Diving Grades | Training | Ocean Diver training | Medical
Sheltered water training (pool sessions) | Open Water Training

Diving Grades
The BS-AC diving grades are currently as follows:

• Ocean Diver
• Sports Diver
• Diver Leader
• Advanced Diver
• First Class Diver

Henley Sub Aqua Club has a range of divers at all of these grades with the exception of First Class Diver. Henley Sub Aqua Club is able to train divers to these grades, normally within the branch structure and, where this is not possible, e.g. for some of the Advanced Diver courses, this can be arranged with BS-AC regional and area coaches. If you need further details of training then please discuss your requirements with the Training Officer.

Training
Henley Sub Aqua Club is proud of its training record and most of the divers in the branch trained with Henley Sub Aqua Club. Many divers join Henley Sub Aqua Club to begin diving and the normal start to this is the Ocean Diver course. We welcome divers from other agencies and, where divers require, we can provide cross-over training to BS-AC standards.

All training in Henley Sub Aqua Club is carried out to BS-AC guidelines. The instructors that will teach you will be members of Henley Sub Aqua Club and you will meet them both at the club and when diving. Many of the instructors trained with Henley Sub Aqua Club. Please note that none of the instructors is paid for teaching.

Ocean Diver training
The Ocean Diver course consists of a series of seven classroom lessons, which are normally given week by week by instructors at the club meeting on a Thursday; a simple theory test; a basic swimming assessment; five sheltered water lessons, usually held at a local swimming pool and five open water lessons / dives, usually held in the sea in a quiet bay. Diving in the sea is much more exciting and enjoyable than the skills training in the pool and it is important that the basic diving skills are mastered in the safe environment of the pool before progressing to “open water”. You will, of course, be under the supervision of qualified instructors throughout your training.

Medical
It is a condition of diving with Henley Sub Aqua Club and the BS-AC that you are medically fit to dive. BS-AC uses a “self certification” scheme whereby you make a declaration of your own fitness. Where there is a potential issue, or previous conditions exist, then you will need to discuss your fitness to dive with a medical referee, normally by telephone. If the medical referee considers it OK to dive then they will countersign the declaration form. A list of medical referees is available from BS-AC. Only where the medical referee considers it necessary will a doctor’s examination be required.

The self-declaration forms are available from the Secretary and when completed the form should be returned to the Secretary.

Sheltered water training (pool sessions)
The sheltered water training sessions will normally be held in a local swimming pool. This may be done week by week with the lectures or in batches to maximise time in the water. The purpose of these sessions is to teach the basic skills and equipment procedures so that you can progress safely to open water diving. It will seem very daunting at first so don’t worry. By the end of the pool sessions you will be very keen to try out your new-found skills in the sea, where the diving is much more interesting. Please note that you need to bring all your diving equipment for each pool session and that it is your responsibility to get ensure that you have enough air for the pool session. As a rough guide you should have at least 100bar in the cylinder. Getting the cylinder refilled is very simple and costs £2 to £3 from local dive shops. Please be on time for the pool sessions. As we normally book the pool specifically for the sheltered water training it is important not to miss these sessions – catching up will delay your training significantly.

Open Water Training
Once you have passed your written exam and pool assessment you will be ready to dive in “open water” or the sea. Your first dives will be closely supervised by an instructor to make sure it’s safe and that you enjoy your diving. Please follow closely the instructions you get and if you are unsure then please ask one of the instructors

Note that specific weekends will be organised for Ocean and Sports Diver open water training. The dates for these weekends will be included in your training plan and are also published in the dive plan. You must attend these weekends as they are organised specifically for your training. If you cannot make these weekends then your training schedule may be delayed significantly.

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