Meet Linda Lawcock , Open Water Instructor with Doncaster Sub-Aqua Club , and also a local organiser for the Yorkshire Region . Interview by Simon Rogerson
VOLUNTEERLIFE
In common with many of her generation , Linda Lawcock became intersted in scuba by watching the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau , which were the Blue Planet series of their era , except the divers were in front of the camera , acting as guides to the marine world .
For the past five years , Linda has served as Local Organiser for the Yorkshire Region , which involves co-ordinating senior instructors for the Instructor Training Programme in the region and sourcing venues for training events . She ensures the joining instructions are drafted and agreed with the senior instructor and then sent to HQ for students on the course .
She also sources and organises accommodation requirements for the instructors , refreshments for the students and lunch for the instructors . She has a lot on her plate , keeping other people ’ s plates full . What ’ s the secret to being a successful Local Organiser ?
“ Good organisational skills are a must , along with communication both written and verbal ,” Linda says . “ Quite often you can be encouraging students who call you to discuss course content , especially with the IFC ( Instructor Foundation Course ), when it ’ s their first step onto the instructor ladder .”
So , she was inspired by Cousteau , but how did her interest in diving deepen ? “ There ’ s a photograph of me at 16 with fins snorkel and mask on , holding an umbrella like a spear gun ! But it was while trekking in 2002 and talking to a colleague who had been diving for a number of years when my
“ They flourish in the water ”
Meet Linda Lawcock , Open Water Instructor with Doncaster Sub-Aqua Club , and also a local organiser for the Yorkshire Region . Interview by Simon Rogerson
BSAC ’ s young beachcombers at Thornwick Bay , Flambrough
48