BSAC is delighted to announce the appointment of Debbie McNeill as its new Scotland Regional Coach. Debbie takes up the role as the North Scotland and South Scotland regions combine into a single Scotland region, giving divers and clubs across the country one joined-up regional team.
Debbie learned to dive on the Great Barrier Reef in 1999 and loved everything about it. The experience changed her path. She moved home and swapped her engineering studies for marine biology. One drysuit course later, she has been making the most of Scotland’s remarkable dive sites ever since.
She has dived all over the world, both for pleasure and professionally. Her career has included leading or contributing to dozens of marine research programmes, expeditions, field courses and teaching programmes.
A long-standing BSAC volunteer
Debbie joined BSAC in 2012. She qualified as an instructor and became Diving Officer at the University of Glasgow club, then progressed to Advanced Instructor, Instructor Trainer and First Class Diver. She has been part of the Scottish regional team for some time, supporting the previous two Regional Coaches.
She has also dived closed-circuit rebreathers (CCR) since 2011. As a member of the BSAC Tech Team, she organised technical diving events in Scotland.
Her vision for the region
Debbie is particularly enthusiastic about BSAC’s new community hub model:
What resonates with me is the broader emphasis on positive conservation action, lifelong learning and connection. I think this will really appeal to our members and offer more varied opportunities for clubs and individuals to get involved.
For regional training, she will focus on building capacity. That means bringing through new assistant instructors and instructors for Skill Development Courses such as Accelerated Decompression Procedures (ADP) and Deeper Diver.
She also wants to support Scotland’s dive boat operators:
We are very fortunate to have some incredible skippers and boats operating across Scotland that we want to see survive and thrive. There have been some great collaborations with BSAC training and expeditions, and I’m keen to see how we can grow that with our regional events and socials.
Please join us in welcoming Debbie to her new role.
Contact Debbie: scotland.coach@bsac.com
For more information on the Regional Coaching Scheme in your area or to contact your Regional Coach, go to bsac.com/coaching.
