It was all fun and serious learning for the 51 participants of the Scuba Schools International (SSI) snorkelling instructor course done in Balicasag island!
The Department of Tourism through Philippine Commission on Sports Scuba Diving got the help of SSI where FREEDIVE+ is part of and held a five-day workshop. The candidates learned essential skills to become an effective snorkelling instructor – teaching students how to snorkel as well as how to use the equipment, water safety and rescue, first aid, marine ecology, and basic freediving.
Safety was stressed so that the guides will be best-equipped if the need arises.
Introducing freediving in Balicasag, Bohol
As there are instances guests drop items such as gopros in the water, the applicants were also taught Basic freediving – how to breathe-up properly and how to equalize so they can recover the dropped items in deeper parts of their snorkelling area. They were also taught how to do safety and rescue in case their guests were freedivers who might have Loss of Motor Control (LMC) or blackout (BO).
Graduation
All of the fifty-one candidates passed after their exams on the last day. Again the lessons and safety were reviewed as SSI believes repetition helps in knowledge retention. They were all certified in SSI programs: Snorkelling instructors, Marine Ecology, and Basic Freediving, as well as Basic Life Support.
