In the coming weeks we will start to see the welcome reopening of some of our favourite inland dive sites.
I know members will be keen to get back in the water, however, things have clearly changed since we were diving in March and there are a number of things that everyone needs to bear in mind;
- Most dive centres will be operating a pre-booking system, ensure that you visit their web site and ensure you fully understand their visitor requirements.
- Dive site operators have indicated that the steps they have had to put in place cannot support large groups of divers. To help the centres ensure that all their visitors are safe please keep your group small, a maximum of 6 divers or any lower limit imposed by the dive centre.
- Dive centres are offering pre-booked entry times, don’t arrive early and cause a queue to form unnecessarily.
- If you haven’t booked don’t go, you won’t be allowed onto the site.
- It is highly recommend that instructors conduct their own check out dive before diving with any trainees, make sure that you and your kit are still up to the job.
- The way we train is different, try out the new social distancing methods with some of your more experienced trainees first, this will help you safely validate your updated risk assessment.
- Divers who have self certified are reminded that whilst this is valid for 12 months any change in health which would result in a change in the declaration means that the certificate is no longer valid and the diver must seek guidance from a UKDMC medical referee before they can continue to dive, this is especially true for anyone who has had or suspects that they have had Covid-19.
- Even asymptomatic divers can have lung damage and it’s too early to understand how that would affect a diver. If a diver has a any questions, queries, doubts or worries, they should get in touch with a UKDMC medical referee, your nearest can be found through the UKDMC web site.
- If the diver does decide they can stick to the prevailing government guidelines and will follow their training, then a cautious, progressive return to diving would be safest. Divers are recommend to build up the depth of their diving slowly, they should aim to restrict their depth to 15 metres initially building up to a maximum of 25 metres over a number of dives, these important steps are to help protect the emergency services.
- Remember to stay safe and most importantly enjoy yourself
Steve Orange
National Diving Officer
