Edge Magazine

Her ne kadar 2020 aşırı zorlayıcı bir yıl olduysa da bu yılı üst perdeden bitirmek istedik ve Edge Magazinin, Powered by RAID ikinci sayısının çıkacağını duyurmaktan onur duyarız.

Endüstriye dair en yani haberleri, ilham verici seyahat raporlarını, malzeme değerlendirmelerini ve RAID eğitim güncellemelerini içerir. 

Sayı #2 öne çıkanlar söyle:

• • Soru cevap. RAID eğitim direktörü, Steve Lewis ile batıklar ve mağaralar ve geleceğin RAID için neler getireceği konusunda konuştuk.
  • RAID tıbbi danışmanı, Doug Ebersole MD dalışta en sık görülen kalp rahatsızlıklarını ve neden dalış yaparken fit olmak gerektiğini anlattı.
  • Profesör Timmy Gambin bize Malta Sanal Sualtı Müzesini tanıttı.
  • Serbest dalış gurusu, Emma Farrel eşitleme ile ilgili en iyi on tüyosunu ve bunların scubaya nasıl uygulanabileceğini anlattı.
  • Mısır Kızıldeniz’in meşhur batık mezarlığı ile dünyada seyahat.
  • Bu sayıda bölge ofislerine ağırlıklı olarak odaklandık ve sizlere global takım üyelerimizi tanıtmak için zaman harcadık. Onlar da bunun karşılığında bize bölgelerindeki harika dalış imkanlarından bahsettiler.
  • RAID Eğitmen Eğiticisi, Jeffrey Glenn stage tüpü idaresi ve protokollerinden bahsetti.

• • DPV ve ileri DPV kurslarını yayınlayacağımızdan sizleri Malta’da bir DPV turuna çıkardık.
  • Jill Heinerth bizi heyecanlı bir Kanada seyahatine çıkartıyor ve rebretherlar hakkında birkaç şey bildiğinden bir kapalı devre rebreather almadan önce neler bilmeniz gerektiğine dair kişisel tavsiyelerini sunuyor.
  • PJ Prinsloo, Dan Weeks, ve Oli van Overbeek’den oluşan kıdemli RAID eğitici “Bir PRO gibi dal” takımımızdan dalış becerilerinizi nasıl geliştirebileceğinize dair tüyolar ve ip uçları edinin. Bu sayıda palet vurma tekniklerini işlediler.

Aunque 2020 ha sido extremadamente desafiante, queríamos salir de este año con una nota alta y con eso, estamos orgullosos de anunciar el lanzamiento del número 2 de la revista Edge, desarrollada por RAID.

Lea las últimas noticias de la industria RAID, informes de viajes inspiradores, reseñas de equipos y actualizaciones de formación RAID.

Los aspectos más destacados del número 2 incluyen:

• Preguntas y respuestas. Charlamos con el Director de Formación de Buzos de RAID, Steve Lewis, sobre el buceo en pecios y cuevas y lo que depara el futuro para RAID.
• El asesor médico de RAID, Doug Ebersole MD, analiza los problemas cardíacos más comunes en el buceo y por qué es importante estar en forma para bucear.
• El profesor Timmy Gambin nos presenta el Museo Virtual Submarino de Malta.
• Gurú de la apnea, Emma Farrel ofrece sus diez mejores consejos para la ecualización y cómo se pueden aplicar al buceo.
• Viaja por el mundo con artículos sobre el infame “cementerio de naufragios” del Mar Rojo egipcio.
• En esta edición nos hemos centrado mucho en nuestras oficinas regionales y nos tomamos el tiempo para presentar a los miembros de nuestro equipo global y ellos a su vez, muestran algunas de las increíbles oportunidades de buceo disponibles en estos territorios.
• El entrenador de instructores RAID, Jeffrey Glenn, analiza la gestión y los protocolos de los tanques de respaldo (STAGE).

