Folks,

Just a quick note to summarize the events of the AGM.

 

Main point no change to Insurance fee's.

The controls on expenditure have managed to "stem the tide of losses" and those controls will remain in place until the next AGM. 

 

New Course roll out and Presentations

The Club Diver instructor course details were communicated and will be implemented in a Pilot course very soon.

The course is aimed at Club Diver grades with an interest to assist with In club training, to lecture and assist with practical Pool and initial Open water diving activity. Suitable Candidates recommended by Diving Officers will be eligible to attend these course will kick off quite soon, so stand by for the entry requirement detail very soon.  This is a great development and will ease the burden on in Club Instructor grades.

 

Nitrox course changes

A course will now be available to allow trainee diver grades to obtain and receive certification in Nitrox diving. It is then possible to easily upgrade and move to pursue the Advanced Nitro and Extended range courses.

 

Coxswain Course

At long last the coxswain course has been revamped/updated and is currently been rolled out in any future courses. There are  some additional lectures and certainly the focus on the practical initial training has been emphasized in this new course.

Specific detail and trainee logs have been updated to reflect a higher standard of candidates, that hopefully the new course material will improve Coxswain skills.

Please note, that affiliation with other Boat handling organization/standards remains an issue as the stumbling block is the requirement of membership to that organizations is the problem. So for now, Coxswain will be unique certification within CFT.

 

Trade Show

 The trade show was appropriate, but  notably smaller than previous years, the focus is on Suit, Reg & BCD sales.  Lots of choice for Red sea holiday deals, all you need is the money and time to select your option.

 

Presentations

 I sat in on the presentations by Jack Ingle, Equipment configuration, some very interesting comments on streamling dive equipment aimed predominately at the Techie diving community.

Some good tips…   Website for reference is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

Timmy Carey and Eoin Mc Garry - Asgard II Expedition

Timmy and Eoin recanted the events of planning and diving the AsgardII which sank in the Bay of Biscay. The Dive was shrouded in controversy, however, the details, the video stills and footage of the wreck were a great display and the trip was indeed something the Irish Diving community should be proud of.

Well Done, great accomplishments to Timmy, Eoin and the rest of the team in bringing back the BELL, compass and Boat steering wheel from the Asgard II.

 

AGM & Elections

The CFT AGM elected its new executive and members of the Technical commission on Sunday.

The various officers submitted their reports for November 2009 to March 2011.

However, the AGM was marred will a lot of controversy of the Search & Recovery Medal Award ceremony and the level of communication around the award recommendation procedures. Regrettably, as with such inaugural events, there were some persons missed and recommendations were not balanced, finally, the discussions re the issue were terminated and the matter will be resolved in due course.

 

Finally,

I was delighted to learn that Martin Kiely was elected to the role as National Diving Officer, and Aude Richard also elected to the Technical commission.  A great honour and privilege for the Aughinish Diving Club.

 

Well Done to Martin & Aude.

 

 Please refer to the CFT website for specific details re the course changes and details of the new Executive members and rest of the TC members details over the coming days.