Chief Executive
Nikki Bird
BA (Hons) Business Administration
 

Nikki is the Chief Executive for the Archaeological Divers Association.  She is responsible for all aspects of the day to day administration and running of the association, including sponsorship for live archaeological projects as well as acting as course co-ordinator for the ADA Awards.  A qualified sports diver, Nikki has a strong interest in Underwater Archaeology and studied Social and Economic History at Strathclyde University.  Nikki prefers the clearer, but colder waters of the Scottish West Coast, so long as she is wearing a Full Face Mask.


  Diving Operations Director
Phil Short
IANTD Instructor Trainer
Phil started diving in 1990 from a background of dry caving and climbing and at first only completed a PADI open water diver course in order to use SCUBA to pass short flooded sections of dry caves in Mendip and South Wales.  Phil began developing his Technical Diving skills through training with Kevin Gurr and in 1993 was involved in forming one of the first Trimix wreck diving teams in the UK. He is now one of the UK's foremost IANTD Instructor Trainers. 

Over the years, Phil has been involved in film projects for ITV, BBC and Channel 4 on the M1 submarine, the shipwrecks from the battle of Jutland and cave diving projects in Northern Spain and the UK. He has also taken part as a closed circuit rebreather diver in several shipwreck search projects in the Western Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.  He has also been leading a continuing cave exploration project in the Ural Mountains in Russia and digging underwater in his pet project Swildon's Hole in the Mendips UK.  Phil has been diving professionally for 15 years and has logged over 5000 dives in caves and open water using both open and closed circuit equipment.


Training Director
Ted Crosbie, ADS1257
Diving from an early age, Ted is equally happy in 6msw on open-circuit as he is on mixed gases and rebreathers. Qualifying as a Joint Services Sub-Aqua Dive Supervisor in 2001 he has dived all over the world but believes that some of the world's best diving can be found in British waters. Ted is a sponsored Poseidon Diver and has worked on the Training & Development Team with Poseidon Diving Systems Ltd (UK) for the MkVI Discovery Rebreather and it's integration into the archaeological and scientific diving field.

Following a career in clinical education and immediate care with the RAMC, Ted is the co-founder of ADA with Peter Pritchard and the Managing Director of Diver Emergency Ltd. Ted is currently undertaking his IANTD Instrctor training with Phil, and has also completed under-graduate studies in Oceanography and Archaeology with the Open University.  He uses his expertise in training and development to help in the standardisation and accreditation of ADA Courses.


 
 Archaeological Director
Peter Pritchard, AIFA, FSA Scot.

Peter qualified as a Royal Navy Diver in 1972 which gave him a diverse background in underwater techniques and skills. Joined the Police after leaving the Royal Navy he became a Police Diving Officer, specialising in Applied Underwater Photography and Forensic Sample Collection. He qualified as a Diving Supervisor at the National Police Training School and was awarded the DOWR Certificate of Competence in 1981.

After leaving Government Service he became a Registered Diving Contractor with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) in 1992 and has subsequently increased his skills portfolio with on-going Continuing Professional Development to further specialities and competency in survey, photographic work and marine testing. Consultant to both the U.S. Dept of Interior (National Parks) Underwater Resources Department and the National Geographic Society of America.