Handicapped Scuba Association Africa dedicates itself to improving the physical and social well-being of people with disabilities through scuba diving.
HANDICAPPED SCUBA ASSOCIATION
Providing leadership, training and coordination for Handicapped SCUBA Diving around the world
Who Are We and What Do We Do?
WHO ARE WE?
The HSA was founded in 1981 by Jim Gatacre and is now the world's leading authority on recreational diving for people with disabilities.
The HSA had its’ genesis in 1975 at the University of California-Irvine as a research pilot program. Gatacre, who had sustained an injury in 1972 that left his right arm disabled, was the prime motivation for the program. Learning to Scuba dive had such a powerful rehabilitative effect on Gatacre he wanted to share it with others. In 1981 he realized his dream and founded the Handicapped Scuba Association.
WHAT DO WE DO?
We operate as an independent diver training and certifying agency. Our prestigious diver education programs and Instructor Training Course (ITC) are internationally recognized and unequaled by any other programs in the industry. Additionally we provide a variety of support services, such as Resort Evaluations and Accessible Dive Vacations.
Our training materials have been translated into 10 languages, & the HSA has brought the FIRST recreational activity of any kind for people with disabilities to countries such as the Ukraine.
Instructor Training Course (ITC)
Since the HSA Instructor Training Course (ITC) was first introduced in 1986 we have trained and certified a network of over 3000 instructors in over 40 countries worldwide. The ITC provides 3 full days of intensive, insightful theory and application for those instructors eager to accept the challenge of sharpening their teaching skills. Each instructor acquires medical information through 10 hours of interactive lectures on disabilities - what they are and how they relate to diving - followed by a series of confined and open water exercises designed to simulate disabilities. By ‘acting out’ these handicaps, instructors actually experience what it's like to BE a mobility or sight-impaired diver, a sensitizing, often surprising revelation even for instructors who have been teaching diving for many years. Our roster of HSA instructors includes experts in Physical Rehabilitation counseling, over 50 Medical Doctors and numerous other health care professionals able to directly assess the profound effect of handicapped diving. If you are interested in upcoming ITC/DBC's go to the HSA website at www.hsascuba.com & check the ITC/DBC Schedule or contact us at +949-498-4540
Course Director Training Course (CDTC)
This is the highest and most trusted position within the HSA. HSA Course Directors are responsible for properly training HSA Instructors to efficiently and safely train and certify divers with disabilities, a very serious level of responsibility affecting both people with disabilities and the success of HSA. During the CDTC CD candidates receive in depth training and explanations of the materials they will be using to train instructors. This is a 6 day intensive course that includes 3 days of lectures covering the theory behind the ITC lectures, confined and open water training, followed by the candidate teaching an ITC under the CD trainer’s supervision.
Dive Buddy Course (DBC)
The HSA Dive Buddy Course (DBC) offers open water scuba divers with 20 or more logged dives, the opportunity to expand their underwater world to include sharing it with a handicapped dive buddy. An HSA certified Dive Buddy receives nearly as much information and skill training as an instructor, except the training focuses on recreation, not instruction. The Dive Buddy Course is taught by HSA Course Directors and Instructors, often simultaneously with an ITC
.
Dive Buddy Leadership Course (DBL)
This course is for those Dive Buddies that have continued their underwater education & are certified by a recognized dive training agency as an Instructor, Assistant Instructor or Dive Master. These Dive Buddies can upgrade to HSA Instructor, Assistant Instructor or Dive Master by successfully passing the Dive Buddy Leadership Course taught by an HSA Course Director.
Open Water Certification
Either from accident or disease about 15% of the population is statistically classified as ‘handicapped’. In the United States alone this percentage translates into MILLIONS of people, many of whom are fully capable of becoming scuba divers.
Our open water training programs for people with disabilities are taught with a high margin of safety because we use teaching techniques developed with over 25 years of continuous research and feedback. Handicapped students are trained & certified according to HSA Physical Performance Requirements & a multilevel Certification system so exacting & sensitive it enables us to train people with a wide range of disabilities, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, blindness & those with high-functioning brain injuries or mild retardation.
Rehabilitation Hospital Program
Because scuba diving is an active, adventurous sport, it offers meaningful rehabilitation for the mind and spirit as well as for the body. Recognizing this, several leading rehabilitation hospitals worldwide, such as Craig Hospital of Denver Colorado, have pioneered the inclusion of HSA scuba diving classes as part of their patient program. These progressive rehabilitation specialists have bridged the gap between an institutional setting & the outside world, using scuba diving and dive travel to help ease their patients into successful social and community re-integration.