• Dado que estamos lanzando nuestros nuevos cursos DPV y Advanced DPV, lo llevamos a un recorrido DPV por Malta.
• Jill Heinerth nos lleva a un emocionante recorrido por Canadá y, dado que sabe un par de cosas sobre rebreathers, ofrece su consejo personal sobre lo que debe saber antes de comprar un rebreathers de circuito cerrado.
• Reciba sugerencias y consejos sobre cómo mejorar sus habilidades de buceo con nuestro equipo de instrucción RAID senior “Bucee como un profesional”, compuesto por PJ Prinsloo, Dan Weeks y Oli van Overbeek. En este número, analizan las técnicas de aleteo.
• Nuestro panel de fotógrafos subacuáticos proporciona información sobre cómo entrar y salir del agua con un sistema de cámara.

Obschon das Jahr 2020 extrem herausfordernd war, wollen wir es mit einem Höhepunkt abschliessen. Deshalb sind wir stolz, die Veröffentlichung der 2. Ausgabe des Edge Magazins, Powered by RAID, bekannt zu geben.

Du findest darin RAIDs aktuellste Branchen-Nachrichten, inspirierende Reiseberichte, Ausrüstungstests und RAID Training Updates.

Zu den Highlights von Ausgabe 2 gehören:

• Fragen und Antworten. Wir unterhalten uns mit RAIDs Director of Diver Training, Steve Lewis, über Wrack- und Höhlentauchen und was die Zukunft für RAID bereithält.
• RAIDs medizinischer Berater, Dr. Doug Ebersole, spricht über die häufigsten Herzprobleme beim Tauchen und warum die Tauchtauglichkeit so wichtig ist.
• Prof. Timmy Gambin stellt uns das virtuelle Unterwassermuseum in Malta vor.
• Freitauch-Guru Emma Farrel teilt mit uns ihre Top 10-Tipps zum Thema “Druckausgleich” und wie diese beim Gerätetauchen angewendet werden können.
• Reise rund um die Welt mit einem Artikel über den berüchtigten “Wrack-Friedhof” im ägyptischen Roten Meer.
• In dieser Ausgabe bilden unsere Regionalvertretungen einen besonderen Schwerpunkt. Wir nehmen uns die Zeit sie und ihre globalen Teammitglieder vorzustellen. Sie zeigen uns dafür einige der erstaunlichsten Tauchmöglichkeiten, die es in ihren Regionen zu finden gibt.
• RAID Instructor Trainer, Jeffry Glenn, spricht über den Umgang mit sowie Verfahrensweisen im Zusammenhang mit Stage-Flaschen.
• Im Zuge der Veröffentlichung unserer neuen DPV- (Scooter) und Advanced DPV-Kurse, nehmen wir dich mit auf eine DPV-Tour auf Malta.
• Jill Heinerth nimmt uns mit auf eine spannende Tour durch Kanada und da sie so das eine oder andere über Rebreather weiss, gibt sie uns ihren persönlichen Ratschlag, was man vor dem Kauf eines Rebreathers wissen sollte.

• Du findest Tipps und Tricks, wie du deine Tauchfertigkeiten mit Hilfe unseres erfahrenen RAID-Ausbildungsteams “Dive like a Pro”, bestehend aus PJ Prinsloo, Dan Weeks und Oli van Overbeek, verbesserst.
• Unsere Experten im Bereich Unterwasserfotografie gewähren Einblicke in die Ein- und Ausstiegstechniken mit einem Kamerasystem.

Although 2020 has been extremely challenging, we wanted to leave this year on a high note and with that, we are proud to announce the release of Issue #2 of the Edge Magazine, Powered by RAID.

Read the latest RAID industry news, inspirational travel reports, equipment reviews, and RAID Training Updates. as required.

Issue #2 highlights include:

• Question and Answers. We chat with RAID Director of Diver Training, Steve Lewis about wreck and cave diving and what the future holds for RAID.

• RAID medical advisor, Doug Ebersole MD discusses the most common cardiac issues in diving and why it is important to be dive fit.

• Professor Timmy Gambin introduces us to the Virtual Museum Underwater Malta.

• Freediving guru, Emma Farrel offers her ten top tips for equalization and how they can be applied to scuba.

• Travel the world with feature articles on the Egyptian Red Sea’s infamous ‘wreck graveyard’.

• This issue we have focussed heavily on our Regional offices and we take time to introduce our global team members and they in turn showcase some of the amazing diving opportunities available in these territories.

• RAID Instructor trainer, Jeffrey Glenn discusses stage cylinder management and protocols.

