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Heinke Trophy Winners

Kingston & Elmbridge Sub Aqua Club, 2004 Heinke Trophy Winners, will host the 51st BSAC Annual General Meeting at their branch Clubhouse on 21st May 2005.

Come and join us

It promises to be a fabulous day. The morning will be the AGM business with registration from 9.00am and in the afternoon after a fish and chip lunch* there will be a variety of presentations, kindly arranged by Kingston & Elmbridge branch, which will include the RNLI and Tony Marshall's BSAC Golden Oldies.

Midnight Cruise

The evening entertainment will be a riverboat cruise on the "Kingston Belle" starting at 20.00 going right through until Midnight with a disco and finger buffet on board, at a cost of only £28.00 the evening promises to be great fun. For more information or to book tickets please contact John Rapley at rap@gearbulk.com

If you are interested in attending then please contact the branch direct - speak to John Rapley, on 07843 529 187 or 0208 241 1830 or email him on rap@gearbulk.com

* Fish and chip lunch optional at a cost of £4.

The results of the BSAC elections will be announced at the 51st BSAC Annual General Meeting at the Kingston & Elmbridge branch Clubhouse on 21st May 2005.

Make your Vote Count!

Your vote decides the Club's future - remember the deadline for returning completed ballot forms is 10.00am on Saturday 7th May 2005.

If you have any queries about your voting papers, please contact Mary Tetley on 0151 350 6220.

The BSAC showed an impressive international presence at the 11th Asia Dive Expo held in Bangkok in April. BSAC was represented by resorts and schools from as far as the Andaman Islands, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Korea through to Council Members from the UK!

The stand welcomed plenty of visitors over the four day period with high levels of interest in becoming schools and resorts in the Asia region alongside numerous divers keen to go diving with the BSAC and to become members of the BSAC.

One member of the BSAC Team commented: "It's fantastic to see how well received BSAC is internationally. We are held in high regard and viewed as providing the best diver training available - it's great to see such a positive response."

BSAC Headquarters have produced some new Information Sheets to highlight relevant aspects of BSAC Branch management and diving-related guidance:

• M6 Outlines the CASCs (Community and Amateur Sports Clubs scheme)
• T13 Artificial Ventilation
• T14 The H S & E and recreational diving

Furthermore, other Information Sheets have been updated:

• A9 Approved Instructors for SDCs
• G6 Diving in Malta
• G7 Diving in the English Lake District
• G8 Launch Sites for Diving in the Farnes
• M4 BSAC Membership figures
• M5 Assistance with Study Projects

All Information Sheets can be viewed or downloaded as PDF files from: http://www.bsac.com/legacyorg/techserv/tecpubs1.htm

Diabetes does not necessarily prevent a potential member from taking up diving, or for existing members continuing to dive if they contract the condition.

The UK Sport Diving Medical Committee has devised a specific process for diabetics to follow to determine their suitability for diving. There is a designated Medical Referee that deals with these enquiries and the 'Diabetes Pack' can be downloaded here: http://www.bsac.com/legacyorg/medical/diabeticpack.zip

The syllabi for the revised format of these SDC events can be viewed or downloaded as PDF files from: http://www.bsac.com/legacyorg/techserv/irc/sdcnotes.htm.

***COMING SOON - RESERVE YOUR COPY NOW***

A comprehensive manual covering every aspect of seamanship a diver coxswain is ever likely to require. It covers boat terminology, knots, charts, weather, boat handling, engine basics, VHF operations and much more. There is also a detailed section about procedures to take in an emergency right up to and including being picked up by a SAR helicopter.

Available late summer/early autumn.

Illustrated with many detailed diagrams and colour photographs this book is a must for anyone who owns or drives a diving RIB. Retail Price : £20.00 Members Price : £17.00

To reserve your copy now, please go to http://www.bsac.com/legacyorg/shop/manuals.htm

The Underwater Hockey Sport Development Fund has teamed up with Aqua Sphere makers of active snorkel equipment for their annual raffle. Aqua Sphere have sponsored a prize for the club which sells the most raffle tickets that is worth over £1000.

