Doing the National Instructor exam

Totnes Branch supports the complete range of diving, and diver training, programmes on offer by the BSAC. The Branch is actively involved in the full range of BSAC activities from Ocean Diver to National Instructor. I have been a member of Totnes Branch for about 6 years, and in that time, the Branch has supported me through Advanced Instructor and First Class Diver. This year I attempted the National Instructor (NI) exam, which, for the first time, was held on the Isle of Man.

The NI exam is a very tough exam, and even with much preparation the pass rate is only a few individuals a year across the entire BSAC. The exam is a gruelling 4-day event with 22 separate elements of assessment, and a good performance across these elements is needed to pass the exam. The key areas include the instructor trainer programmes (IFC, OWI, AI), teaching Skill Development Courses, teaching all aspects of boating and seamanship, and teaching diving in every respect up to First Class Diver level. Clearly, there is much preparation to be done by the candidate, and even seasoned instructors regard a 2-year cycle of preparation for the NI as the minimum.

A lot of preparation can be done individually, but there is also much that requires help. The only way to pass the exam is to have highly polished skills and this means practice.... practice.... and more practice. Totnes Branch have helped with this in many ways, including:-

Instructor development sessions in the pool.

The NI candidate is required to deliver and assess perfect pool lessons. To achieve perfection requires great familiarity. Branch members were quick to offer help. This included fairly formal training sessions held early in the year for assistant instructors to refresh their teaching skills in the pool. This not only allowed me to practise but was also a great way of ensuring uniformity in skill amongst our instructors before the next batch of Ocean Divers arrived. Crucially, some of our most experienced instructors (Richard Knights, Mike Balmforth, Tony Clarke, and others) gave up their time several Wednesdays before the exam to ensure the performance was polished. I could not have done this without them, or indeed, the Branch pool!

Open Water Instruction lesson on the shore.

A second element of the instructor training on the NI exam is a simulated OWI lesson. Once again the Branch offered up help, with several members joining me on the beach for a day at Brixham to put me through my paces. Thanks to many including Sarah Dashfield, Mike Balmforth, Tony Clarke and Richard Knights. Thanks also to the Branch training officer (Rosemarie Longfield) for allowing this to fit in to the training schedule.

Keeping SDC presentation skills up-to-date.

The only way to do this is to do the real thing. The Branch has hosted many SDC events over the last couple of years, and everybody wins. It's good practice for me as NI preparation, good for the Branch members, and since we often invite other local branches in the area to join in, great for inter-branch relations. The courses are many and include Practical Rescue Management (PRM), Oxygen Admin, First Aid for Divers, and Dive Planning and Marshalling (DPM).

Seamanship and Surface Teaching

Every dive has the potential for some teaching, and running the Advanced Diver Programme and Dive Leader training this year has given me numerous opportunities for this teaching. These include practical skills on the boat such as knots, chart work, pilotage, coxswain, boat safety checks, VHF procedure, shotline deployment techniques, etc.

In addition to this, I should like to thank the Club for the loan of shot lines, spare kit, etc., for the NI exam itself. The Club also loaned a boat for one of the prep events so that a group of potential NI's could get together for practice.

The outcome of the exam reflected the successful input from the Branch and although I didn't quite reach the overall pass mark this time, I did get merits on the bits that Totnes SAC helped me prep. Clearly, this is a valuable contribution to success. I will give the exam another shot next year, and members of the Branch have already offered to help once again.

Richard Handy - 2005