• Since we are releasing our new DPV and Advanced DPV courses, we take you on a DPV tour of Malta.

• Jill Heinerth takes us on an exciting tour of Canada and since she knows a thing or two about rebreathers, she offers her personal advice on what you should know before buying a closed-circuit rebreather.

• Receive hints and tips on how to improve your dive skills with our senior RAID instructional “Dive like a Pro” team consisting of PJ Prinsloo, Dan Weeks, and Oli van Overbeek. In this issue, they look at finning techniques.

• Our panel of underwater photographers provides insight into entering and exiting the water with a camera system

Becoming an instructor, regardless of agency, takes a huge amount of time and dedication. One of RAID’s primary goals as an agency is to keep our teaching methodology in line with technical and teaching advancements across all educational industries.

RAID released its last update to the Instructor and Instructor Trainer programs in 2014, and today, we announce the release of our new instructor-level core programs: Instructor Development Program (IDP), Instructor Trainer Program (IDP) and Instructor Playbook.

Since RAID is an entirely digital agency, we are, by default, prescriptive teaching experts, and this can present a host of problems when designing an education system. Many educational models are based on an instructor delivering an entire presentation to their audience. With prescriptive teaching, this is not the case, since the instructor is only asked to deliver small bites of information based on what the student has missed while working through the online academics.

New academic teaching methodology

Meeting the prerequisites to become a RAID instructor is not an easy task, which is made more difficult with the typical need to shoehorn certain topics into academic presentations that are totally unrelated to those topics. For example, how does one introduce continuing education into a discussion on physics or physiology?

We analyzed our entire program and identified areas that we felt needed modernizing. Instructor candidates often complain that they find it outdated, cumbersome and stressful when the topics of dive travel, dive equipment and continuing education are forced together in an unrelated presentation—an industry standard practice—during their IDP. We have listened and have made the classroom presentations less complicated, more appropriate and more fun.

How did we achieve this?

By adding mandatory workshops—Equipment, Continuing Education and Local Diving and Travel—as integral parts of every RAID course, we have removed the need to insert these topics into any unrelated presentations or academic discussions.

This means that, even if a student gets 100% on all quizzes and exams, they will receive vital instructor input regarding these specific areas.

New Playbook

A critical improvement to our instructional package is the addition of the Instructor Playbook. This single manual replaces our old confined water and open water instructor guides.

The new Playbook has been reworked from scratch and is designed to be an invaluable teaching resource for new and experienced instructors alike. There is an expansive introduction, a full listing of the skills specific to each dive and each program—including skill objectives, values and student actions—and, of course, vital teaching tips for each and every core level skill.

We feel the new Instructor Playbook is an innovative and fresh approach to scuba instruction.

Crossover

From the business perspective, there has never been a better time to crossover to RAID, and we are inundated with requests from professionals who feel their current agencies are not giving them enough value. Because the pandemic is causing so many issues with travel and traditional scuba-training methods, we took the time to design a REMOTe-Training instructor crossover. By taking advantage of our new IDP designs and utilizing advances in technology, we are able to confidently, safely and conveniently bring approved instructors to RAID while maintaining our high standards.

Our instructor crossover process involves the use of our online manuals, quizzes and exams.

Audio-visual platforms are used to deliver presentations and evaluate academic teaching ability. Skill evaluation is via a seamless, one-take video recording of crossover candidates performing the RAID crossover skill circuit. The RAID crossover is still focused and structured and is not a “magic wand” solution where instructor certifications are awarded without effort.

The process is fair and simple, and it helps meet the increased demand from serious professional diving educators who want to join RAID so they can give their students the best possible training at every level.

Every RAID course can be accessed free of charge through our FREe-Learning initiative – every course that has already been purchased or certified is also updated with the latest course materials free of charge.

Please contact your local Regional Office or drop us a line on info@diveraid.com

The Association of Professional Scuba Training Organisations (APSTO) has issued a new advisory dated 23rd December 2020 giving diving professionals guidance on how to interpret government restrictions in England.

The restrictions include several specific points that must be adhered to that have a direct impact on diving professionals including:

• If you live in a Tier 4 area, you must not leave your home unless you have a reasonable excuse (e.g. for work or education purposes).

