National Diving Committee (NDC)

Members of NDC are volunteers led and appointed by BSAC's National Diving Officer (NDO), Sophie Rennie. They bring a wealth of experience and work to support and develop all aspects of diving, snorkelling and training within BSAC.

The National Diving Committee (NDC) is always interested in hearing feedback from members. You may have an idea for an improvement or have a frustration that you would love to be resolved. Whatever it is, good or bad, please let it know. Feedback is welcomed and encouraged from all, from Ocean Divers in training through to members with many years’ of diving and training experience.

Email National Diving Officer (NDO) Sophie

The NDC is made up of various specialist groups, as follows.

NDC steering group
Ancillary advisors
Coaching
Diving activities group
Diver training group
Instructor training group
Safety group
Snorkel training group

NDC steering group
What we do The NDC steering group forms a direct advisory group to the National Diving Officer and meets regularly to share information on the progress of projects and to plan future activities within their groups. The Steering Group's remit is to ensure that a consistent approach is adopted by all those delegated responsibilities by the NDO and to avoid duplication of effort. Email us for more information.
The team
National Diving Officer	Sophie Rennie	Email Sophie
Safety Group Lead	TBC	Email DRT
Snorkel Group Lead	TBC	Email DRT
Head of Diving and Training	Sophie Heptonstall	Email Sophie
HQ Strategy Advisors
The team
Heritage Advisor	Alison Mayor	Email Alison
Scientific Advisor	Gavin Anthony	Email Gavin
Coaching
The team
Coaching Co-ordinator	Julia Branagan	Email Julia
Regional Coaches		View all
Universities Advisor	Joe Westnedge	Email Joe
Diving activities group
The team
Expeditions Officer	Andy Hunt	Email Andy
Military Advisor	Ginge Crook	Email Ginge
Diver training group
The team
First Class Diver (FCD) Chief Examiner	Dave Lucas	Email Dave
Technical Chief Examiner	Alex Warzynski	Email Alex
Seamanship Coordinator	Steve Cowley	Email Steve
Instructor training group
What we do The Instructor Training Group look after instructor training within BSAC, from the Instructor Foundation Course through to the National Instructor Exam. The team, all volunteers, are tasked with monitoring, refining and keeping up to date the instructor grades. They also look towards any improvements that can be made. Importantly, the team are also active and enthusiastic members of the Instructor Training Scheme, practising what they preach! Email us for more information.
The team
Instructor Training Scheme (ITS) Quality Assurance Officer	Jamie Heptonstall	Email Jamie
National Instructor (NI) Chief Examiner The National Instructor Chief Examiner plans and manages the annual national instructor chief examiner UK NI exam and awards the qualification of National Instructor to successful candidates. This is the highest instructional qualification awarded by the BSAC and is examined over four days.	Sophie Rennie	Email Sophie
Advanced Instructor (AI) Chief Examiner The Advanced Instructor Chief Examiner ensures consistency of AI exams for both UK and overseas events and awards the qualification of Advanced Instructor to successful candidates. The AI Chief Examiner also implements the current criteria, analyses all examination results and moderates reports from events, advising of any anomalies that arise.	Mike Baker	Email Mike
Open Water Instructor (OWI) Chief Examiner The Open Water Instructor (OWI) Chief Examiner ensures consistency of all exams relating to the OWI qualification for both UK and overseas events, as well as awarding the qualification of Open Water Instructor to successful candidates. The OWI Chief Examiner also implements the current criteria, analyses all examination results and moderates reports from events, advising of any anomalies that arise.	Sam Clarke	Email Sam
Diving for All (DfA) Chief Instructor	Mick Stewart	Email Mick
Safety group
The team
Incidents Advisor	Prof. Clare Peddie	Email Clare
Safety & Development Manager	Jim Watson	Email Jim
Snorkel training group
The team
Snorkel Group Lead	Sophie Rennie	Email Sophie
Snorkel Chief Examiner	TBC	Email DRT