Coventry Sub Aqua Club gained another BSAC Dive Leader in March. Fresh from a diving holiday in Malta, Peter Shone became the latest member of our club to add to his diving qualifications.

Peter began learning to dive during his studies at the University of Portsmouth. He continued diving after graduating and moving into his work as a geotechnical engineer, which takes him all around the country.

While working in the West Midlands, Peter came along to one of our weekly branch meetings in November 2021. By the end of the night, he had joined the club and put his name down for several club trips. Peter also offered his services to the student branch at the University of Warwick, serving ably as its Equipment Officer for one year.

In recent months, he has chipped away at his Dive Leader qualification on dives in a range of conditions, both inland and at sea, including Stoney Cove, Anglesey, Lindisfarne and, most recently, Malta. He has also planned his first trip – a week of diving on a liveaboard in Scotland – to which he has invited divers from several branches.

Moreover, Peter took the Instructor Foundation Course last year and has started teaching trainees in local branches. Now that he is a Dive Leader, Peter is eligible to take the Open Water Instructor Course and two exams to become a fully-qualified BSAC Open Water Instructor.

Peter is one of many relatively new members of Coventry Sub Aqua Club who have trained with several BSAC branches to gain their qualifications. Whereas past generations of divers trained almost exclusively within their own local branches or travelled abroad to train with companies or centres, newer divers have trained with different branches or as part of regional events run by BSAC volunteers to complete their courses.