Just by selling tickets - your club could be the big winner - good luck!

Prizes in the raffle include a fantastic Holiday in Lanzarote, a personal Computer and a UK Family Holiday amongst many other wonderful prizes, something for everyone. One lucky winner will win a helicopter ride over the location of the Dambusters filming or Manchester United or City's Stadiums, just visit http://www.gbuwh.co.uk for details of these and all other prizes.

The draw will take place on the Sunday 26th June at the AGM of GB UnderWater Hockey.

Aqua FM Pro snorkels are part of the group prize donated by Aqua Sphere.

The BSAC has donated a prize worth over £100, a full set of BSAC manuals, and more detailed information on all these manuals can be found at http://www.bsacshop.com, just click on 'Manuals'.

The UWH Sport development fund has been established to enable clubs to set up junior teams and offer free trials, throughout the UK. These clubs draw in youngsters that have learnt to snorkel with the BSAC and are looking for a fun activity. Inevitably, some youngsters will want to extend their snorkelling activities with the BSAC and perhaps try diving. It is one of the few sports that break down barriers between age, sex and ability, whilst allowing the kids to stay fit and enjoy sport, in keeping with the government's sports policy.

Should you wish to sell tickets or just purchase a few for yourself, contact the promoter, Phil Lawrence via email: - ph1ll@btinternet.com or Tel: - 0161 368 6859.

Q. I'm a qualified Dive Leader and have also completed my IFC. I am at present booked to go on a TIE & OWIC later this year, but my question is to do with me training trainees for their open water dives for their Ocean Diver qualification "at this moment in time". I understand I can instruct the trainees "under supervision" of an NQI. Does this under supervision mean that they must be overseeing myself & the trainee "in the water" or do they just need to be "on-site"? There seems to be various understandings of the words UNDER SUPERVISION in my club and I don't wish to leave myself or any member of my club open to question.

A. The definition of what you can teach is contained within page 7 of the Instructor Manual for Ocean Diver Training and page 117 for Sport Diver Training.

· Assistant Diving Instructor/Dive Leader - can teach classroom, Sheltered Water and Open Water lessons under on-site supervision

ADI/Sport Diver on the other hand must be under direct supervision (i.e. in-water)

Page 4 of the Instructor manual defines the levels of supervision:

Instructor requirements

It is a BSAC requirement that all instruction be carried out, or be supervised, by a Nationally Qualified Instructor (NQI) who holds the appropriate diving qualification for the level being taught. Instructor requirements, both in terms of qualification and ratio of students to instructors, are defined in the Course Outline for each diver grade. Supervision requirements for assistant instructors are also defined in the Course Outline for each diver grade. The following terminology is used:

On-site supervision - the supervising NQI must be present at the venue where training is carried out while instruction is in progress. They will previously have briefed the assistant instructor to assist them to prepare for the lesson and will discuss how the assistant instructor felt that the lesson went immediately afterwards.

Direct-supervision - while instruction is being carried out by an assistant instructor, it must be continually monitored by the supervising instructor, who must also be positioned where they can intervene in the lesson when safety considerations so demand. For in-water instruction this means that the supervising instructor must be in the water with the group under instruction.

Q. Who can order Training Packs?

A. Only registered branch officers are able to order and authorise the issue of training packs, unless the member has a training pack voucher signed by a branch officer, then the member may purchase the pack themselves. Training packs can be ordered by branch officers on the BSAC Website at http://www.bsac.com/legacyorg/shop/newdtp.htm, by post or over the telephone.

Q. Can a member of a local branch make payment direct at headquarters?

A. All payments for members of a local branch should be made via the branch membership secretary and then forwarded to BSAC membership department to update the records. This is to ensure that the branch is aware of who their current members are and also that their own branch fees are paid.

Save up to 10% on your diving holiday!

BSAC Travel Club is working in partnership with some of the leading dive travel operators to bring you exclusive offers and discounts on EVERY holiday in their programmes. One booking could save you more than your BSAC annual Membership fee!

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