SSI Letter of Referral Accepted by PADI for OW Course?

[noreuqob]

Greetings! New to this site and new to diving... in the process of being certified and very excited for what awaits! I'm very appreciative of any advise you can provide, as I'm being told two different things by two different shops.

I am completing my classroom and pool session with a local SSI certification store. They told me that their Letter of Referral is universal and should be accepted by any SSI or PADI certified store (although warned me that some stores would tell me that they couldn't accept the Letter, but that that wasn't true.) I've contacted a PADI certified store for my open water course, and they told me that they don't accept the SSI Letter of Referral and that I would have to undergo a Skills Circuit at an additional cost (of $129).

I'm feeling very lost, caught in the middle (and potentially lied to by somebody). I'm very appreciative for any guidance that this community can provide!

 

[boulderjohn]

PADI does not officially participate in the universal referral system. It will allow individual members to participate if they wish, but they advise against it.

The primary issue is that if you do a normal certification without a referral, the instructor who observes you in the open water dives and determines that your skills are acceptable is the one who certifies you as a diver. The PADI referral system works the same way. The open water instructor is the certifying instructor, and instructor who did the referral is given credit for that work. In the universal system, the instructor who sent the referral is the certifying instructor, even though he or she never saw you perform any skills in the open water. PADI feels there is a liability issue involved, and they have written a long explanation for their instructors as to why they do not participate in it.

On the other hand, they do not forbid their instructors from participating in it, so you may find someone who will do it.

No matter what operator does a referral, they are supposed to do something to make sure that you have some skills before they take you on the OW dives. How much checking out they do before they take you in the open water is up to them.

 

[tursiops]

OP: where are you planning to do your referral?

 

[Karibelle]

PADI does not officially participate in the universal referral system. It will allow individual members to participate if they wish, but they advise against it.

The primary issue is that if you do a normal certification without a referral, the instructor who observes you in the open water dives and determines that your skills are acceptable is the one who certifies you as a diver. The PADI referral system works the same way. The open water instructor is the certifying instructor, and instructor who did the referral is given credit for that work. In the universal system, the instructor who sent the referral is the certifying instructor, even though he or she never saw you perform any skills in the open water. PADI feels there is a liability issue involved, and they have written a long explanation for their instructors as to why they do not participate in it.

On the other hand, they do not forbid their instructors from participating in it, so you may find someone who will do it.

No matter what operator does a referral, they are supposed to do something to make sure that you have some skills before they take you on the OW dives. How much checking out they do before they take you in the open water is up to them.

To elaborate a bit - John, your comments refer to a situation where this would be completed AS a Universal Referral. Correct?

The OP seems to have encountered a shop that would prefer to complete this certification as a PADI certification (so NOT as a Universal Referral). In that case, they would require the skill circuit prior to doing OW dives, and also the final exam, to preassess the referred diver's knowledge and skills.

So, OP, I don't think you've been lied to necessarily, it's just that there are a bunch of sides to the question! Whatever you choose, enjoy your diving, and good luck completing your course.

 

[boulderjohn]

To elaborate a bit - John, your comments refer to a situation where this would be completed AS a Universal Referral. Correct?

Yes. If the OP completes the program with that PADI shop as they are saying, the OP will be PADI certified, not SSI certified. If the OP goes through the normal universal process with any agency that will do it, the OP will be SSI certified.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

[oly5050user]

pm sent advised that I can probably get this done for them if they would like. I would have him take PADI final exam, get him in our onsite pool for an assessment of skills and then do the 4 required training dives. He will be certified PADI ow. If he wishes to be SSI he can take the log book to his original instructor and that person can issue a SSI certification if they want to. Located very close to his location. OP is in the Bronx and we are in Yonkers, just across the BX/Westchester border.

 

[noreuqob]

Thank you all for your responses! It certainly is a confusing system for a newbie, but this community has been very helpful. Oly - i have sent you a PM back.

Thank you all again!

 

[diversteve]

Where were you planning to do your dives? Check the SSI locator to see if they have a shop nearby. SSI Scuba Schools International

WRSTC Member Councils - supposedly there's interchangeability for referrals between all these organizations.

Maybe PADI didn't get the memo...

 

[ccx2]

About five years ago I took OW through an SSI course/ shop at home in Va Beach and did my check out dives with a PADI shop in Peurto Moreles Mexico. All the shops in Mexico Yucatan at the time that I checked we're PADI shops.
As I said it was Mexico,so no shop had a problem long as the Manyana was good,you may get different mileage out of Mexico, in a different country from a more conservative business / shop.
The shop I used said that if I did the referred dives thru them they would give me a PADI card and I got one.
Then I took the referral dive documentation back to my SSI instructor/shop and got the SSI card.
So now I have two avenues to choose from for further advancement if I chose to.

 

[boulderjohn]

Where were you planning to do your dives? Check the SSI locator to see if they have a shop nearby. SSI Scuba Schools International

WRSTC Member Councils - supposedly there's interchangeability for referrals between all these organizations.

Maybe PADI didn't get the memo...

What memo? Where does it say that?