20 years, periodically switching between Diving Officer and Chairman.“ Initially volunteering came out of necessity,” he says.“ I was a very active diver and building my experience, when the club I was a member of in Hong Kong needed a Diving Officer, so I stepped up.”
As an Advanced Instructor and Instructor Trainer, Gareth has one more exam in mind and is busy preparing for the National Instructor( NI) Examination.
There are multiple elements to the exam. Part of it is being assessed as a lead instructor or examiner on live courses and exams, which Gareth has successfully completed.“ Then, I attended a 2025 NI preparation event in Plymouth and the 2025 NI Exam but was not successful,” he says.
Prep events involve intense coaching and examination on dive planning and management, Advanced Instructor training and a First Class Diver preparation event; all to assess your ability to teach, and to teach how to teach, on the surface and underwater. You are also expected to be able to step into a dry practical lesson from a Skill Development Course or the Diver Training Programme and deliver it relatively seamlessly.
There’ s a branch interview, demonstrating your ability to manage difficult conversations and answer questions on a variety of BSAC-related topics. Finally you are assessed on your ability to organise and run workshops.“ There’ s a lot of reading to be across the various Skill Development Courses, BSAC developments and diving more generally,” Gareth adds.
In putting himself forward for the 2026 exam, Gareth says he has benefitted from the constructive feedback received after the 2025 exam.“ The 2025 NI team were awesome and are very supportive. The 2026 team is also shaping up well.“ I was back in the UK over the summer, for some diving, further planning and preparation with them, and at least I was in the same time zone.”
These days, Gareth’ s diving is predominantly in South Australia.“ I’ ve
FAVOURITEKIT
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My new Cressi Calibro prescription mask, which is helping with everything from super-macro photography to reading my gauges. I should also mention my new OM-1 mark ii camera, with a Nauticam housing.
”
About to dive a protected marine area in South Australia
completed 2,500 dives and, yes, I still log them,” he says.“ A favourite spot used to be Edithburgh Jetty; a fantastic site for macro photography. Unfortunately, the area was devastated by an algal bloom in April 2025, which we witnessed first hand; it was heartbreaking. Some initial signs of recovery can be seen, but the bloom is still causing major issues further west.
“ Further afield, we have recently been on a couple of expeditions to far North Queensland, diving the Great Detached Reef, Raine Island and the wreck of RMS Quetta. It’ s very remote, but it’ s pristine; it’ s rare these days to see a healthy coral reef ecosystem.
Gareth’ s passion for diving shines through and he finds passing his experience on to new divers extremely rewarding.“ I am still an engineer at heart though,” he says.“ I love tinkering with equipment, whether it’ s fixing issues at a dive site, maintaining equipment or setting up compressor systems.”
“ Dive clubs only work through the hard work and dedication of volunteers,” Gareth says.“ If you are passionate about your diving, then offer to help. You could assist with training, fundraising, social events or committee roles. Just get involved!” �
Become an Instructor!
Sports Divers and up( for scuba) and 16 + year olds( for snorkelling) can start instructor training.
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Or visit bsac. com / instruct 51