The Scottish Sub Aqua Club

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• The candidate

  Safety

  Lectures

  Pool or safe confined open water training

  Open water diving assessments

  Link to news item re-instating buddy breathing ascents

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Buddy Breathing Ascent Training Changes Trainees must complete the buddy breathing ascents as per their training record book Posted 16/07/07

The following training programme and tests must be completed to qualify for the Scottish Sub-Aqua Club Sport Diver Award.

Candidate Requirements

To proceed with Aqualung training the candidate must satisfy the following requirements:

• Be a current member of the Scottish Sub Aqua Club
• Have a submitted a valid medical declaration
• Have completed the swimming assessment as detailed below.
• Have completed the Basic Snorkel assessment as detailed below.
• Hood and gloves to be worn for all aqualung pool assessments
• The minimum age for this training 15 years. However, on behalf of specific individuals, in exceptional circumstances, the BDO may ask the NDC and SSAC medical advisor (whose decision is final) for dispensation for 14 year olds.

Should any of these requirements not be satisfied the candidate may not progress with aqualung training in any form.

Safety

See the ‘Health & Safety Manual’ for guidance on the safety issues and the resolution of those issues associated with each exercise. At all times any safety issues will be discussed with the trainee and if there is a perceived risk of physical injury (lifting heavy objects etc) agreement will be sort with the trainee. Many of the exercises require physical contact. Where this is the case the nature of the physical contact will be explained and the trainees acceptance of the physical contact. Prior to and after every dive the instructor will work through the SSAC Buhlman air tables.

Lectures

Satisfactory theoretical knowledge, prior to using an aqualung, must be demonstrated following attendance at the following lectures or by careful studying of the Sport Diving manual.

• Basic equipment, signals & surfacing drills
• Ears, sinuses and effects of pressure
• Burst lung and ascent in emergency
• Aqualung use, buoyancy control, description and use of buoyancy aids

The further knowledge required for the Sport Diver Award will be obtained from the following lectures:

• Respiration, hyperventilation, anoxia and hypoxia
• Exhaustion, protective clothing and hypothermia.
• Rescue life saving and artificial respiration.
• Principles of aqualung, air endurance and air cylinders.
• Maintenance of equipment and diving accessories.
• Open water diving and dive procedures.
• Basic decompression, hazards and avoidance.
• SSAC organisational structure.

Candidates must pass an appropriate lecture assessment to demonstrate knowledge of the above.

In Water Experience

Pool training may be substituted with confined open water training. Sites suitable must have a clean level bed no deeper than 6m and not subject tidal flows or currents. Candidates must have completed Assessments P1-P6 prior to commencing any open water training.

Open Water Diving Assessments

Carry out at least 10 dives in sequence at five or more different sites on five or more different days. Each dive to have a duration of not less than 15 minutes. No more than two dives are to be carried out in one day. These dives must include at least seven dives in seawater, and at least two dives from the following list:

(a) Shore dive along a sloping seabed.
(b) Dive in moving water (with a current less than 2 knots)
(c) Low visibility (less than 2metres)
(d) Dive in cold water (10 degrees C or less)
(e) Dive in fresh water

The first four dives are to be between 6-10m and the following seven each to be between 10-20m and no deeper. Until the Sport Diver award is completed, trainees must not dive deeper than 20m.

Candidates must log at least 5 hours of underwater time before being awarded the Sport Diver certificate.

Having completed this training programme satisfactorily, with a minimum of 5 hours underwater, the award may be completed and the trainee may then be recognised as a Sport Diver. The depth limit for Sport Diver is 30m. If wishing to dive in the range 30-40m they must be accompanied with a Master Diver Instructor. The award is effective the date of the BDO signature.

The full Sport Diver Award Training Schedule is available in pdf fromat from the downloads page.

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