ASF CAVE DIVING GROUP

What activities are we currently involved in
Cave Diving Qualifications/Member details
Competancy standards and Codes of practice

What is the ASF-CDG?


The ASF has been actively involved in cave diving since the 1950s. Diving has occurred through out Australia ranging from the beautiful good viz, zero current and comparatively warm water caves of WA and SA to the zero viz, high current, freezing water found in Tasmania and NSW and Victorian sumps.

Through out this time the objectives of the ASF divers have been consistent with those of the ASF:

Because of the isolation of each of the groups diving throughout the country many of the early divers were taught via an apprentice scheme, with divers passing on knowledge to each other. Many divers travelled to gain techniques from such groups as the British CDG. Over the past decade or two the apprentice scheme has been augmented with formal training and all divers now possess formal dive qualifications. The specialised training required by Sump diving was satisfied by actually bringing in an instructor from the UK who provided qualifications under the banner of TDI.

Many of these divers and others throughout the ASF also augmented their knowledge with courses from the CDAA or IANTD. Today the explosion of courses in technical diving means that acquiring training is no longer difficult, however competitiveness between the training agencies to dominate the market through whatever means, including securing access for their members exclusively, or cutting material from courses to be more competitive economically creates a new range of problems.

The apprentice scheme within the ASF lives on in a new form. Divers are now required not just to become qualified through a training agency but are expected to dive through an ASF club with other more experienced members. This ensures that the ASF is able to maintain its perfect safety record even when diving in the extreme conditions that are common in some areas.

In this increasingly difficult environment the ASF formed a cave diving group (ASF-CDG) which exists across the ASF clubs to bring cave divers throughout the country together and to represent their interests.

 The ASF will not align itself with a particular training agency, nor will it provide its own cave diving training beyond the in-service training in exploration techniques conducted at a club level.

As an organisation which advises on the management of sites and necessarily the establishment of standards, the ASF feels that it is a conflict of interest to also provide training. The pressure to reduce standards of training for economic gains has been demonstrated in Open-water dive training.

 To reconcile the difference between training organisations and to ensure consistent and safe diving across all ASF divers a set of competency standards and codes of practice have been developed.

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Activities

 

 
Jenolan/Wombeyan (NSW) Wellington (NSW)

 

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