• You must stay at home and not leave your Tier 4 area, other than for legally permitted reasons.

• Indoor gyms and sports facilities will close. Outdoor sports courts, outdoor gyms, golf courses, outdoor swimming pools, archery/driving/shooting ranges, riding centres and playgrounds can remain open for individual exercise, and for people to use with others within your household, support bubble, or with one person from another household.

• Leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and indoor gyms, indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts, indoor fitness and dance studios, indoor riding centres, and indoor climbing walls must close.

• Outdoor recreation or exercise is permitted. This should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel a short distance within your Tier 4 area to do so if necessary (for example, to access an open space).

APSTO will continue to monitor the advice being provided by the government and will update our advisories as required.

2020 has been full of change for everybody, every business and every sport. We have had to adjust to new rules, follow new directions and learn new ways to play and learn. RAID and the sport of scuba diving has adjusted just like everyone else

We can announce that you can now finish 2020 in style due to our ever increasing crossover demand with our newest educational update which allows Master Instructors to conduct crossovers of Dive Centres and Instructors to the RAID educational system.

Here’s the important stuff…

I. Purpose

This course is designed to crossover an Instructor in good standing from a recognized training agency to become a RAID Instructor.

II. Candidate Prerequisites

A candidate taking this course must:

• Be a minimum of 18 years old.
• Be certified as an instructor with an approved agency.
• Must have no outstanding quality assurance investigations or violations (within the last 12 months).
• Have Nitrox and Deep 40 instructor certifications or equivalent.
  • If the candidate does not have these certifications, Nitrox and Deep 40 Instructor programs must be completed during the crossover.
• Submit valid equivalent instructor and specialty instructor certifications.
• Submit current approved First Aid and Oxygen Administration certifications.
• Submit a valid Medical Statement signed by a licensed medical practitioner within the past 12 months.
• Submit a copy of diving instructor liability insurance, where applicable.

III. Candidate-to-Crossover Trainer Ratios (Confined and Open Water)

The candidates-to-examiner ratio is 8 Candidates: 1 Crossover Trainer.

IV. Depth Limitations During Training

In confined water, the maximum depth must not exceed 5 meters/15 feet.

In open water, the maximum depth must not exceed 20 meters/66 feet.

For the Deep 40 instructor workshop (when applicable), the maximum depth must not exceed 40 meters/130 feet.

V. Supervision

All training must be conducted and evaluated by an HQ or RRO approved RAID Master Instructor or Instructor Trainer. The Master Instructor or Instructor Trainer must be physically present and in direct supervision of all segments of training.

To qualify to teach the Instructor Crossover, Master Instructor’s must meet the following criteria:

1. Written approval from RAID HQ or local RRO.
2. Must attend a crossover training program with an approved RAID Instructor Trainer or Examiner.
3. Affiliated Dive Center: The dive center website must advertise RAID as the primary agency and that they provide crossover training.

To qualify to teach the Instructor Crossover, Instructor Trainers must meet the following criteria:

1. Written approval from RAID HQ or local RRO.
2. Affiliated Dive Center: The dive center website must advertise RAID as the primary agency and that they provide crossover training.

VI. Equipment Requirements

Refer to “Equipment Requirements” in the RGDS.

VII. Course Requirements

The candidate must fulfill the following requirements.

1. Complete and pass the online academic modules, quizzes, and exams for the IDP and Open Water 20 programs
2. Complete the RAID Instructor crossover orientation including:

The Crossover Presentation.

In water evaluation (in person or via seamless one-shot video where approved).

• Complete the practical assessment, either in person or using the REMOTe-Training crossover format, with an HQ or RRO approved RAID Instructor Trainer or Master Instructor

VIII. In-Water Training (Confined and Open Water)

There is no minimum amount of time in-water.

IX. Certification

Upon successfully passing the Instructor Crossover program and activating the instructor membership, the instructor may independently teach all programs as outlined in the IDP and the RAID General Diving Standards though a RAID Dive Center.

Contact: info@diveraiduk.com for more information.

A new study into Scuba Diving Rehabilitation Charity Deptherapy’s approach to supporting Armed Forces veterans with psychological injuries such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through the medium of scuba diving has been carried out by Petra Walker in conjunction with Hanna Kampman of the Posttraumatic Growth Research Unit at the University of East London.

