The Angels' Story
Posted By Laura Harris on 16 July 2004
Training and experience dictated that divers be split into three tiers; a shallow level team to cover depths down to 25 metres, a mid-range team that could dive to 45 metres and finally, the deep contingent who would cover anything below 45m. The benchmarks were a minimum of 150 dives to join the shallow group, 250 dives to be part of the mid-range team and 600 dives plus, to be in the deep set.
Each support diver had to be self-sufficient in regard to owning kit, they had to have cold water training and experience and they needed some sort of technical qualification. As most of the dives involve extended bottom times at depth, a fundamental understanding of gas planning and decompression theory was also a prerequisite. Most of the team hold TDI qualifications in Decompression Procedures or Extended Range diving, four are CCR trained and all are Nitrox, Advanced Nitrox or Trimix trained. In addition there was a requirement to be rescue savvy and having O2 / CPR and first aid skills was advantageous. Furthermore, every support diver had to be able to hold their own. If you can’t look after yourself down there, you’re no use to a freediver in trouble.
Dancing With The Devil
Finding altruistic technical divers with the right mix of diverse personalities was in itself an interesting task. A key element in selecting a team member is being able to identify, from the many applicants, who is genuinely interested in becoming involved in what is effectively a niche diving activity and recognizing when there may be an ulterior motive. We needed highly skilled divers who were able to be team players, flexible, consistent, reliable and above all else fun. Team diving is about making a contribution and a commitment. There is no room for glory seekers, negativity, heroes or pushing limits because what you do as a support diver will impact the safety of everyone else involved.
We had only a few months to form a cohesive team and prepare for the UK National Freediving Championships. Five of us had dived together in Cyprus during the Freeology Competition. Other potential candidates came via personal recommendation from existing Angels able to vouch for their integrity and ability. Two members of the team are part time crew at the NDC and know the quarry well. The rest were quite simply heaven sent!
Unifying the team was achieved by hosting presentations and briefings, meeting up at every opportunity to train together and a serious amount of emailing. A recipe intermittently peppered with a heavy late night session. As much as possible, every support diver was involved throughout each stage of the planning and development, as an all inclusive approach collectively produces a wealth of problem solving ability and technical know how.
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