Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program Scuba
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Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program Scuba Club Policies & Procedures Manual OFFICE OF CAMPUS RECREATION & WELLNESS Nova Southeastern University Don Taft University Center 3301 College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314 Phone (954) 262-7042 SUMMER 2016 1 IMPORTANT NOTICE SCUBA DIVING IS ONE OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE ACTIVITIES IN WHICH STUDENTS CAN PARTICIPATE AT NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY. TO INSURE THAT IT IS FUN AND SAFE, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE NSU SCUBA CLUB HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND ARE CONTAINED HEREIN. KNOWLEDGE OF, AND COMPLIANCE WITH, THESE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IS MANDATORY FOR ANY NSU SCUBA CLUB PARTICIPATING MEMBER. YOUR FAILURE TO READ AND FULLY UNDERSTAND THIS MANUAL MAY RESULT IN AN INCIDENT. WHEN INCORRECTLY PRACTICED, SCUBA DIVING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO ONE’S HEALTH AND SAFETY. YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF ALL PARTICIPANTS MANDATES STRICT ADHERENCE TO ALL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES CONTAINED HEREIN. 2 THE NSU SCUBA CLUB The purpose of the NSU Scuba Club is to provide the dive community at Nova Southeastern University supervised dive activities. This NSU dive community includes NSU students, faculty, staff, and alumni. As a part of Campus Recreation & Wellness, the club organizes and leads dive trips with professional supervision, rental scuba equipment, following diving industry standards. OVERVIEW The NSU Scuba Club format consists of Semester-long membership of $75 and includes the following: Free rental scuba equipment for all club dives Free Scuba Refresher at the beginning of each semester Free supervised beach dives Half-priced boat dives Dive trips are approximately every other week per semester, or approximately 6-7 dive trips per semester GENERAL POLICIES & PROCEDURES Scuba diving is both enjoyable and challenging. Without proper training, adherence to safety procedures, and correct mental attitude, participation in it can be dangerous and even life threatening. The scuba Diving Supervisors in this club reserve the right to deny admission and participation to any participants refusing to respect the policies and procedures of this Policies & Procedures Manual, or exhibiting actions during the NSU Scuba Club activities judged to be inherently or potentially dangerous. Participants should be aware of this total commitment to their safety and behave accordingly. 1. Diving Activities TYPE OF DIVING: The diving activities sanctioned under the NSU Scuba Club are purely recreational – up to 120 feet in depth, using standard open-circuit scuba equipment, following no-decompression diving limits, and for recreational purposes. NUMBER OF DIVES PER SEMESTER: There will be dive trips offered approximately every other week per semester, or approximately 6-7 dive trips per semester. This number may fluctuate due to weather or other operational-related cancelations. 3 There are no partial refunds from the Scuba Club if the number of dives reduces in a semester. BEACH DIVES: There will be dive trips that are offered from the shore of local beaches, lakes, and/or fresh water springs. These supervised dives will be free for members unless there is an admission fee, in which case the admission will be half price. The number of beach dives in a semester varies. BOAT DIVES: There will be dive trips that are offered from commercial dive vessels. These supervised dives will be half price for members. Tanks, weights or other items part of the charter dive boat trip will be included in the half price rate. SPEARFISHING: Spearfishing, via the use of a speargun or a polespear, is prohibited during the NSU Scuba Club Events. An exception may be granted for an official “Lionfish Derby” in which the objective of the dive is to reduce populations of this invasive species via polespear. SOLO DIVING: Diving without a buddy (solo diving) is absolutely prohibited during the NSU Scuba Club Events. The buddy system is used on every NSU Scuba Club dive. SNORKELING & FREEDIVING: Snorkeling and freediving are authorized only when in indirect supervision of a Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program (NSUADP) Diving Supervisor. Freediving will not be allowed in-between dives (during surface intervals) or after scuba dives. 2. Health & Fitness for Diving NSU Scuba Club members must be healthy and fit for diving. Divers must arrive to their open water dives ready to properly participate physically, mentally and equipment-wise. Divers must be alcohol and drug free, as well as free of sinus and/or chest congestion. Mentally, divers must be prepared and focused when open water diving. Divers must bring proper swimwear and equipment to their open water dives. Divers should bring: • Bathing suit & towel • Sunscreen • Water NO SMOKING POLICY: Research proves that smoking severely increases the risk of decompression sickness (DCS or the bends) and its related symptoms upon divers. Tar and nicotine reduce the ability to eliminate nitrogen out of the body efficiently, leading to a greater risk of decompression sickness. For this reason, there is a no smoking policy. This means if a diver is a smoker, that diver must quit smoking to be a member of the NSU Scuba Club, or do not become a member. 