Tom Williams and Jason O ’ Leary , Training Officer and proud grandad
Proud mum and sons after a successful session
How do parents react to having to be present ?
Our parents are happy to watch their children in the water , chat with instructors and other members and sometimes take the opportunity to swim with younger siblings . Parents have happily embraced the idea of being part of the club and supporting their children ’ s training .
Niamh Gribbon , one of the parents says : “ The kids love diving , they ’ re always keen to come down to the club ; they are encouraged to be responsible for their own kit and buddy checks ( with oversight ) and it makes them feel really grown up and responsible .
“ We trust the instructors implicitly , both in the pool and in open water . It ’ s the one time we have no control over things they do and we ’ re not worried when we see them disappear under the water . The instructors always explain what they ’ re going to do before they start and we ’ re confident that they ’ re in safe hands .”
Paul Wilkes , another parent , says his son ’ s confidence has come on in leaps and bounds . “ He ’ s tried lots of hobbies , but this is the only one he ’ s stuck at . The instructors are very friendly and understanding and John loves the community and the fun they have when they ’ re not training .
“ He enjoys learning with his peers and he loves the days when they go out to Capenwray . The family are always made welcome wherever we go .”
Do you set up pool training any differently ?
Pool training is generally done in pairs , as with adults , one instructor to two students , but one to one is used where students have additional needs . Sheltered water training for the under-18s is different : it takes place with one student to two adults : that ’ s one instructor , one student and one experienced diver who could be an assistant instructor , to ensure safety cover for the instructor . This needs a whole-club effort both in the water and out , helping to kit-up and manage dives . Open-water sessions at Capernwray have also become an enjoyable social opportunity for members , trainees and their parents and families .
What about water conditions during training dives ?
In our experience , younger divers seem to be more excited by open water and less daunted by issues such as visibility . We have arranged our under-18 open-water training in the warmer weather , so far , as the youngsters seem to feel the cold more and as they have to hire their dive suits they aren ’ t always the best fit .
What training do you alongside Ocean and Discovery Diver ?
The club will be running a Sports Diver course during the autumn . To help our
Roisin waiting for the next instruction members develop their diving skills , we run some skill development courses in-house . Once suitably qualified , our younger members develop their experience and training alongside adults and on normal club trips .
What sort of club trips do you run ?
We dive from the shore and from charter boats . We organise camping trips to involve families as well and this helps to keep the cost down . In addition to training at Capernwray and Eccleston Delph , we visit Anglesey , the Lake District , the Western Isles , the Isle of Man , Scapa Flow , Egypt , Ireland and this spring we went to Malta , where divers enjoyed the good visibility . This was a trip for more experienced divers . Six divers and four partners made up the group , so diving was interspersed with sightseeing . While our senior members are committed to training new divers , we know it ’ s important for them to keep enjoying their own diving without trainees whenever possible .
Tom Williams , our youngest instructor
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