a tenner each way back in the mist of the 1970's thanks also to SAA perhaps they mat come back into the fold as well.

Keep on Divin'CMAS
Alan

[Vero Heyes]

Good news, however, I already have a CMAS card from way back when BSAC and CMAS were still collaborating on equivalence. I presume that card is now 're-instated' and I don't have to fork out ?17 for a new one?

Thanks for clarifying this,

Vero