Training Officer's Report

Alan O'Dowd

Training Officers Report AGM 2005

We started training in Glenalbyn pool on 6th January with nine trainees. Although most of these had dived before, all bar one needed to do full training in the pool. The lectures were run in the club house on the same night as the pool sessions. Both one star and two star courses were done. Training went well with both pool and lectures being completed ahead of schedule. Thanks to the very enthusiastic instructors agreeing to do extra lecturers if they had time on the night. I also would like to thank everyone who helped out in the pool with both training and gear. I was never short of gear.

All bar one of the trainees completed the pool course and all of these went on to get their one star.

In all, this year we had 29 certificates, with some divers getting up to three certs. Certs break down as:
• 6 one stars,
• 4 two star,
• 4 dive medics,
• 2 cox’ns,
• 3 rescue divers,
• 5 cox’n instructors,
• 3 leading divers and
• 2 Mon**s.

As you can see we have once again been very active in training. Due to the fact that I was working towards the leading diver I did not have a lot of time left to help out in much of the training that went on after the first dive weekend in Killary. So I would like to give a special thanks to everyone that helped out, especially Niall and Shane who spent more Tuesdays than I care to remember hanging off a shot line with the rescue diver candidates. Not to mention the help given to us leading diver candidates.

I recommend that next year the one and two star courses be separated, as doing all the lectures at once puts undue stress on both trainees and lecturers alike. Not to mention the cold in the club house cutting straight through you. I would therefore recommend that the one star course been done before Easter, and the two star course being done mid season, which should help push the trainees to keep working towards their two star certs.

Unfortunately, I am not able to put myself forward for the job again next year. I wish the incoming training officer the best of luck and would be more than happy to help them out in any way possible.

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