Big Blue Tech and BSAC Thailand completed Skill Development Courses for Ash Dunn and Mark Slinn during a workshop in Koh Tao on the 23rd of December to ehnace their abilities as scuba diving instructors.

A SDC is a course that teached instructors the ability to deliver different or signature courses. For example, a nitrox course could be considered a SDC because it delivers a specific skill set rather then enhancing day to day diver skills.

BSAC Thailand took Mark and Ash through the  BSAC Oxygen Administrator Instructor and BSAC Compressor Operator Instructor SDC during the day long workshop. During this time the students had to demonstrate their overall knowledge and ability in both disciplines to the instructor examiner.

After a written and practical exam they were issued their certification cards and received authority to begin teaching the courses.

Andy Cavell, our other intern, missed this event because he was teaching a PADI Deep and Nitrox Specialty Course. He will complete this workshop on the 29th of December.

The rest of the SDC will be earned in February with titles such as Gas Blender Instructor, Mixed Gas Diver Instructor and various other accompanying disciplines like service technician skills.

For more information or to attend our next cross-over, sdc workshop or instructor course please contact us or www.bsacthailand.com

BSAC Instructor Crossover Course
Why would you want to teach BSAC?
1: Commercial Advantage

BSAC is unique.

Historically BSAC was based on a branch system. Unlike other diver certification agencies, BSAC members enter a local community of divers. This means BSAC members are more active divers, and have greater allegiance towards other BSAC Branches and Dive Centres.

There are large numbers of active BSAC Members in the UK, Middle East, Japan, Korea and Thailand. By becoming a BSAC professional you’ll have unrestricted access to market your training and trips to these tens of thousands of BSAC Members, through channels not available to non-BSAC schools.

BSAC Training is the choice of the UK Armed forces, plus universities in the UK and Thailand. By becoming a BSAC professional you’ll have access to large markets not available to non-BSAC schools.

2. Quality Training and Breadth of Experience

Many hundreds of thousands of divers have trained with the BSAC over more than 50 years.

Diver training has evolved but BSAC philosophy has always been to produce highly competent self-reliant divers with excellent knowledge and practical skills and with safety considerations uppermost.

And BSAC doesn’t stop at diver training. BSAC has a rounded curriculum encompassing all activities of diving and seamanship, such as boat handling, chart work and navigation, oxygen administration, engine maintenance, compressor operation, technical diving and more. The breadth and scope of BSAC Training is unrivaled.

If you want to be the best, you’ll want to be with BSAC.
Course Overview

The requirement for attending the BSAC Instructor crossover course is that you are an Instructor from any agency other than BSAC and working in a centre where BSAC courses are to be offered.  Knowledge of other diving agencies and how they work is useful as it will give you a greater understanding of how elements fit in across the different agencies.

It must be emphasized that the crossover course Instructor examiner, is not there to assess your instructing ability but rather to acquaint you with BSAC methodology and knowledge so that you will have the tools to be able to deliver BSAC diving courses; mainly Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and Dive Leader.

The course duration is 2-days and covers the following elements

6 Theory lessons
2 Practical lessons

The course starts with a series of orientation lessons which introduces the Instructor to, the BSAC and how it operates, Diver grades, BSAC dive tables, BSAC teaching methodology etc.

In the latter, there will be a series of theory classroom lessons. In these lessons, the Course Instructor will demonstrate a typical classroom presentation; showing you how to breakdown the lesson contents into small manageable steps; making complex topics simple to understand. You  then will have a chance to present a 15 -20 minute classroom presentation using the prescribed method
Practical Sessions

The first practical session will be run by the course instructor, who will demonstrate a set of skills and how to progressively break them down.  You may not have seen some of these skills as they may not be in your agency’s training programme.

The second practical session, which will normally take place on day 2, is for you to have a go at a mini-teach of a skill you have seen previously.  It is not uncommon for some of the ‘students’ to have not been in the water for a while and so it is a good refresher and ‘hands-on’ approach.

Typical skills which will be demonstrated in ‘Sheltered Water’ include:

1    Control Buoyant Lift (CBL - some dive agencies do this skill completely differently so a good skill to learn)
2    AS (Alternative Source) using different applications
3    DSMB Deployment (Not taught in other dive agencies)
4    Distance Line Laying    (relocating the shot line)

There will be an emphasis on breakdown of skill, close proximity; double demos where necessary, surface control using SMB.

At the end of Day 1 you will be asked to plan and prepare 2 lessons to give on Day 2 as a confirmation of the course.  The lessons will be short; about 10 minutes.

The types of lesson are outlined below and all will have been taught or demonstrated on Day 1 by the Course Instructor.

1.    CBL (Covered in Ocean Diver training)
2.    PADI CBL (Good for everyone to see a different way of doing it)
3.    DSMB Deployment (Covered in Sports Diver training)
4.    Line Laying (Covered in Sports Diver training)
5.    AS (Covered in Ocean Diver Training)
6.    Rescue Breathing
Materials

Each student will receive their own comprehensive course support pack which will include,

• The Diving Instructor Manual
• Course Instructor Manual CD Rom
• A set of BSAC Nitrox and Air Decompression tables
• Qualification Card
• 1 year Instructor fee
• A set of Ocean Diver - lesson prompt cards
Course Entry Level

All candidates must produce proof of their instructor qualification from one of the following diving agencies

• CMAS
• PADI
• NAUI
• SSI
2009 Promotion

On all 2009 Instructor crossover courses candidates will also receive training and instructor qualifications in two of the BSAC Skill Development Courses. These courses are

• BSAC Oxygen Administrator
• BSAC Nitrox Instructor

Heeding customer feedback and finally bowing to market pressures, PADI’s DSAT technical diving arm is preparing an overhaul of its TecRec Deep and Trimix courses that will lower the entry barriers to the course and give instructors more flexibility.

