The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid-1990s had over 50,000 members declining to over 30,000 in 2009. It is a
diver training organization that operates through its associated network of around 1,100 local, independent diving clubs and around 400 diving schools worldwide. The old logo featured the Roman god
Neptune (Greek god
Poseidon), god of the
sea. The new logo, as of 2017, features a diver with the updated BSAC motto "Dive with us".
BSAC is unusual for a diver training agency in that most BSAC instructors are volunteers, giving up their spare time to train others, unlike many other agencies, in which instructors are paid employees, or self-employed.
Given that UK waters are relatively cold and have restricted visibility, BSAC training is regarded by its members as more comprehensive than some. Specifically it places emphasis on rescue training very early in the programme. BSAC also maintains links with other organisations, such as
NACSAC.
The current President of BSAC is the
Prince of Wales. His father
Charles, and grandfather
Philip also held that position and his brother
Harry also trained with BSAC.[5]
15 October 1953: BSAC founded by
Oscar Gugen,
Peter Small, Mary Small, and
Trevor Hampton. Jack Atkinson, an aero engineer, was appointed as the club's first national diving officer. He wrote training bulletins which built up to form the club's training doctrine and was used later as the basis for the BSAC Diving Manual.[6][7]
1954: Members of the newly formed BSAC Branch No.9,
Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, invent the new sport of "
Octopush", a game now played internationally and more commonly known outside of the
United Kingdom as
Underwater Hockey.
1957: Alan Broadhurst became BSAC's second national diving officer. He modernized BSAC official diving terminology, including getting rid of the word "
frogman".
October 1957: BSAC's first overseas branch is formed in
Kingston, Jamaica.
January 1959: First edition of the BSAC Diving Manual appeared and cost ten
shillings (now 50p).[7] It was written by George Brookes and Alan Broadhurst.
BSAC is recognised by the successors of the
Sports Council as the
National Governing Body (NGB) for Sub Aqua within the United Kingdom. It has held this status since 1954. 'Sub Aqua' (or Sub Aquatics) is a broad term that includes both recreational underwater activities such as
recreational diving and
snorkelling, and competitive underwater activities including
underwater sports such as
Octopush. It is also recognised by
Sport England as the NGB for Sub Aqua in England.[3][12]
BSAC has offered two separate training schemes since the 1950s: the Diver Training Programme (DTP) for scuba diving and the Snorkeller Training Programme (STP) for snorkelling.
Diver Training Programme
Diving
BSAC currently has five diver qualifications (known as grades). These are:[14]
Ocean Diver: Basic skills, non-decompression diving (depth limit 20 m)
Advanced Ocean Diver: Further Basic skills training, navigation, nitrox (up to Nitrox 36%), non-decompression diving (depth limit increased to 30 m with a series of 5 m progression dives.)
Sports Diver: Rescue, navigation, nitrox and decompression diving (depth limit increased to 40 m with a series of 5 m progression dives.)
Dive Leader: Dive leading, dive planning and management, and rescue management (depth limit increased to 50 m by completing a selection of experience dives.)
Advanced Diver: Fully trained diver capable of leading a group of divers in normal club activities
First Class Diver: Trained to lead a group of dives carrying out a project. This is nationally examined with a two-day practical test
Assistant Diving Instructor: Trained but unqualified. Must be supervised when instructing
Theory Instructor: Qualified to instruct unsupervised in the classroom
Assistant Open Water Instructor: Qualified to teach open water under supervision
Practical Instructor: Qualified to instruct unsupervised in open water
Open Water Instructor: Qualified to supervise other instructors in classroom and open water training
Advanced Instructor: Trained to teach advanced skills, such as boat based skills and group diving techniques
Instructor Trainer: Qualified to staff Instructor events
National Instructor: Leads Instructor Training courses and BSAC National exams
Grades no longer awarded
The following grades which are no longer awarded may still be encountered:
Novice I: A diver who has completed the extensive sheltered-water (i.e. pool) training of the BSAC syllabus of the time, but has not yet dived in open water.
Novice II: A Novice I diver who has completed two open-water assessment dives.
The distinction between Novice I and Novice II was mostly for practical reasons to do with the difference between hiring a pool and travelling to the coast. A Novice I diver would normally complete the two open-water dives as soon as possible, but if this were not possible straight away (perhaps over winter) they would at least have a specific grade within the club. The lengthy and club-oriented Novice syllabus was replaced with the Club Diver and Ocean Diver syllabuses in the late 1990s. (However, some argue the Novice description was usefully accurate and aided diver safety because nobody with such a qualification would attempt dives beyond their capabilities.)
Club Diver: This is more or less the same as Ocean Diver; originally the two were operated in parallel with Ocean Diver awarded at schools and Club Diver at clubs.
Club Instructor: An instructor grade junior to Open Water Instructor, but allowing the holder to instruct practical and theory lessons without supervision.
Third Class Diver: This was the entry-level grade prior to the splitting of its syllabus during the mid-1980s to create the Novice and Sports Diver grades. Divers who held this grade at the time were awarded the Sports Diver grade.[16]
Second Class Diver: This was the immediate grade prior to the splitting of its syllabus during the mid-1980s to create the Dive Leader and Advanced Diver grades. Divers who held this grade at the time were awarded the Advanced Diver grade.[17]
BSAC obtained
CEN certification from the
EUF certification body in 2007 and re-certified in 2012 and 2019 for the following recreational diver grades:[21][22][23]
Discovery Diver – ISO 24801-1
Ocean Diver – EN 14153-2/ISO 24801-2 – 'Autonomous Diver'
Dive Leader – EN 14153-3/ISO 24801-3 – 'Dive Leader'
Open Water Instructor – EN 14413-2/ISO 24802-2 – 'Instructor Level 2'
Sports Diver – ISO 11107 – 'Nitrox diving'
Nitrox Gas Blender – ISO 13293 – 'Level 1 Gas Blender'
Mixed Gas Blender – ISO 13293 – 'Level 2 Gas Blender'
Snorkelling Guide – ISO 13970 – 'Snorkelling Guide'