Already a diver?

Bermondsey BSAC welcomes divers trained from all of the major diving agencies, in fact many of our newcomers have already qualified abroad with PADI or similar.

We are a BSAC club providing BSAC training courses. You don’t have to continue your training if you don’t want to – you can continue diving under your existing qualifications if you want, but most members end up training for the next grade. It’s free after all – all you pay for are the materials we buy from BSAC.

It is very hard to compare qualifications, for example the BSAC Sports Diver qualification allows you to undertake dives that require mandatory decompression stops, but it does not have as much emphasis on rescue skills as PADI’s Rescue Diver qualification. To help divers who join from another agency, BSAC have put together the table below which shows where other agency divers enter the BSAC training programme. If you cross-over your qualification, you do not automatically gain the BSAC qualification – it’s just a guide to what your next course should be.

To cross over, you will need to bring along your existing log book and qualification card and take a couple of theory lectures. The first talk is an introduction to the club and how we work – how to book on a trip, organise training, etc. The second is a short ten or fifteen minute explanation of the BSAC tables, which are incredibly easy to learn.

If you want to continue learning about diving, we will then provide you with a BSAC qualification book and the student notes for the next dive grade you will be progressing on to.

Your first UK / club dive

If you’ve not dived in the UK before, many people choose to have their first open water dive to be a gentle pool or lake dive with an experienced diver or instructor. If you want we can run through any elements of diving that you are rusty with to ensure you are quickly comfortable diving in UK waters.

In the course of your training, we’ll make sure to pay special attention to any areas important to UK diving, such as the use of Delayed Surface Marker Buoys (DMSBs) and dry suits.

All ‘Entry Level’ qualifications (which typically do not include rescue training) such as:

• PADI Open Water Diver
• PADI Advanced Open Water Diver/AOWD Plus
• CMAS One Star Diver
• NASDS Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver
• NAUI Scuba Diver and Advanced Scuba Diver
• Royal Navy Ships Diver
• SAA Open Water Diver
• SSI Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver

All ‘Second Level’ qualifications (which must include rescue training) such as:

• PADI Rescue Diver
• CMAS Two Star Diver
• SAA Club Diver
• HSE Commercial Diver:
• NASDS Rescue Diver
• NAUI Scuba Rescue Diver
• SSAC Third Class Diver/Sports Diver
• SSI Advanced Open Water Diver with ‘Stress and Rescue’ Speciality
• Army Compressed Air Diver

All ‘Third Level’ qualifications (which must include dive leadership training) such as:

• NASDS Dive Supervisor
• NAUI Divemaster
• PADI Divemaster
• SAA Dive Leader
• SSI Dive Control Specialist

Any higher level of qualification, such as:

• CMAS Three Star Diver
• SAA Dive Supervisor
• SSAC Second Class Diver/ Master Diver