Although final course outlines have not been finalized, the Tec Deep course will be broken into three parts, tentatively called “Tec 40,” “Tec 45″ and “Tec 50,” signifying the depth in meters students will be certified to dive. The current Tec Trimix course will be similarly broken into two parts, dubbed “Trimix 65″ and “Trimix 75.” DSAT hopes to introduce the courses by the end of the year.

Speaking at DSAT’s forum in Pattaya, Thailand June 21, PADI Instructor Examiner and TecRec Instructor Trainer George Wegmann stressed that the final look of the revamped TecRec program has not been finalized, but that DSAT now had a “strong direction” for 2009. The organization formed the basis for the tiered technical program from feedback at previous DSAT roundtables in Australia and the U.S. While still soliciting input from PADI professionals, the agency is now traveling around the world with its “Essential Change ‘09″ presentation…..Continued

Historically BSAC was based on a branch system. Unlike other diver certification agencies, BSAC members enter a local community of divers. This means BSAC members are more active divers, and have greater allegiance towards other BSAC Branches and Dive Centres.

There are large numbers of active BSAC Members in the UK, Middle East, Japan, Korea and Thailand. By becoming a BSAC professional you’ll have unrestricted access to market your training and trips to these tens of thousands of BSAC Members, through channels not available to non-BSAC schools.

BSAC Training is the choice of the UK Armed forces, plus universities in the UK and Thailand. By becoming a BSAC professional you’ll have access to large markets not available to non-BSAC schools.

Many hundreds of thousands of divers have trained with the BSAC over more than 50 years.

Diver training has evolved but BSAC philosophy has always been to produce highly competent self-reliant divers with excellent knowledge and practical skills and with safety considerations uppermost.

And BSAC doesn’t stop at diver training. BSAC has a rounded curriculum encompassing all activities of diving and seamanship, such as boat handling, chart work and navigation, oxygen administration, engine maintenance, compressor operation, technical diving and more. The breadth and scope of BSAC Training is unrivaled.

If you want to be the best, you’ll want to be with BSAC.

Course Overview

The requirement for attending the BSAC Instructor crossover course is that you are an Instructor from any agency other than BSAC and working in a centre where BSAC courses are to be offered.  Knowledge of other diving agencies and how they work is useful as it will give you a greater understanding of how elements fit in across the different agencies.

It must be emphasized that the crossover course Instructor examiner, is not there to assess your instructing ability but rather to acquaint you with BSAC methodology and knowledge so that you will have the tools to be able to deliver BSAC diving courses; mainly Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and Dive Leader.

The course duration is 2-days and covers the following elements

6 Theory lessons
2 Practical lessons

The course starts with a series of orientation lessons which introduces the Instructor to, the BSAC and how it operates, Diver grades, BSAC dive tables, BSAC teaching methodology etc.

In the latter, there will be a series of theory classroom lessons. In these lessons, the Course Instructor will demonstrate a typical classroom presentation; showing you how to breakdown the lesson contents into small manageable steps; making complex topics simple to understand. You  then will have a chance to present a 15 -20 minute classroom presentation using the prescribed method
Practical Sessions

The first practical session will be run by the course instructor, who will demonstrate a set of skills and how to progressively break them down.  You may not have seen some of these skills as they may not be in your agency’s training programme.

The second practical session, which will normally take place on day 2, is for you to have a go at a mini-teach of a skill you have seen previously.  It is not uncommon for some of the ‘students’ to have not been in the water for a while and so it is a good refresher and ‘hands-on’ approach.

Typical skills which will be demonstrated in ‘Sheltered Water’ include:

1    Control Buoyant Lift (CBL - some dive agencies do this skill completely differently so a good skill to learn)
2    AS (Alternative Source) using different applications
3    DSMB Deployment (Not taught in other dive agencies)
4    Distance Line Laying    (relocating the shot line)

There will be an emphasis on breakdown of skill, close proximity; double demos where necessary, surface control using SMB.

At the end of Day 1 you will be asked to plan and prepare 2 lessons to give on Day 2 as a confirmation of the course.  The lessons will be short; about 10 minutes.

The types of lesson are outlined below and all will have been taught or demonstrated on Day 1 by the Course Instructor.

1.    CBL (Covered in Ocean Diver training)
2.    PADI CBL (Good for everyone to see a different way of doing it)
3.    DSMB Deployment (Covered in Sports Diver training)
4.    Line Laying (Covered in Sports Diver training)
5.    AS (Covered in Ocean Diver Training)
6.    Rescue Breathing
Materials

Each student will receive their own comprehensive course support pack which will include,

• The Diving Instructor Manual
• Course Instructor Manual CD Rom
• A set of BSAC Nitrox and Air Decompression tables
• Qualification Card
• 1 year Instructor fee
• A set of Ocean Diver - lesson prompt cards
Course Entry Level

All candidates must produce proof of their instructor qualification from one of the following diving agencies

• CMAS
• PADI
• NAUI
• SSI
2009 Promotion

On all 2009 Instructor crossover courses candidates will also receive training and instructor qualifications in two of the BSAC Skill Development Courses. These courses are

• BSAC Oxygen Administrator
• BSAC Nitrox Instructor