The various scuba diving organizations

[rongoodman]

Let's say you have been trained by one organization, and go to a dive op, would they ever question your qualifications since you weren't trained by the organization they respect?

Zero Gravity is a GUE oriented cave diving operation in Mexico. I don't know if they will guide people with other than GUE training or not, but somebody around here does.

 

[Thalassamania]

I am a member of PADI, but I understand there are other scuba diving organizations which one can join. I'd like to understand what they all are, what are the differences among them, etc.

I did join DAN (because they're oriented toward hyperbaric medicine, and have some cool courses for physicians), and Reef.Org (because I want to learn fish identification).

Let's say you have been trained by one organization, and go to a dive op, would they ever question your qualifications since you weren't trained by the organization they respect?

I have had passing little problem getting air fills and diving from boats using a single card pulled out of a bizarre suite of certification cards (e.g., UC Berkeley Paper card from 1973, CMAS Scientific Diver Brevet, Paper NAUI card from 1967, etc.). I sometimes enjoy watching the confusion, and rarely have I been asked for something else.

Oh, I figured that OW, AOW, etc were PADI certifications. But all these different agencies train in the same skills and issue certificates for the same levels of training!

No, the training programs can be quite differnent and should never be expected to be interchangable.

[

Actually you are not a PADI member. Must be at pro level ..you are certified by PADI.

Even a Pro level you are not a member of PADI (e.g., no voting rights), you are a client.

Check out the WRSTC for sport agencies (not all there but SOME are)

WRSTC :: World Recreational Scuba Training Council

The situation in some European countries is mind-boggling... large numbers
Two of the most respected sport agencies are BSAC (British Sub Aqua Club) and CMAS.

NAUI is also missing from the list...


Tech agencies are a whole other kettle of fish.

To get started:

ANDI
IANTD
TDI
PSAI
NACD
NSS-CDS
GUE
UTD

The RSTC (or WRSTC) are not what they seem to be, they exist to provide cover and cred for a standard based on the amalgum of the least taxing requirements drawn from all the member agencies, they are basically a advertising gimick and a fraud.

Whereas it's admirable that you have so much integrity with regard to training people thoroughly, I must say there was an instructor in my OW class who was rather off-putting with just this attitude of, "I don't know if you're qualified to be certified yet." Whereas the problem was his lack of skill as an instructor.

I think you could achieve your goals of training people well by simply training anyone who meets the qualification of the agency under which you're training, no matter what their long-term goals, but teach them all the extra non-required skills you like, testing them in those skills as you please. But if anyone doesn't seem to have learned adequately to be certified, consider whether it was due to their laziness/inattentiveness or not, and if not, give them whatever extra instruction they need to get them up to snuff, and certify them.

By the way, what is this book of yours that everybody recommends, and where can I get it? Thanks.

Maybe a great instructor, maybe an incompetent, about the only way an inexperienced diver can judge is to look at the students he produces and what he produces them for. There are lots of good instructors here on the board that produce what they each (and collectively) feel are quality divers, and that may be fine for the environment and conditions that they are training them for, but there are any number of instructors who teach divers to operate in more trying enviroments and conditions and to withstand much higher task loading that would not see the divers trained by the first group as adequate. It is important to keep that catch phrase, "under conditions similar to those experienced during training." clearly in focus and even then, dial that back a couple of notches.

 

[DiveNav]

......fwiw, a more complete list of agencies who offer recreational scuba training in the US:
ACUC
ANDI
BSAC
CMAS
GUE
HSA
IAHD
IANTD
IDEA
LACUIA
MDEA
NASE
NAUI
PADI
PDIC
PSAI
SDI
SEI
SSI
UTD
......

So few?
Maybe is about time to create a new one

Alberto (aka eDiver)