I'd like to learn...

[antattack]

Hi all,
I just earned PADI Divemaster and would like to learn to buddy with handicapped buddies. Any suggestions for how to get that done around Santa Cruz CA?

 

[gcarter]

Hi all,
I just earned PADI Divemaster and would like to learn to buddy with handicapped buddies. Any suggestions for how to get that done around Santa Cruz CA?

Check out the HSA Handicap Scuba Association

 

[antattack]

Yep, I took a look a their site, but they don't have any classes in California.

 

[fiziks]

Yep, I took a look a their site, but they don't have any classes in California.

Their website does allow you to look for an instructor in your area. And While there is no instructor listed for Santa Cruz, there is one in San Jose. I would suggest contacting him first. As an HSA instructor, I can tell you that even in highly populated areas, there is not a big demand for HSA-specific courses. So what we typically do is just work them into our normal classes on a case by case basis. Believe it or not, but many physically challenged people can still meet the requirements for standard scuba certification agencies. We've had both a paraplegic (we had to get an exception from PADI so she could use webbed gloves on the swim test and skip the giant stride entrance) and an amputee (he had a prosthetic leg designed specifically to put a fin on it) that were able to meet all the performance requirements in our Open Water class. And when I went through my HSA Instructor course, they told us to offer the HSA certification only if our physically challenged students couldn't meet standard scuba agency performance requirements. So, I would contact the instructors in your area, tell them what you are interested in, and they may be willing to accommodate you. And you don't actually have to have a handicapped scuba diver to practice with. I have spent a day or two pretending to be a paraplegic or quadriplegic diver so that another diver could learn to be a handicapped buddy.

Do you know any handicapped scuba divers? Do you have someone in particular in mind that you want to buddy with?

---------- Post added April 9th, 2014 at 01:39 PM ----------

I guess I should have paid closer attention to the original posting date, eh? Looks like I'm a year and a half late to the party ;-)