between £ 197,000 in 2020 and £ 108,000 in 2021 . Ultimately , BSAC concluded the year with a surplus of £ 88,000 , bringing the club ’ s reserves to a respectable £ 397,553 .
Nevertheless , Janos predicted that 2021 would also be a tough year for the club . “ While there is some delayed demand , there remains a risk that the fall in membership will be permanent ,” he said . “ Our losses will be balanced by the deferred part of the Sport England grant of £ 108,000 , but that will be a one-off .”
Diving and Training – the NDO ’ s Report
The third of the main speakers was National Diving Officer Dai Atkins , who had stood unopposed for a second term . Dai pointed out that despite all the challenges the club faced , it had adapted quickly to the new rules of engagement . Indeed , an encouraging amount of diving activity had eventually taken place .
Over the original lockdown period , the club had adapted quickly to provide a raft of online learning , notably the hosting of 220 webinars which attracted 8,000 attendees . Elsewhere in the coaching spectrum , advice was formulated for the safe operation of future events . There was new training in ‘ Equality , Diversity and Inclusivity ’, plus a scheme funded by Sport England to develop more Dive Leaders into OWIs .
BSAC took the opportunity to reinvigorate its ethos of diving with a purpose . With a new group devoted to the subject headed up by Jane Maddocks , we are likely to see projects , expeditions and branch activities gearing up and engaging members of all levels of experience .
Turning to training , Dai announced that the Sports Diver review was complete and a Dive Leader review was underway , with an emphasis on leadership and management . Dai was determined to keep the Instructor Training Scheme active , with the updating of the ITS Resource Library and the Instructor Crossover process .
BSAC ’ s technical divers remained at the forefront , with reviews complete in MOD 1 and the MOD 1 Top-Up of the CCR course . A review of MOD 2 is now underway , with reviews of BSAC Technical standards and the Technical Instructor course completed and now available on the website .
Above all , the emphasis has been on keeping BSAC divers safe by issuing medical advice on Covid-19 , and detailed guidance for the return to diving . A safety webinar series was launched to instil the new processes .
Dai concluded by celebrating the fact that many BSAC divers managed to go diving in 2020 and beyond . He thanked all the staff and volunteers , including the Diver Resources Team , the National Diving Committee and the Regional Coaches .
BSAC Election 2021 : The results
Honorary Secretary : Edward Haynes is voted in Honorary Treasurer : Janos Suto stood unopposed
Council members voted in
David Brander : 1041 votes James Mudge : 1010 votes
Paul Tarn : 944 votes Geoffrey Duggan : 542 votes
National Diving Officer : Dai Atkins stood unopposed and will serve a second term
New or returning
Edward Haynes
Janos Suto
David Brander
James Mudge
Paul Tarn
Geoffrey Duggan
Dai Atkins
Dive with
Dom
Dom Robinson , Technical Chief Examiner , looks at developments in BSAC ’ s technical diving sphere
THOSE WITH LONG MEMORIES WILL recall that twelve months ago I expressed the hope that 2020 might be remembered for good weather and great diving . Clearly that didn ’ t go too well , but at least it allowed us all to spend some quality time with our computers while listening to the excellent series of BSAC webinars , many of which are now on the club ’ s newly reinvigorated YouTube channel .
Another plus is that there has been a whole series of BSAC Technical developments in the last 12 months . Of course , the major headline has been the release of the new MOD 1 AP Vision CCR Diver course which is an extensive update with the option to use trimix to achieve a 45m qualification . Much less sexy but pretty important has been the rewrite of BSAC Technical Standards and the Technical Instructor Course , both of which support the development of Technical Instructors and Instructor Trainers .
We have also continued to develop our safety information for Technical Diving ; the publication of gas density tables is an area where BSAC Technical has led the way among diver training organisations . Although Mouthpiece Retaining Straps ( MRS ) for CCRs can polarise opinions , their potential benefits have also been publicised with both the Rebreather Training Council ( RTC ) and GUE ’ s in house magazine following our lead . Another first is that the BSAC Safe Diving guide now contains recommended gradient factors for both air and trimix diving .
Looking forward , there is still plenty to come , including a Primary Donate workshop and the MOD 2 course that are both waiting to be converted into the new format at HQ . All being well , these should be available to teach soon and , while I ’ m not making any 2021 predictions , I do hope this is how the year will be remembered .