NAUI/SSI merger

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Lawman

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It's mentioned elsewhere I know but I need an explanation
of the possible NAUI/SSI merger, buy-out, whatever.

Give me all the gossip.:confused:
 
I heard the rumor in 1998 and dismissed it immediately. These two agencies are too different to believe such a rumor. It's total BS, it's not going to happen.
 
Well, this is the first I've heard of it....so I'm guessing someone is yappin' their trap.
 
Lawman once bubbled...
It's mentioned elsewhere I know but I need an explanation
of the possible NAUI/SSI merger, buy-out, whatever.

Give me all the gossip.:confused:

I work at a SSI/NAUI shop and I a dive leader (Instructor/DiveCON) for both agencies and this is the first I've heard of anything like this. The agencies are way too different to ever merge. NAUI is a not-for-profit educational agency and SSI is a for profit corporation. Vastly different organizations.
 
Well, NAUI Services Group is a for profit organization and the old NAUI may soon be just a ghost, but they are still too different to give this rumor any credibility.
 
have collaborated on producing their Try Scuba and Passport Diver programs. As Walter mentioned NAUI Services Group is the for profit part of NAUI. As I understand it NAUI Worldwide is still the educational part of NAUI through which instructors, assistant instructor and divemasters are certified. These people are the members of NAUI that provide dive instruction to the public.
 
...... , there were serious discussions on this at one time because of the different things that both agencies do well. SSI's real good point is their home study materials (from what I am told), for instance. The talks hit the wall, never to return to serious consideration.

The sticking point was SSI's requirement that the dive professionals work through an SSI charter or dive shop. They feel that it allows action to be taken more quickly on "bad apples" in these ranks if there is oversight (quality control, if you will) in the form of the dive shop. Hence, they don't allow completely independent instructors. There is no way that NAUI instructors were going to work with that environment. The other side to it is that SSI dive professionals do turn into representatives for the store without really wanting to. This is not always for the better.

As was said already, NAUI and SSI are different agencies with a different approach to instruction and quality control, neither approach totally better than or worse than the other, but different. I highly doubt that they would merge.
 
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