Fraser Bathgate has become the first paraplegic scuba-diver in the world to attain the sport's highest qualification.

On 16 August Bathgate completed his training to become an Instructor Course Director for the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), the world's oldest and second-largest diver-training agency.
A Course Director is qualified to train any level of diver, including Instructor-Trainers, the qualification Bathgate already held. Twelve years ago the Scot, who suffered spinal injuries in a climbing accident in 1986, became the first person ever to qualify as a diving instructor from a wheelchair.
The NAUI course was completed with a three-day workshop that included classroom and pool assessments, and Bathgate was signed off by NAUI Europe's General Director Richard Lucas at its headquarters in the Netherlands. "It's great to have Fraser on board as NAUI Course Director," he said. "I believe this will help both Fraser and NAUI to further develop scuba diving."
Bathgate is Vice President & Director of Training for the International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD), and the workshop was attended by IAHD President and NAUI Course Director Klaas Brouwer. "Hopefully this will open the door to people with disabilities and give them the courage to go down the professional route in scuba diving," he said.
"Completing this course proves that scuba diving is a very accessible activity," commented Fraser Bathgate. "For me it's the completion of the circle that started when I became the first paraplegic scuba instructor. With incredible support from NAUI I've been able to show that every level in diving can be achieved from a wheelchair."

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