Accessible Travel and Resort Evaluation
HSA International Dive Vacations provide excellent opportunities to socialize with new or existing friends. Whether you’re diving with another HSA member, or interacting with guests from elsewhere, we offer you a healthy, happy way to see the world.
Each year we plan, coordinate and conduct several dive vacations to exotic locations. All our destinations are researched and evaluated for wheelchair accessibility through our resort evaluation program. Most importantly, an HSA trained and certified instructor will be present on all trips to insure a safe, enjoyable yet independent experience for everyone.
HSA Mission Statement
The Handicapped Scuba Association has dedicated itself to improving the physical and social well-being of people with disabilities through the sport of scuba diving.
• To improve the health and fitness of people with disabilities by challenging their physical abilities and endurance;
• To improve the quality of life of people with disabilities by providing opportunities to actively participate in a mainstream sport;
• To "level the playing field" between people with disabilities and their able bodied peers by facilitating access to a sport that they, and others, thought was not possible; To motivate people with disabilities into pursuing other life challenges (education, employment, travel, sports) by allowing them to achieve at a sport that many people cannot;
• To profile the abilities and potential of people with disabilities to mainstream society.
Made up of over 4000 underwater educators, scuba divers with disabilities and supporting members, located in over 45 countries, the Handicapped Scuba Association is dedicated to assuring that people with disabilities are given the same opportunity to receive quality training, certification and dive adventures as the able bodied population.
Welcome to the world of diving!
Founder's Message
Welcome to the HSA and the international world of scuba diving!
You are about to embark upon an adventure of spirit and body leading to new friends below and above water! And a new you!
Like most of us, when I was first disabled I spent my time counting the things I couldn't do, and feeling remorseful about all the physical activities I had always wanted to try that 'I thought' were no longer available to me. Scuba diving was on the top of that list. When Scuba diving became a reality to me it changed my downhill life, even before I blew one bubble! Scuba diving reinstated 'the me' I had known for the 30 years before I was injured!
I started diving in 1973 as a result of my own disability and have spent my entire diving career assisting, teaching and sport diving with students and divers with disabilities. It has been a wonderful life. Come join us, and remember, Scuba diving is an adaptive sport - for everyone, with or without a disability!
You can do it!
INTRO DO SCUBA DIVING
Have you ever wondered what it is like to breath underwater? The HSA Introduction to Scuba Course is a great way to find out before you take the full certification course. Participation in this activity does not put any obligation on you and it is a very good way to determine if you love scuba as much as we do! The course consists of basic academics in a classroom setting and then off to the pool for basic skill development and underwater fun!!.
OPEN WATER SCUBA DIVER
If you have wondered what lies beneath the surface, now is the time to find out!! In the HSA Open Water Scuba Diver course, your HSA Instructor takes you through the basics of learning how to scuba dive. You start in a pool and progress to open water in the sea, lake or quarry (or all three!!).
Our open water training programs for people with disabilities are taught with a high margin of safety because we use teaching techniques developed with over 30 years of continuous research and feedback. You are trained and certified according to HSA Physical Performance Requirements and a multilevel Certification system so exacting and sensitive it enables us to train and certify people with a wide range of disabilities, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, visually impaired, PTSD, and those with high-functioning intellectual disabilities. We base our multilevel certification on the ability of the diver to assist another diver using basic rescue skills, or the type of assistance they may need.
Your Course
The HSA Open Water Course consists of three main components:
Knowledge Development to understand the basic principles of scuba diving
Confined Water Lessons, usually in a pool, to learn basic scuba skills
Open Water Dives to review your skills and explore!!
Prerequisites
Minimum age 15 years old.
You do not need to swim, but comfort in the water helps.
Physical Examination for scuba diving. This examination is for medical conditions contrary to safe diving, such as heart disease, lung damage and seizure disorders. Having a physical disability does NOT disqualify you from Scuba diving!
If you are between the ages of 10 and 14 years old you can earn a Junior Open Water Scuba Diver certification.
Junior Open Water Scuba Diver certification qualifies you to scuba dive with your parents' consent until you are 15 years old.
Also unique to our training system is Marine Life Identification. Our Open Water Scuba Course requires that you find, describe, and identify one marine life form on each of your five certifying open water scuba dives!! Not only will you learn to scuba dive, you will also begin to understand the marine environment that surrounds you.
