Seven enthusiastic volunteers have completed the Isle of Man's first ever Snorkel Instructor Training course.
The British Sub Aqua club, the national governing body for snorkeling, recently launched an initiative to train 3,000 new snorkel instructors across the UK.
Michelle Haywood, the lead instructor at Discover Diving in Port St Mary, leapt at the chance to run a course here. Two years after Discover Diving set up a snorkeling division, there are now over 50 regular members. Until recently, qualified diving instructors ran the sessions, but the growing popularity of the training meant that more instructors were needed.
The training course covered the new material written for the relaunch of British Sub Aqua Club snorkel training, and taught the volunteers how to teach both theoretical and practical lessons in snorkel skills.
On only the second day of the course, the instructors to-be were ready to deliver their own lessons to their fellow students. Chris Perry, one of the newly qualified instructors said, "If you had told me on the first day of the course that I would be able to teach a theory lesson about buoyancy and then lead a pool lesson, I wouldn’t have believed you. This has been a great experience."
For a short while, the course was in jeopardy as Discover Diving is located right next to the Port St Mary landslide site. However, with the Department of Transport pulling out all the stops to repair Bay View Road and access from the pavement, everyone took full advantage of the training facilities at the dive centre.
British Sub Aqua Club training for snorkelers provides the best possible way to develop safe snorkel skills. Experience Snorkel sessions are available all year round and teach the very basic skills of putting on kit. Snorkel Diver qualifications recognise good personal snorkel skills, whilst the Advanced Snorkel grade teaches safe open water skills, including planning and rescue drills.
Snorkel training starts from the age of 6 and there is no upper age limit. Michelle explained that adults and children were members of the snorkeling club: "We have a few families involved because it’s a great non-competitive activity where parents can actually keep up with their children, whilst sharing an exploration of the marine life around the Manx shores."
Another Snorkel Instructor Training Course is planned for 6th - 7th March - anyone interested can contact Michelle on 833008 for more details.
The snorkel club trains on a Sunday afternoon in the pool until April and then the snorkelers explore the coastal sites around the Island until September. All levels are catered for, from beginner to instructor.
The new instructors will be putting their skills to real use over the next few weeks as they prepare the snorkelers for their first sea trips.
Michelle concludes, "Well done to everyone who worked so hard this weekend. This is a real achievement and it is with some pride that they will be waiting for their Instructor Qualifications to arrive in the post. This allows us to train even more snorkelers in the future."
Pictured (l-r): The Island’s newest Snorkel Instructors - John Kermode (Chief Instructor), Jessica Isherwood, Gemma Mathieson Nelson, Krystina Howard, Roberta Convery, Dawn Marshall, Chris Perry and Ben Newsham. Photograph by Michelle Haywood of Discover Diving.
