Helen (AKA Hellvet)
29-03-2007, 20:57
Just wanted to share my positive experience of the BSAC as everyone is always happy to moan but so few people give praise.
I have done all my training so far with the BSAC, and had managed to complete sports diver, and get most of the way through dive leader before getting bent again last year. I had also done my assistant instructor course and being keen to stay actively involved with my clubs while waiting to get back in the water, I asked if i could do the theory instructor exam, thus enabling me to at least teach theory lessons, but was initially told by HQ that (as it says very clearly on the course description) there was a requirement to be a qualified Dive Leader. Fair enough - thats what the requirement is - i wasn't honestly expecting anything else.
Then after a very incidental comment while posting on the BSAC forums Mike Halligan the accessibility and disability officer PM'd me to say did i really want to do the course? I replied yes, and he rang me to discuss it, then took my case to BSAC for me. After asking why i couldn't do it if the only reason was because i couldn't complete the dives for my Dive Leader as I couldn't dive, the answer came through at the Diving officers conference as a yes - i booked the first exam i could make, and found out the other day that i'd passed!
Now i have to admit I would have accepted the initial no - as the rules are the rules, and i didn't expect BSAC to have much flexibility to be honest. I just want people to know that there is some flexibility and options on qualifications - if there is some reason why you are not able to satisfy the requirements with respect to e.g. depth (or even not being able to dive in my case!), for medical reasons then discuss it with them. There are people out there who will go out of their way to help you achieve your aims...
I have done all my training so far with the BSAC, and had managed to complete sports diver, and get most of the way through dive leader before getting bent again last year. I had also done my assistant instructor course and being keen to stay actively involved with my clubs while waiting to get back in the water, I asked if i could do the theory instructor exam, thus enabling me to at least teach theory lessons, but was initially told by HQ that (as it says very clearly on the course description) there was a requirement to be a qualified Dive Leader. Fair enough - thats what the requirement is - i wasn't honestly expecting anything else.
Then after a very incidental comment while posting on the BSAC forums Mike Halligan the accessibility and disability officer PM'd me to say did i really want to do the course? I replied yes, and he rang me to discuss it, then took my case to BSAC for me. After asking why i couldn't do it if the only reason was because i couldn't complete the dives for my Dive Leader as I couldn't dive, the answer came through at the Diving officers conference as a yes - i booked the first exam i could make, and found out the other day that i'd passed!
Now i have to admit I would have accepted the initial no - as the rules are the rules, and i didn't expect BSAC to have much flexibility to be honest. I just want people to know that there is some flexibility and options on qualifications - if there is some reason why you are not able to satisfy the requirements with respect to e.g. depth (or even not being able to dive in my case!), for medical reasons then discuss it with them. There are people out there who will go out of their way to help you achieve your aims...