Dive hosting is the bread and butter of our club. If nobody hosts, nobody dives. Since ours is a hobby that entails some risk, the Club has some suggested guidelines to help those new to hosting understand what makes a successful event and to keep everyone as safe as possible.
Only post dives that you are comfortable with or one where you can confer with a mentor. There is a good chance a diver will arrive who has never been to the site before. Make sure you or someone there can provide some guidance. As a dive host you can and should prevent anyone who, in your opinion, is not qualified to participate in the dive.
posting of dives
Monitor RSVP’s and comments of interested participants. Do your best to answer any questions and/or address any concerns of potential participants.
Make a reasonable effort to be aware of the experience level of all potential participants. Caution anyone who might want to attend a dive if you feel it may be outside of their experience and/or training level. A quick look at the Meetup profile of someone with whom you are not familiar can tell you something about their certification level and the number of dives they had when they joined as well as how many Club dives they have attended in the past. As a dive host you have the final say and you should prevent anyone who, in your opinion, is not qualified to participate in the dive. If you exclude someone from the dive and they show up anyway be sure to tell them they are not considered part of the Club dive.
At the Dive Site Pre-Dive
Check in with all participants as they arrive on site
Have all non-club member divers who might be attending sign a waiver using Smartwaiver. There is a link to the form on the Club Website- https://markerbuoydiveclub.org/page-3/
Keep attendees informed on time remaining until splash. (This is very important where dives are current dependent).
Answer any questions and address any concerns that may arise.
Make sure everyone has the necessary equipment to maintain safety for allparticipants.
You should conduct a detailed dive site briefing with all divers attending, whether they are familiar with the site or not.
the Dive
Allow participants to establish buddy teams if practical and if it is in the best interest of all.
As an option, the Dive Host can establish buddy teams if they feel it best serves the safe completion of the dive by all participants.
Make a reasonable attempt to establish buddy teams of divers with similar skills, abilities and goals for the divers. (I.e. photographers, wetsuit divers, or anticipated dive time). Also try to buddy up divers not familiar with the site with divers who are familiar with it. Dive Hosts should be prepared to buddy up with any single diver who does not have a buddy. Often this means you will need to buddy with the least experienced diver who attends.
If the intention is to dive in a group, establish buddy teams of 2 or no more than 3 divers before submerging. Divers should be responsible for their own buddy team and have their own separation protocols established before they submerge. The Club recommends that buddy teams search and try to regroup for no more than 1 minute then make a safe ascent to the surface and regroup. We do not recommend that separated divers just continue the dive and regroup at the end.
If the site allows and participants are going to different parts of the site, the host should remember which team is going where in case a search is needed.
The Club strongly encourages all buddy teams to complete a buddy equipment check before submerging.
The Dive Host should remain at or close to the exit point until all divers have returned.
Post Dive
Allow participants to establish buddy teams if practical and if it is in the best interest of all.
As an option, the Dive Host can establish buddy teams if they feel it best serves the safe completion of the dive by all participants.
Make a reasonable attempt to establish buddy teams of divers with similar skills, abilities and goals for the divers. (I.e. photographers, wetsuit divers, or anticipated dive time). Also try to buddy up divers not familiar with the site with divers who are familiar with it. Dive Hosts should be prepared to buddy up with any single diver who does not have a buddy. Often this means you will need to buddy with the least experienced diver who attends.
If the intention is to dive in a group, establish buddy teams of 2 or no more than 3 divers before submerging. Divers should be responsible for their own buddy team and have their own separation protocols established before they submerge. The Club recommends that buddy teams search and try to regroup for no more than 1 minute then make a safe ascent to the surface and regroup. We do not recommend that separated divers just continue the dive and regroup at the end.
If the site allows and participants are going to different parts of the site, the host should remember which team is going where in case a search is needed.
The Club strongly encourages all buddy teams to complete a buddy equipment check before submerging.
The Dive Host should remain at or close to the exit point until all divers have returned.