Dacorum Sub Aqua Club
Instructors
This page looks at instructing in our club.
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The Club encourages members to become Instructors so that they can increase their own skills and take part in running courses.
DS-AC has eleven Nationally Qualified Instructors (NQIs) and twenty three Assistant Instructors. NQIs are people who have passed nationally organised BSAC instructor exams. Most people find that standards are high. Assistant Instructors are divers who have taken the initial instructor course but not yet passed the qualifying exam. They may only instruct under the supervision of a qualified instructor. Often diving courses are taught by Assistant Instructors who are supervised and helped by one or more Nationally Qualified Instructors. |
Why the different grades of instructor?
The each grade of Nationally Qualified Instructor is qualified to supervise a particular type of training:
- diving theory in the classroom (Club Instructor or Theory Instructor and above)
- practical skills in the pool (Club Instructor or Practical Instructor and above)
- open water diving (Open Water Instructor or Practical Instructor and above)
- diving from boats and instructor training (Advanced Instructor and above)
- Skill Development Courses (instructor qualification varies according to the course)
We follow the BSAC recommendations about Instructor qualifications and ratios of students to instructors.
How to become an instructor
| Grade | Entry level | Course | Course Content | Qualification method | NQI? |
|
Assistant Club Instructor
(ACI) |
Sport Diver | Instructor Training Course | 2 day course to teach in the pool and classroom | Course only | No |
|
Club Instructor
pre-2002 (CI) |
Assistant Club Instructor + Dive Leader |
None | None | 1 day exam in a pool, a classroom and theory test |
1 star
|
|
Practical Instructor
from 2002 (PI) |
Assistant Club Instructor + Dive Leader | OWI Course | 1 day course to teach on a beach and underwater | 1 day open water test + theory test |
Yes |
|
Theory Instructor
from 2002 (TI) |
Assistant Club Instructor | 1 day classroom test + theory test |
Yes
|
||
|
Open Water Instructor
from 2002 (OWI) |
PI + TI |
none |
none |
PI + TI |
2 star |
|
Open Water Instructor
pre-2002 (OWI) |
CI
|
OWI Course
|
1 day course to teach on a beach and underwater | 12 hours of logged, relevant instruction | 2 star |
|
Advanced Instructor
(AI) |
Open Water Instructor + Advanced Diver | AI Course | 2 day course to teach on a boat, underwater and boat handling. | 2 day exam in a classroom, on a beach and in boats. Separate theory test. | 3 star |
| Grade | Entry level | Course | Course Content | Qualification method | NQI? |
How many instructors do we have?
- Nationally Qualified BSAC Instructors:
- 3 Advanced Instructors
- 6 Open Water Instructors
- 2 Club Instructors
- 1 Theory Instructor
- 23 Assistant Instructors
Instructors for SDCs
Nationally Qualified Instructors may instruct on many Skill Development Courses (SDCs) without needing further qualifications.
Some SDCs can only be taught by Approved instructors. To become an Approved instructor of a particular course, an NQI must demonstrate knowledge of the subject and instructional ability by assisting in the instruction of the course until recommended by the lead instructor of the course.
The Advanced Diver course consists mainly of SDCs.
How many instructors do we have for the Advanced Diver course?
We have Approved Instructors for the following Advanced Diver SDCs:
- 3 Oxygen Administration instructors
- 4 Practical Rescue Management instructors
- 3 Boat handling instructors
- 2 Advanced Nitrox instructors (we aim to have 3)
Also, we have:
- 1 First Aid for Divers instructor (we aim to have 3)
Some other Advanced Diver SDCs do not require approved instructors - so our NQIs are able to run them without further qualifications:
- Dive Marshalling and Planning (must be lead by an AI)
- Chartwork and Position Fixing
- Search and Recovery
- Advanced Diving Techniques
Select this link for further details about running SDCs.
Why do people become instructors?
- Its a good way to increase your diving skills and knowledge.
- It keeps you in practice - especially with emergency skills.
- As we have an amateur system of training where the instructors themselves have benefited from the efforts of other, it's a way for them to put something back into the sport and keep the cycle going.
- You get to meet a lot of people, do a lot of diving and enjoy yourself.