ADVANCE OPEN WATER SCUBA DIVER
Explore, Adventure & Excitement. Continue your journey with the HSA Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver Course. This course builds on what you have learned and develops your skills as you are introduced to new activities and new ways to have fun and explore the underwater world. During this course you will hone your skills by planning and completing five scuba dives, typical of recreational diving, under the direct supervision of your HSA Instructor. While completing these dives you will identify 9 Marine Life forms, adding to your awareness and appreciation of our marine environment.
Deep Diving
Night Diving
Wall, Drift or Mid-Water Diving
Navigation Diving using a compass and topographic methods
Marine Life Identification Diving.
SNORKEL AND SKIN DIVING COURSE
Are you as excited about exploring the underwater world as we are? Then, the HSA Skin Diving & Snorkeler Certification is for you! This entry level course is designed for you to explore the underwater world without SCUBA. Don't miss a moment of the underwater action! After a day of Scuba diving it is a great way to spend time with friends and family. If you don't Scuba dive don't worry, this activity is filled with fun, challenges and surprises! Go Skin Diving and Snorkeling with sea turtles, manta rays, pilot whales and dolphins (dolphins don't like scuba!).
This course is designed to accommodate a wide variety of disabilities while maintaining the HSA's high level of safe diving practices. Like the HSA Multilevel Certification for Scuba, the Skin Diving/Snorkeler course offers three levels of certification so everybody can have fun in the Sea!
DIVE BUDDY COURSE (DBC)
Advanced Scuba DiverGet Involved, Spread the Excitement. Do you know someone, a friend or family member with disabilities you would like to involve in scuba diving? Do you welcome the challenge of learning about disabilities, accessibility issues and how to dive with people who have disabilities? The HSA "Dive Buddy Program" offers Open Water Scuba Divers this opportunity to expand their underwater world by sharing it with divers with disabilities.
The course combines classroom instruction followed by confined water and open water exercises, designed to simulate disabilities. In "acting out" the disabilities, Dive Buddies actually experience what it is like to be a mobility or sight-impaired diver, and the special considerations needed when planning and diving with them. A sensitizing and often surprising revelation for even the most experienced diver!
During 8 hours of interactive lectures you will be:
Introduced to several disability types and acquired specialized knowledge usually found only in medical environments
Accessibility issues and travelling for people with disabilities
Special considerations for diving with a disability
During 5 hours of Confined Water training you will simulate paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputee and blind divers, performing skills that are technically problematic for these disability types. (Don't worry, we do give breaks!!!) Through these training scenarios you will learn to dive and solve problems differently, developing new skills that are needed to safely Scuba dive with divers with disabilities.
During 4 hours of Open Water training you will be in a team of three, role playing as a Primary Dive Buddy with two buddies, one paraplegic and the other blind. You will rotate through all three roles. This training will provide you with specialized knowledge necessary for safely planning and diving with divers with disabilities.
As a Dive Buddy Candidate you will receive Dive Buddy Course materials that are a subset of the Instructor Training Course materials. What this means for you is, as an HSA certified Dive Buddy you will receive nearly as much information and skill training as an instructor, except the training focuses on recreation, not instruction!
Susan Nase
Dive Buddy Course Prerequisites
Certified Open Water Scuba Diver with 20 or more Logged Scuba Dives
Dive Buddy Leadership Course
This course is for HSA Dive Buddies who have continued their underwater education and received Instructor, Assistant Instructor or Dive Master Certification by a recognized diver training agency such as PADI or NAUI. Dive Buddy Leadership training will include topics related to teaching and certifying HSA Divers. You will receive credit for the training you received in your HSA Dive Buddy Course.
INSTRUCTOR TRAINING COURSE (ITC)
FOR DIVEMASTERS, ASSISTANT INSTRUCTORS & INSTRUCTORS
Advanced Scuba Diver Are you looking for something extraordinary? To do something others only dream of? To help people transform their lives? If so, the HSA Instructor Training Course is for you. This course has been taught to over 3,000 leading Underwater Educators throughout the world since 1986, including Medical Doctors, and numerous other health professionals.
No other Scuba Training program exists anywhere in the world like this. The training is so unique you can't even prepare for it - you must "experience" it.
This intensive course gives you insightful theory and application as you eagerly accept the challenge of sharpening your teaching skills. During 10 Hours of interactive Lectures you and your teammates will:
Be introduced to several disability types and acquire specialized knowledge usually found only in medical environments.
You will learn HSA training procedures, equipment and accessibility considerations.
The HSA Multilevel Certification, how it was developed and how to safely use it.
