Training with the British Sub Aqua Club
We only offer internationally recognised BSAC training. This system is held in high regard because it focuses on ensuring that students are confident and competent before qualifying.
Our interest is in turning you into a diver who can dive safely, competently and confidently so you can join us on our branch dives and expeditions; you will also be better prepared if you go on a diving holiday abroad. Diving skills are taught progressively so that each new experience is built upon in a logical and natural progression.
Following basic training in the safety of a swimming pool or protected area, students soon complete their first open water dives to achieve Ocean Diver certification. This progression continues to Sports Diver and beyond, where open water skills and techniques are further developed and experience gained. As a BSAC branch we are under no commercial pressure to pass trainees through the system and have the luxury of being able to tailor training to your own progress.
A key advantage of Tyneside 114 is our large pool of experienced and properly qualified BSAC instructors, which gives us a high instructor to student ratio, maximising your teaching time and accelerating your progress so you will be spend less time watching others and more time practising.
We are able to offer training and coaching at all levels from Ocean Diver Trainee to First Class Diver including most skill development courses.
See below for an introductory film about learning to dive with BSAC.
Already qualified with another organisation and just want to go diving?
We welcome people who have trained with other agencies, and there is a well established process for welcoming Divers and Instructors into the BSAC family. On joining we used to run a free short course to explain how our BSAC decompression tables work, but since we all use computers these days, we don’t do that anymore. Instead we welcome you and explain how the club works, organising dives and signing up to come on new adventures. You can then carry on diving up to the level of your existing qualification on branch dives, there is no pressure to gain BSAC qualifications, you just need to be a paid up member to dive with us.
Already qualified with another organisation and want to continue your training?
The BSAC crossover process for Divers and Instructors formally recognises your existing qualifications. BSAC agrees a broad equivalence of your other agency qualifications against a BSAC grade; this does not give a ‘full’ BSAC qualification as there are differences in the training provided by all agencies, and therefore there may be some areas where we will need to identify and provide additional training to bring you up to the full BSAC level . Once any gaps in your training are identified and ‘plugged’, you can progress on to training for the next BSAC grade.
Do you want to become a BSAC Instructor?
The route to becoming a BSAC instructor varies depending on your current diving grade. As a branch, we are always keen to increase our team of instructors, and we operate a subsidy scheme to assist our members to progress towards BSAC instructor qualifications – ask the Training Officer for details. A number of our instructors also teach at Regional and National level, and some are also Instructor Trainers; so we can also offer coaching and support to those wishing to progress their instructing skills.
For more information, please contact us by emailing through the Contact page