BSAC Open Water Instructor Training

BSAC Instructor training can be completed at any BSAC Centre of Excellence or with BSAC Thailand HQ  directly.

The requirements to enter the BSAC Instructor course are that you must be:

• At least 16 years old
• Qualified as a BSAC Sports Diver to attend the IFC and BSAC Dive Leader [or equivalent from other organizations] to attend the "Open Water Instructor Course" and Instructor Exams
• Hold a current, self declaration medical
• For BSAC UK Branch members, you must also be a current BSAC UK Member

 

 There are four steps to the BSAC Instructor Course:

1.  BSAC Instructor Foundation Course (IFC) [2 days]
2.  BSAC Open Water Instructor Course [1 day]
3.  Theory Instructor Exam [1/2 Day]
4. Practical Instructor Exam [1 Day]

 

Let’s take a look at each step.

 

BSAC Instructor Foundation Course [IFC] – 2 days

The IFC introduces you to the basic principles and approaches to teaching scuba diving, including teaching  both theoretical and practical lessons.

You’ll practice teaching, receive feedback on how to further improve your teaching style and learn how to incorporate BSAC materials and teaching aids to enhance  your presentations.

 

BSAC Open Water Instructor Course [OWIC] – 1 Day

The OWIC builds on what you’ve already learned, further enhancing your ability to teach in an open water environment.
You’ll improve your knowledge and practical skills, and gain valuable experience teaching in open water conditions under close supervision, receiving feedback on how to perfect your approach.

On completing the OWIC, you qualify as an Assistant Instructor, allowing you to assist instructors teach courses up to BSAC Dive Leader level.

 

Theory Instructor Examination [TIE] Half a Day

To enter the TIE you must be at least 18 years old and be qualified as a BSAC Dive Leader or equivalent.

There are two elements to the TIE.

During a classroom presentation, you be required to give a 10 minute teaching presentation to a group of students, covering a specific diving topic. You’ll be assessed on your ability to deliver the correct information and incorporate BSAC materials and teaching aids to enhance you presentation.

You’ll be informed of the topic of your presentation two weeks prior to the TIE.

Then during a one hour written examination you’ll be assessed on your diving knowledge, including topics such as physics and physiology, diving first aid and medicine, BSAC  ’88 Decompression Tables, dive equipment and logistics, seamanship and boat handling, and the principles of teaching scuba diving.

 

Practical Instructor Examination [PIE] – 1 day

To enter the PIE you must be at least 18 years old, have completed an OWIC and be qualified as a BSAC Dive Leader [or equivalent].

In the PIE you’ll be required to demonstrate your practical teaching skills under assessment by an examiner.

Once you’ve passed both the TIE and PIE you’ll qualify as a BSAC Open Water Instructor, allowing you to teach all diver grades up to and including BSAC Dive Leader.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dive Leader crossover to BSAC Instructor

This course is designed for other diving professionals who are not yet Instructors and come from other agencies. These dive professionals should be at a similar dive grade to the equivalent of the BSAC Dive Leader. See the list below:

NASDS Dive Supervisor
NAUI Dive Master
PADI Dive Master
SAA Dive Leader
SSAC Second Class Diver/ Master Diver
SSI Dive Control Specialist

The dive professional must be already trained in leadership skills.

If your agency is not mentioned in the above list and you feel that you meet the entry-level requirements, then please contact BSAC Thailand Technical Department.

 

Course Aims:

The BSAC entry-level course; the BSAC Ocean Diver, has a similar course syllabus to other agencies courses. However, once the diver has trained beyond this level, the theory and dive skills required for the higher BSAC grade are very different than the other agencies courses. There are many new topics and skills to learn. These new elements range from Staged Decompression Diving, Chartwork and navigation to running Distance Lines, recovering and moving objects underwater, Oxygen Administration and Advanced Dive planning etc.
This course is therefore designed to introduce the candidate to these new areas, before they go on and enroll onto the full Instructor program. As a BSAC Instructor you will be teaching such skills so it is important that you understand these new subjects in depth before trying to teach them.

 

Course duration:

The duration of this course is 8 days.
The course components are:

•    Dive Leader Crossover
•    Instructor Foundation Course
•    Open Water Instructor Course
•    Open Water Instructor Exams

Dive Leader Crossover Course Contents

 

Theory Lessons

The theory sessions start with a series of 5 lessons, which are all related to Oxygen Administration for diver and diving related injury topics. These lessons are followed by a lesson on dive planning. In this lesson, we look at how to locate new dive sites with the use of sea charts. We look at tidal predictions, calculating actual depths of the site and what type of underwater topography and seabed compositions are likely to be found on the site.

We then look at the role of the Dive Manager who is expected to be highly knowledgeable in all areas of the dive planning process.  As on any dive, gas requirements for the dive is crucial. So we will also cover how to plan the gas needed to complete the entire dive, plus how much gas you will need in reserve for emergency. The theory lesson finishes with a look at some  weather forecasting considerations, which is one of the most important part s of your dive plan.

Practical Lessons

This session is aimed at introducing you to some new dive skills. Skills that you may have not already covered within your previous dive agency. In total there are 3 dives in which the following skills will be covered.

Dive 1 – will cover Lifting a Shotline with the use of a lift bag. Once the object has been lifted you will then safely move the shot and relocate it to another location on the site.  In this lesson you will demonstrate your ability to not only using a lift bag and control the bags buoyancy but to also demonstrate your navigation or pilotage skills by moving the object on a heading given by the instructor.

Dive 2 - will introduce you to some alternative rescue and rescue lifting techniques. These technical skills are almost certainly different to those covered in other agencies syllabuses.

Dive 3 - On this last dive you will learn the different techniques for deploying a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy DSMB.  This is an important skill to master when conducting decompression dives. There are a number of deployment techniques to be used depending on what dive you are conducting.

On completion of these lessons you will then be rated as a BSAC Dive Leader and will be eligible to take the Instructor program, starting with the IFC.

 

 

The BSAC Open Water Instructor qualification meets International Standards - ISO 24802-2

 

 

  BSAC is EUF Certified