4 Smoking and even the nicotine from vapor cigarettes is detrimental to the safe participation of scuba diving. 3. Personal Equipment The NSU Scuba Club, its Diving Supervisors, its members as well as Nova Southeastern University and the Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program (NSUADP) cannot be held responsible if any member sustains any loss or damage to their equipment while participating in any organized activities, whether on or off campus. Any member bringing personal equipment or using rental equipment must ensure that the equipment is in proper working condition prior to engaging in any diving activities. PERSONAL EQUIPMENT Personal equipment may be utilized during Scuba Club dives if the equipment is in proper working condition and in good configuration. NSUADP Diving Supervisors will assess all gear to determine if it is allowable. For “life-support” equipment such as regulators, buoyancy compensators and cylinders a receipt from an authorized equipment repair facility showing that the equipment has been given an annual servicing must be provided. That proof of annual servicing must be within a one year timeframe before the dive. TANKS: If you choose to dive with your personal tanks (cylinders), the tank(s) must be within the proper Hydrostatic Testing period of 5 years, and the tank(s) must be within the proper Visual Inspection Program period of 1 year. The NSUADP Diving Supervisors reserve the right to disallow expired tanks on NSU Scuba Club dives. Personal tanks will not be filled by NSU, nor at the NSUADP dive locker. NITROX: Enriched Air Nitrox can be used on NSU Scuba Club dives as long as the following takes place: The diver has a valid Enriched Air Nitrox certification from an approved scuba training agency. The diver must analyze the gas in the tank, recording the percentages on the tank, and confirming the percentages with the NSUAPD Diving Supervisor. The diver must analyze the gas in the tank, recording the Maximum Operating Depth (MOD) of the gas mix, and confirming the MOD with the NSUAPD Diving Supervisor. Nitrox is not included on any NSU Scuba Club dives, it is solely the responsibility of the diver to obtain Nitrox tanks. 5 REQUIRED EQUIPMENT: Divers with their own scuba equipment must have the following required equipment: Alternate air source (i.e. octopus, Source®, Air II®, Spare Air®) Underwater timing device (i.e. dive watch or dive computer) Surface marker buoy Whistle 4. Rental Equipment The NSU Scuba Club, its Diving Supervisors, its members as well as Nova Southeastern University and the Nova Southeastern University Academic Diving Program (NSUADP) cannot be held responsible if any member sustains any loss or damage to their equipment while participating in any organized activities, whether on or off campus. Any member bringing personal equipment or using rental equipment must ensure that the equipment is in proper working condition prior to engaging in any diving activities. RENTAL EQUIPMENT As part of the NSU Scuba Club membership, members may receive use of NSUADP rental scuba equipment. All levels of diving education teach the safe and proper set-up, handling, storage and transportation of scuba equipment. Part of certification standards is the ability of the diver to be responsible for the rental equipment issued to them. It is the diver’s responsibility to ascertain that all equipment issued is operational immediately upon receiving it from the NSUADP equipment locker. The student then agrees accepting the equipment, as functional, and that it will be returned in as issued (functional) condition. Once removed from the NSU pool area the student accepts full liability for its condition and will be assessed suitable repair, or replacement fees for any damage to or loss of such equipment. Clarification: When a diver signs for NSUADP equipment that diver is totally responsible for the condition of that equipment until another diver signs for the equipment or until an NSUADP official signs the equipment into the locker. Note: Should damage be detected to such equipment after sign over or sign in before official check out use by another person, such damage is the responsibility of the last user. This policy clarifies the longstanding problem wherein a user denies breakage even though the equipment was not broken when they checked it out or during their use of it but damage was discovered after check over to another diver or check in to the NSUADP locker but before its' use by another diver. Further, as such damage may not be apparent to NSUADP staff or another diver user until, for example, a cylinder with a damaged valve is either checked for pressure, a fill is attempted, or a diver attempts to affix a regulator to said cylinder, liability is 6 properly determined at the time the damage becomes apparent and liability for such damage is fixed.