This study, which used Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), demonstrates that scuba diving has rehabilitation benefits beyond those found in other forms of sporting rehabilitation exercise.

IPA is a qualitative methodology that examines the experiences of participants and has been used in previous studies of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) in para-athletes.

Petra is an experienced diver herself and was exploring the wellbeing aspects of scuba diving as part of her Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology when she came across a previous study on Deptherapy. Past studies have mainly focused on the medical aspects of diving, so the opportunity to examine the mental health side of rehabilitative scuba diving was impossible to ignore.

The full study is currently embargoed until it is published at a future date in an academic journal, but it follows similar academic research into the work of Deptherapy by the University of Sheffield Medical School (2018) and the University of Nottingham (2019).

Richard Cullen, Chairman of Deptherapy commented:

“This evidence-based study demonstrates yet again the value of scuba diving and, in particular, the support provided by Deptherapy to severely traumatised people within the Armed Forces community. We await the publication of the detailed findings which we anticipate will be of considerable interest to all organisations who seek to assist in the rehabilitation of veterans through sporting activity, as well as the Scuba Diving world.”

Team Deptherapy returned to the UK last week from their first training expedition since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A small group of six veterans travelled with the Deptherapy Instructor Team to the charity’s international base at Roots Red Sea to undertake practical Scuba Diving training in the clear, warm waters of the Red Sea.

Every Deptherapy beneficiary has to undertake a ‘fit to dive’ medical with an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers (AMED) or a Doctor who is a ‘Dive Referee’. A GP ‘sign off’ is not acceptable to Deptherapy as some conditions and medications are contraindicated to scuba diving.

Joining Team Deptherapy for the first time was 20 year old paraplegic Corey Goodson who had this to say:

“I have been made aware of a new academic study about the benefits of Deptherapy. Last week I learned to scuba dive properly with Deptherapy, a huge achievement for someone with paraplegia. Deptherapy doesn’t judge your injury, whether that be physical or psychological; it looks beyond, and it sees the person inside. That person is who they work with, and the
Deptherapy programme encourages you to see your fellow beneficiaries in the same light. More important than the sense of achievement during the training, was the support, care, encouragement and love the team showed me. I have found a new family in Deptherapy. I am home now but the support, friendship and banter continue; it is motivating and empowering, it gives me a deep sense of wellness and worth. I look forward to continuing my rehabilitative journey with Deptherapy.”

For more information about the work of Deptherapy and Deptherapy Education visit www.deptherapy.co.uk.

So here we are at Roots Red Sea, El Quseir, Egypt, and it is our first day of diving.

We have two students – Corey who is new to Deptherapy, and Keiron who is undertaking his RAID Master Rescue Course and has progressed from learning to dive with us. We also have three trainee divemasters: Tom Oates ‘Oatsie’, Tom Swarbrick ‘Swars’, and Michael. Each has progressed from OW diver with the charity.

As all our programme members are open about their mental and or physical challenges these are the challenges they face:

Corey is 20 years old and was involved in a horrendous car accident while he was training to be a soldier with the Royal Anglian Regiment.  The accident resulted in his spine being broken at T1 and T4.  He is now paraplegic, unable to walk and he has no sensation in his legs.

Keiron was in the Scots’ Guards and served two tours in Afghanistan. He has Chronic PTSD. Oatsie was in the Scots Guards and served one tour in Afghanistan. He has Chronic Complex PTSD.

Swars was in the Royal Anglian Regiment and he served two tours of Afghanistan. He has survivor guilt and Chronic PTSD from his first tour, and on his second tour he was shot by a sniper, losing five pints of blood and his life was saved by the excellence of battlefield medics. That tour compounded his PTSD.

Oatsie and Swars are both Deptherapy Ambassadors. Michael was in the Royal Engineers and he has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Chronic PTSD. Michael is a Trustee of the charity and looks after Programme Member Liaison.

Every Deptherapy beneficiary has to undertake a ‘fit to dive’ medical with an HSE Approved Medical Examiner of Divers (AMED) or a Doctor who is a ‘Dive Referee’. A GP ‘sign off’ is not acceptable to Deptherapy as some conditions and medications are contraindicated to scuba diving.

