HSA Dive Buddy Course

This course is perfect for qualified PADI Open Water Divers to learn how to support divers with disabilities in the water.
You will need to have completed a minimum of 20 open water dives , have excellent buoyancy control and be confident in your diving before enrolling on this course.

If you are looking for a challenging and very rewarding course, then look no further!

Why not learn to share your passion for diving with other divers in need of your support?

Course Description

Throughout the course, you’ll learn about different types of disabilities and how this will impact on individuals as they Scuba dive. You will also learn the practicalities of supporting divers with disabilities both in and out of the water.

As part of your training, you will get to simulate being a diver with a range of disabilities including:

• Sight impaired
• Hearing impaired
• Paraplegic
• Quadriplegic
• Amputee

This will give you a greater appreciation of the considerations and adaptations required to make Scuba diving as accessible as possible for individuals with these disabilities.

You will practice a range of in-water skills in the pool initially, taking on the role of a disabled diver and as a supporting diver. Once you have mastered these skills, you then progress into open water where you repeat some of these skills.

This course typically includes:

• Knowledge development sessions
• Confined water training where you get to practice and master your new skills in a safe, heated pool (2 pool sessions)
• Open Water training where you get to repeat the skills you practiced in the pool in open water and explore (one day)

Entry requirements

To participate in this experience you will need to:

• Complete a self-declaration of medical fitness to dive
• Completed the PADI Open Water Diver course
• Minimum of 20 logged dives
• A passion for helping others to Scuba Dive
• Comfortable and confident in own scuba diving abilities
• Excellent buoyancy skills
• Aged 15 years or above
• Complete the air sharing and life-saving skills from the HSA syllabus (this can be completed prior to the start of the course)

Date of next course

We run the HSA Advanced Open Water Divers courses by demand. See our calendar of courses (hyperlink) to see which date suits your availability. If you are not able to make this date or there are no dates advertised, please contact us as we may have more dates we can offer.

Where you complete this diving course

Your course will start in one of our four dedicated training rooms at Bolton Area Divers. Unit 10a Brownlow Business Park, Tennyson Street, Bolton. BL3 4UW. We will then travel to Turton Sports Centre to complete the in-water section of your training. Your open water training will be carried out at Capernwray Dive Site, Jackdaw Quarry, Capernwray Road, Over Kellet, Carnforth LA6 1AD.

Cost £250

This cost includes:

• All instruction
• Use of the training pool
• Training materials
• Certification