BSAC Technical Instructor

Role & Responsibilities

BSAC Technical Instructors (TI) are ambassadors for the sport of technical diving within BSAC and the role of may extend beyond the horizons of instruction.

The roles and responsibilities of a technical Instructor include:

Training and mentoring technical divers
Supporting BSAC Branches, the regional coaching teams and NDC Technical Group events in promoting BSAC technical diving.

It is imperative that technical instructors have a sound level of diving experience at the depths that they are qualified to train divers.

Becoming a BSAC TI

To become a BSAC TI then the applicant must provide documented evidence of the following pre-requisites:

Be a current BSAC member.
Be a registered BSAC Technical Diver at the relevant grade, or have their alternative agency qualification recognised by BSAC HQ.
Be a BSAC Open Water, or higher, instructor.
Be a BSAC Accelerated Decompression Procedures Instructor (OC TI only).
Have the minimum number of dives as laid down in Annex A.

Once the pre-requisites have been met then applicants are required to complete a BSAC Technical Instructor Course (TIC). Course details are published on the BSAC website.

The final element is to work with a Technical Instructor Trainer (Tech IT), appointed by the Technical Chief Examiner, to either:

Teach a full course, or
Complete an assessment covering all elements of the relevant course for which they are applying.

Once completed, a report recommending award of the appropriate Technical Instructor grade is to be submitted to BSAC HQ via its.manager@bsac.com . This will then be approved by the BSAC Technical Chief Examiner.

Student QA Questionnaire

The lead instructor/Senior Instructor is to request that all students complete a post course QA questionnaire using the online Student QA Questionnaire.

Instructor Progression

Existing BSAC Technical Instructors can progress to a higher grade subject to the following:

Proving they have maintained their status as a BSAC Technical Instructor
Meeting the minimum experience requirements in Table 1 or Table 2 of Annex A.
Satisfactorily teaching a course at the appropriate level under the supervision of an appropriate Technical IT nominated by the Technical Chief Examiner.

Once completed, a report recommending award of the appropriate Technical Instructor grade is to be submitted to BSAC HQ via its.manager@bsac.com. This will then be approved by the BSAC Technical Chief Examiner.

CCR Mixed Gas Instructors

Award of CCR Mixed Gas Instructor status will result in award of Accelerated Decompression Procedures Instructor status and may result in an Open Circuit Technical Instructor qualification. This is subject to the following restrictions:

The CCR Mixed Gas Instructor must be qualified as an Open Circuit Diver at that grade
It cannot allow qualifications to be awarded deeper than the grade of CCR Mixed Gas Instructor

Different Models of CCR

An existing unit specific BSAC Closed Circuit Rebreather Instructor (CCRI) may acquire BSAC CCR Instructor status on a different unit by completing unit specific certification and then an additional 35 hrs of experience. Evidence of this is to be submitted to BSAC HQ via its.manager@bsac.com. This will then be approved by the BSAC Technical Chief Examiner.

Alternative Agency Equivalence Recognition

Candidates qualified as a Technical Instructor with alternative agencies may crossover having fulfilled the following criteria:

Be a BSAC member.
Provide evidence of a Technical Instructor qualification from a BSAC recognised agency.
Provide evidence of dive experience for the relevant technical instructor grade.
Provide proof of having taught a minimum of five courses.
The above evidence can be submitted using the online form
Under the direct supervision of a BSAC Technical Instructor Trainer nominated by the BSAC Technical Chief Examiner, be assessed on a BSAC Technical Course.

Once completed, a report recommending award of the appropriate Technical Instructor grade is to be submitted to BSAC HQ via its.manager@bsac.com. This will then be approved by the BSAC Technical Chief Examiner.