Kat Vcelka's Topic:
Topic 1:
Enabled Diving. Making the Ocean Accessible to All.
Disabled (Enabled) Diving - a rewarding and much needed teaching skill, which can enrich people lives and create next level job satisfaction for the instructor.
Scuba diving is not the first place everyone goes when considering people with disabilities. Join Kat to learn about what she calls Enabled Diving - diving for people with disabilities. Discover what is possible from both a client and a dive professional perspective - the benefits and rewards and the special considerations.
KAT VCELKA
Owner Academy of Scuba, PADI Course Director, Disabled Divers International Instructor Trainer
I started diving when I was 16 years old on a venture camp and was addicted from the first breath. Working in other industries I realised diving was my calling to life, so I became an instructor in 2004 and never looked back. I don’t really have a favourite course to teach. With teaching Open water courses, introducing people who have never been underwater and making them safe, competent divers gives me a huge buzz.
As divers, we get to escape into a world that not everyone has the privilege to see. It's incredibly rewarding to be able to give people that opportunity. Making people the best divers possible so that they can enjoy this tranquil world is what it is all about to me. The people I meet through Academy of Scuba is why I keep diving.
My favourite dive site in Melbourne is anywhere on the walls of the shipping channel. The colours and the diversity of fish life is outstanding, and to most (especially me till I saw the walls with my own eyes many years ago) completely surprising.
My favourite overseas destinations so far have been Palau (for the sheer beauty in a stunning island paradise), the Maldives (for more beauty and abundance of fish, as well as being able to snorkel with a 2m manta ray looping and feeding only half a meter away from me) and Vanuatu (being able to dive on a huge wreck called the Coolidge. It is 6 meters smaller than the titanic. This old luxury liner turned naval vessel is a step back in history and is just a great dive. Everyone must see the flashlight fish at night on the Coolidge!!
Diving instruction has given me the freedom to explore places most can only dream about, and the ability to meet hundreds of people to take them on underwater adventures. Obtaining my PADI Course Directors rating in 2014, I am now part of a privileged few who can help future instructors gain the same buzz that I get out of teaching, all the while helping to change other peoples lives for the better when introducing them to our underwater wonderland.
Come diving with me and my team anytime.