During 5 hours of Confined Water training you will simulate paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputee and blind diving students, performing skills that are technically problematic for these disability types. (Don't worry, we do give breaks!!!) Through these training scenarios you will learn to dive and solve problems differently, developing new skills that are needed to safely train Scuba Divers with disabilities.
During 5 hours of Open Water training you will be in a team of three, role playing as an Instructor with two students, one paraplegic and the other blind. You will rotate through all three roles. Student logistics can change significantly when disabilities are introduced into your tried and true training procedures. This training will provide you with the knowledge to make important organizational adjustments when conducting open water training and dive planning.
Instructor Training Course Prerequisites
Certified Scuba Instructor, Assistant Instructor or Dive Master
Assistant Instructors and Dive Masters
Upon completion of the HSA Instructor Training Course, Assistant Instructors and Dive Masters will be certified HSA Assistant Instructor or HSA Dive Master, respectively. For those that continue their underwater education and earn Instructor certification from a recognized diver training agency such as PADI or NAUI, upon request, they will be upgraded to HSA Instructor without further training.
SA Course Director Training Course (CDTC)
Advanced Scuba Diver Do you want to build upon your success as an HSA Instructor? To be a partner in developing the HSA infrastructure? As an HSA Course Director you can create a 'Handicapped Scuba Association Training Center' offering all levels of HSA Certification to your community.
An HSA Course Director (Instructor Trainer) is the highest and most trusted position in our organization. HSA Course Directors train HSA Instructors, developing 'in them' an understanding of disability types, the psychological adjustments people with disabilities must make and how scuba diving can help. You will train our Instructors in the special skills, and equipment, required for divers with disabilities to safely and comfortably Scuba dive. And just as importantly accessibility considerations, how to determine if a classroom, pool, open water or dive destination is accessible.
As an HSA Course Director you must have a thorough understanding of the HSA Physical Performance Requirements and Multilevel Certification. You must be capable of properly using this specialized system for certifying Scuba Divers. This enables HSA Course Directors to teach HSA Instructor candidates how to safely train, assess and certify Scuba Divers with disabilities.
HSA Course Directors must also understand and be capable of training HSA Instructor candidates in all of the HSA programs; Introduction to Scuba, Skin/Snorkel Dive Certification, Open Water Scuba Diver Certification, Advanced Scuba Diver Certification and the Dive Buddy Course (DBC).
Your Course Director Training Course is in two Phases
One on one in depth Power Point CDTC lectures covering ITC/DBC Lectures.
You will organize and teach an HSA ITC/DBC with supervision.
[Instructor Training Course (ITC)/Dive Buddy Course (DBC)]
In Depth PowerPoint CDTC Lectures
Your Course Director Trainer will go through the entire ITC/DBC Power Point Presentation and Instructor Manual (Academics, Standards and Procedures) covering every detail, including content and purpose. You will learn:
How to use the Power Point lectures to develop your own credibility, the credibility of HSA, and empathy for people who have the various disabilities covered.
How the HSA Certification system works, develop an understanding of the HSA Performance Requirements and how to teach this system to Instructor candidates.
Develop an understanding of accessibility issues, overcome barriers, dive boat use and how to teach this to Instructors & Dive Buddy candidates
How to conduct HSA ITC/DBC confined and open water skill evaluations, why these skills were chosen and how to use them to develop Instructor Teaching Skills & Dive Buddy Assisting Skills.
You will deliver ITC/DBC select lectures to your Course Director Trainer in a one to one setting.
Organize and Teach an HSA ITC/DBC with Supervision
You will plan the ITC/DBC, including lecture room, confined and open water facilities, and recruitment of the Instructor/Dive Buddy candidates.
You will teach the ITC/DBC under your Course Director Trainer's supervision. Each day will be followed-up with discussions on what happened that day, and planning for the next day.
You will administer and correct the HSA ITC/DBC Exam.
Prerequisites for Course Director Training Course
HSA Instructor in good standing.
Scuba Diving Instructor for a minimum of two (2) years.
Certified a minimum of twenty (20) Open Water Scuba Divers, with or without disabilities.
Teach one (1) HSA Open Water Scuba Courses.
Certify one (1) HSA Open Water Scuba diver with disabilities.
Recommended Additional Experience
Certify one (1) HSA Advanced Scuba diver with a disability.
Teach one (1) Dive Buddy Course.
Coordinate and supervise overnight Scuba tours for divers with disabilities.
Conduct a Resort Evaluation.
