WHO ARE THE HSA? The HSA was founded in 1981 by Jim Gatacre and is now the world's leading authority on recreational diving for people with disabilities. Headquartered in California, HSA INTERNATIONAL extends its underwater educational programs worldwide. The HSA is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and donations made to us are gratefully accepted and tax deductible.
WHAT DO WE DO? We operate as an independent diver training and certifying agency. Our prestigious diver education programs and Instructor Training Course (ITC) are internationally recognized and unequalled by any other programs in the industry. These programs were developed in conjunction with two major certifying agencies, PADI and NAUI. Our specially trained Instructors form a worldwide network of over 2000 HSA Instructors located in 45 countries.
In the United Kingdom Martin Morgans is currently the only active 'in teaching status' H.S.A. Course Director. Jo Weston is an H.S.A. Instructor.
Courses for Students and Instructors are organised on demand. People with the most severe handicaps can be certified as scuba divers under the H.S.A. scheme. Quadriplegics are no exception.
Because people with disabilities face different handicaps in scuba diving, the HSA has a multiple level certification for diving qualifications.
LEVEL A certification indicates the diver can safely scuba dive with minimal assistance and can assist a buddy in difficulty.
LEVEL B certification denotes a diver who can look after themselves in normal diving situations but who would struggle to help a buddy in distress. This means that such a diver needs TWO BUDDIES to provide effective support for all members of the dive team.
LEVEL C certification is a qualification for a diver who needs assistance in some general diving skills and/or self rescue techniques and who is unable to assist a buddy – therefore requiring TWO BUDDIES for team safety.
Recently Jo organised a series of sessions for people with disabilities, for more information please see ’Don’t Forget Me! an inclusive approach to outdoor and adventurous activities’ Available from HMSO. Many thanks to Ric Melis Productions rm@rmprods.co.uk for allowing us to reproduce it here.
DIVE BUDDY This program is open to able-bodied and many LEVEL A disabled divers, being designed to prepare qualified divers to be effective You need to have been certified for 2 years and have logged 36 dives or more, and have completed Rescue training. nd safe dive buddies for certified divers with a wide variety of disabilities. Becoming an H.S.A. Dive Buddy is a rewarding challenge, and enables you to help divers with disabilities enjoy the underwater world alongside other divers.
H.S.A. DIVER This course targets divers with disabilities which prevent them from achieving physical performance requirements set by other training agencies such as PADI/BSAC etc. Knowledge development is through home study with manual & Video/DVD and classroom discussions with reviews and quizzes to assess understanding just as in PADI/BSAC etc. There are specific dive skills and challenges in both pool training and Open Water dives that students must achieve to attain level A, B or C certification. There is significant time spent in the pool developing dive skills – much of it one-to-one with your instructor and an H.S.A. Dive Buddy where necessary.
H.S.A. ADVANCED DIVER Becoming an Advanced H.S.A. Diver is a natural progression for many divers with disabilities, gaining experience under close supervision – and having FUN along the way! You’ll complete 5 DIVES in specific areas of experience & skill development: |
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The Handicapped Scuba Association organise regular group holidays around the world.
A database of handicapped friendly venues is available. |
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For more information please visit:
www.hsascuba.com
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To Contact Us:
email:
info@leybournelakedivecentre.co.uk
Leybourne Lake Dive Centre
Unit 1 Brook House
Larkfield Industrial Estate
New Hythe Lane
Larkfield
Kent
ME20 6GN
01622 790055
07815 149630
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