Scuba Diving in a Wheelchair – Breaking the Barriers Underwater
Out of the wheelchair and into the blue. I can go backwards, forwards, up, down, and side to side. It’s just like being an astronaut in space. What freedom. Try scuba diving. Scuba diving in recent years has become the focus as a good sport for disabled people to have a go at. In the United States it has been taken on as a project for wounded United States Forces veterans as rehab through the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba scheme. This is a recreational activity being banded as a genuine source of rehabilitation for those considered ‘disabled’. What would be the bonuses of this? Despite its ‘extreme James Bond’ image, scuba diving does provide a number of bonuses for those who want to give it a try. To get under the water and into a weightless environment can offer un-paralleled freedoms for all. This is before we even consider what [...]
Categories: Handicapped diving Tags: Handicapped diving, scuba diving in wheelchair, wheelchair diving
Meet Handicapped diving Jedi: Mark Slingo
Mark is a PADI Course Director in Phuket, Thailand. After learning to dive in Australia Mark got the diving bug so following completion of his university studies worked his way up to PADI Instructor, diving in many countries including Kenya, Spain, Malaysia, Croatia and Thailand. After this Mark worked in a 5* Career Development Center in Thailand towards the rating of PADI Course Director which he earned in 2008 at the age of 25 becoming one of the youngest Course Directors in the world. He followed this with a stint as a Course Director in the Red Sea.In the past few years Mark has worked with hundreds of students on IDC’s to help them in their goal of becoming PADI Instructors. Mark also has set another landmark. On land at least Mark is confined to a wheelchair following an accident (Non-diving related) 3 years ago when Mark was working in [...]
Categories: Handicapped diving Tags: Mark Slingo, Scuba Diving Mark Slingo, Scuba Jedi