After sorting out kit the whole team were required to undertake a Scuba Review as, with the exception of Michael and myself, none had been diving since last year.

Adaptive teaching requires a special mindset from instructors and divemasters. There are no experts in adaptive teaching, although some profess such expertise. Some, like myself, are very experienced in working with those who have a range of life-changing mental and or physical challenges, but we do not have all the answers.  There are no “I know the answers” in adaptive teaching, every student is different, every student is an individual. The huge danger is that ‘experts’ say I have already taught a paraplegic so teaching this paraplegic is the same; it is not!

The physical or psychological manifestation of the injury or illness is a mechanical issue, the skill is to see past the challenges and see the person you are working with – the real person. 

Many have been living with their conditions for many years and have adapted to overcome the challenges that their injury or condition presents them with.

An example: Can you tie a neck tie using one hand? I bet not!  I know two Deptherapy programme members who can do that and tie their shoelaces in the same way.

Your job, as an Instructor, is to allow the student to achieve the standards necessary for them to be certified as a diver. In Deptherapy we work to full mainstream certification; for us, the base is RAID Open Water Diver.  We do not use the RAID Restricted Certifications of D1, D2, D3.

Veterans have a can-do mindset and very much want full certification and not a certification card that has the word ‘disabled’ on it.  Do not look at what our beneficiaries achieve and think then that every person who wants to learn to dive and has a physical or mental challenge will apply themselves with such vigour.  Veterans are used to ‘drills’ so skills are easy for them to learn and to master.

It’s important not be afraid to ask the student “This is what you have to do to achieve the required standard for a skill and ask how they might perform that skill.”

So, we prepared for the pool! Keiron is a known quantity for us, he is a good diver who had completed all his RAID on-line learning, quizzes and the final exam. Corey was new to us having qualified as a PADI Open Water diver on a trip to the Florida Keys with another charity last year.

Our intention was to put Corey through his RAID Advanced 35 Course. He had completed all the online learning, and passed the quizzes and exams. Corey is a lovely person; he has a great personality and a determination to succeed in everything he does.  As a person, the whole team absolutely loved him.

When kitting up and about to complete a deep-water entry into the pool it became clear that Corey, who is a bright young man, had never carried out some of the skills to the standard required to be an Open Water Diver.  We therefore decided to take him through the RAID OW 20 Confined Water dives with our TDMs Oatsie and Michael, who have excellent skill demonstration abilities, running the sessions under my close supervision.

While Oatsie and Michael worked with Corey on Day 1, Swars worked with Keiron whose instructor was Moudi, the Roots General Manager and a very experienced instructor, through the pool dives of the RAID Master Rescue Course.

For those with physical challenges such as paraplegia or missing limbs, weighting becomes of absolute importance.  Paraplegics who have no sensation or movement in their legs swim with a leg down posture.  If not balanced with correct weighting they swim underwater in an upright position and not horizontally.  Corey assumed this upright position.  In Deptherapy we use ‘Bright Weights’ that are attached to the BCD at chest level to help get the student in a horizontal position.  Corey had never done a forward descent but had done ‘legs down’ descents and had only dived with support.

Michael and Oatsie did a tremendous job in building up Corey’s skills and confidence. Deptherapy has very high standards when it comes to qualifying divers and we insist on pushing boundaries.  Because of the negative stance that many in the diving industry take about divers with disabilities, our expectation is that our students will exceed the required standards.

An Instructor who shows pity or sympathy for a disabled individual and allows them to qualify as divers when they clearly have not met the required standards firstly puts that student at risk, it puts their buddy at risk, and it damages the reputation of all those disabled divers across the world who have met the required standards.

Despite starting from a low base, our determination was by the end of the week to turn Corey into a more than competent RAID Open Water Diver capable of safely being an independent diver, diving with and being able to support a buddy if they required assistance.

Corey, being Corey, accepted the challenge and knew that he had a lot to do. It says a lot about this young man that he faced the challenge square on.

Keiron meanwhile had successfully navigated his way through his confined water dives.

A relaxing and positive evening followed where everyone got to know each other and to talk openly about their challenges and how they dealt with them.

Check back tomorrow as we move to our first day of Open Water training on the magnificent Roots’ House Reefs.