As a BSAC Advanced Diver you are a highly qualified branch diver. This course is for divers who are interested in extending still further their skills in planning and supervising diving groups, rescue management skills, whilst building seamanship and developing further leadership qualities.
The BSAC Advanced Diver course develops knowledge and skills. Divers gain experience in planning dives at different sites and circumstances. Additional skills will be gained in using small boats, chartwork and navigation and many other related skills. Advanced Divers who are Open Water Instructors are eligible to progress to Advanced Instructor.
To enrol on the BSAC Advanced Course you must be 14 years or older. You must have already successfully completed a BSAC Dive Leader course (or qualifying certification from another recognised training agency).
You will learn dive planning and managment skills through four classroom lessons, two open water lessons, two dry practical lessons and 20 dives (which may include the open water lessons) in a range of conditions, since qualifying as a Dive Leader.
The BSAC Advanced Diver course covers:
The BSAC Advanced Diver course has relatively few ‘formal’ practical lessons and is much more heavily based on a structured broadening of experience, particularly dive management.
The BSAC Advanced Diver syllabus includes open water lessons and experience dives which should total a minimum of 20 dives and 600 minutes underwater time since qualifying as a Dive Leader. To ensure that students receive experience in a range of conditions, the open water dives must include the conditions in the following list. To ensure consolidation of the skill requirements, each of the conditions should be experienced on at least three dives:
Only one of the above conditions may be logged per dive. In addition to the above, a further six dives should include at least three of the following conditions:
Of the 20 dives:
A BSAC Advanced Diver is defined as a diver who is comprehensively trained, experienced and responsible and who can manage and supervise:
While Advanced Divers do not necessarily need to be qualified to use emerging technologies themselves, they need to know sufficient about them to understand how to safely incorporate them within branch diving.
You can do this course by joining a local BSAC club and training with other club members.
After this course you could further your training by working towards the BSAC First Class Diver award (the next Diver Grade course). This is BSAC’s highest diving grade which requires a higher than average level of theoretical knowledge, organisational and personal diving skills. BSAC First Class Divers are assessed through nationally conducted exams.
BSAC Advanced Divers who are Open Water Instructors can also progress to Advanced Instructor.