Trainee SAA Dive Leaders must have achieved the level of SAA Club Diver and hold a current UK Sport Diver Medical Declaration Form. Any trainee under the age of 18 must have signed written permission from their parents or guardians.
All trainee Dive Leaders MUST attend the SAA Dive Leader Lectures DLL1 to DLL4:
- DLL1 - Stage-Stop Diving.
- DLL2 - Dive Leadership.
- DLL3 - Search Diving.
- DLL4 - Advanced Diving.
Dive Leader candidates must complete a further 15 qualifying dives following Club Diver qualification, in a variety of conditions and with at least eight at sea. Candidates are limited to completing a maximum of two qualifying dives in a day, and with no more than two qualifying dives at any dive site.
The dive duration for qualifying dives must not be less than 15 minutes with at least 8 of these dives deeper than 25 metres. The maximum depth shall not exceed 50 metres.
To qualify as a Dive Leader, candidates are expected to log a further five hours underwater post qualifying as a Club Diver. It may be necessary to have recorded more than 15 qualifying dives to achieve this underwater experience. It is advised that the qualifying dives should include experience of at least 6 of the following:
- Wreck Diving.
- Hard Boat Dive.
- Night Dive.
- Dive with a work task.
- Dive to 30m.
- Stage-stop decompression dive.
- Drift Dive.
- Zero visability dive.
- Cold water dive (below 5oc).
- Cliff (wall) dive.
Other types of dives which indicate a range of diving experience, are also acceptable.
DLS4 Skills
The Dive Leader Candidate must demonstrate the following skills in open water to the satisfaction of the Club DO:
- a. Plan and execute a 35 metre dive.
- b. Act as a Dive Leader on four occasions.
- c. Plan prepare and carry out a Stage-stop dive.
- d. Plan and execute a rope search.
- e. Carry out an assisted ascent from 10 to 3 metres.
- f. Demonstrate ability to recover an unconscious diver from 20 metres to 10 metres using a buoyant lift.
- g. Plot a navigation course taking into account a tidal stream.
Items e & f form part of the Diver Rescue Course and as such may be signed off by completing the regional course.
The SAA would strongly recommend that all divers who are trying to obtain the Dive Leader qualification complete the SAA Diver Rescue Course.
Once the above criteria has been met, the trainee may then move on to complete Dive Supervisor Training.