Handicapped Scuba Assoc Class

[pasley]

Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) is holding a class 7-9 June 2008 at San Clemente. This class is to teach divers to be dive buddies to the handicapped, and dive masters and dive instructors how to work with the handicapped.

Several programs (SUDS, Wounded Warrior Project) are teaching wounded Veterans to SCUBA dive along with other activities as a way of encouraging them that life does go on and that they can adapt and live a full life albeit with new challenges.

Once these Veterans get certified, they will need local dive buddies to dive with, hence the training course. Heck, I might even become a better dive buddy.

Anyone want to join me? I don't know if it will be my cup of tea or not, but I thought I should at least try.

Dive Buddy $250
Dive Master $300
Dive Instructor $350

hsa@hsascuba.com
Handicap Scuba Association

 

[Beachlover]

Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) is holding a class 7-9 June 2008 at San Clemente. This class is to teach divers to be dive buddies to the handicapped, and dive masters and dive instructors how to work with the handicapped.

Several programs (SUDS, Wounded Warrior Project) are teaching wounded Veterans to SCUBA dive along with other activities as a way of encouraging them that life does go on and that they can adapt and live a full life albeit with new challenges.

Once these Veterans get certified, they will need local dive buddies to dive with, hence the training course. Heck, I might even become a better dive buddy.

Anyone want to join me? I don't know if it will be my cup of tea or not, but I thought I should at least try.

Dive Buddy $250
Dive Master $300
Dive Instructor $350

hsa@hsascuba.com
Handicap Scuba Association

Sounds like a good program. I need to check my calendar to see if I am available on those dates.I will post back here in a day or two and let you know if I can make it.

 

[tc]

If they've got room I'm in.

 

[Beachlover]

Sounds like a good program. I need to check my calendar to see if I am available on those dates.I will post back here in a day or two and let you know if I can make it.

Sorry to say that I cannot make it this time.

 

[Ann Marie]

I have conflicts on the 8th and 9th I'm sorry to say. I'd love to do this training!

 

[Scuba G]

Thanks for posting this! I signed up as well.

 

[tc]

Good class so far, spent the first day going over many different medical conditions and their possible impacts on divers.

Instructor is Jim- founder of HSA, he has a ton of practical experience.

 

[tc]

Just got home from the second day. Classroom in the morning going over standards and procedures.

Lots of pool practice simulating different disabilities in the afternoon and well into the evening.

Did I mention the 7 hours in the pool and LOTS of practice. Both as disabled person, instructor and buddy. Then switch around and do it again. And again. Didn't go well? no sweat, try it again! Idea was to make your mistakes with the other students in this class and not with the folks that have actual disabilities. And you will make mistakes, lots of em.

Amazing how well designed drills can really give you a better understanding of how it feels to have varying levels of dependency on others while in the water.

I'm tired- if you're thinking about taking this program start working out NOW. I'm going to bed.

Tom

 

[pasley]

3d and final day and I just got home. Tired, oh yeah, I'm tired and sore. Today was more academics, a final exam and ocean work. We did 3 person teams, one dive instructor, one blind dive and para/quadriplegic diver (para for part then quad for the other part once the blind diver was healed and became the second seeing dive buddy). Visibility was so poor divers were using the blind hand signals on the sighted divers. With my dive buddies elbow planted on my clavicle, I could just barely make out his head, the diver on the other side of him simply did not exist. This of course made using the blind mask (taped over with duct tape) redundant, but we did it anyway. So many things to think about. Who to you put in the water first, the paraplegic or the blind diver? But at the end of the day it was good training and fun.

 

[tc]

Mental note- do not use your quadriplegic as a sand dart.