National Diving Officer Sophie Rennie and Head of Diving Sophie Heptonstall answer your questions.
THE QUESTION:
How can new divers keep the theory fresh? I’m keen to make sure that I make the theory and the safety skills second nature, but the only time I get to read is during my work commutes, and I don’t fancy taking the theory booklets with me on crowded trains! Any tips? - Karin Sasaki
Sophie Heptonstall answers
It’s great that you want to seize the opportunity to enhance your skills on your work commute; microlearning is a great way to keep your knowledge up to date and expand your diving knowledge. We are always looking to improve our learning options and are currently reviewing BSAC’s eLearning as part of the new strategy. We are looking to enhance our eLearning to ensure it’s fully responsive with more interactive learning, video content and as well as expanding our range of eLearning courses.
We also have a lot of materials available to refresh your skills.
Diving skills to hone at home
The series of ‘Diving skills to hone at home’ presentations was created by volunteer instructors as an aid to fellow BSAC members and are designed as a supplement to the core BSAC training programme. This extensive series covers various skills topics, ranging from how to assemble your kit for new trainees, right up to tips for technical diving. You’ll also find a range of skills videos.
Webinars
Browse through the webinar archives. From wreck diving and expeditions to diving safety and training advice, if you love diving you will find something interesting to watch here that will extend your diving knowledge.
Online Quizzes
Take an online quiz to test your theory knowledge on the Ocean Diver, Sports Diver and Dive Leader courses. The quizzes are really useful for people in training, but are also a good test of knowledge retained from previous training. Go test yourself at the links here.
Free BSAC eLearning courses
Perhaps you’re ready to try eLearning? Sign up for a course through the BSAC e-learning programme, or take the free AED Awareness and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion courses.
Sophie Rennie expands
Firstly, I don’t envy you having to commute to work, but what a great chance not to just play games on your phone! I’m about to get on a train for three hours. For me, it is the excitement of being able to hopefully catch up on things I missed during the week, but I am sure the excitement goes away if you are doing it daily, although hopefully not for three hours each way. We have loads of snippet YouTube lessons up on the internet, from local clubs putting up such topics as a controlled buoyant lift, to BSAC’s own links on such subjects.
Sadly, nothing is for free, so unless you pay the premium membership there will be interruptions of adverts to contend with. A note of caution, however, is that BSAC cannot control what is put up on such sites if a third party has done so.
Just looking on the blog on the BSAC website also gives you loads of information for us as divers, with hints and tips as well as facts and figures. At the top of the website is a great drop-down menu and each menu takes you into a world of information. It’s worth a browse!
Once you are off the train and maybe it is club night – why not get the club to run a skills or knowledge workshop once a month – even though we’re now coming out of it, winter is definitely a good time to look at any SDCs you may want to take. There are always instructors willing to show off their teaching skills in both theory and practical.
Happy commuting!
Article ‘Two Sophies: Training on the go’ by Simon Rogerson first published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 155 May 2025.
Author: Simon Rogerson | Posted 26 May 2025
