VDST, Any information?

[BoltSnap]

Is there anyone here with information on the following certification agency (good, bad and the ugly) and how reputable they are?

Willkommen beim VDST




There is an instructor who teaches their program in my part of the world and his course is 3 hours in classroom, 3 hours in pool and 3 dives in the sea and that's it!!

 

[knotical]

Well, VDST has been around for a looong time. Their site says since 1954.

As can be seen here: VDST: Tauchkurse they are affiliated with CMAS, but also offer training below CMAS 1-star. Perhaps the instructor is offering that. Or perhaps he is not following his agency's guidelines.

After his training, are his students considered independent divers, or are they required to dive with a professional? - maybe similar to PADI's Scuba Diver "certfiication", which is a subset of Open Water.

 

[BoltSnap]

Well, VDST has been around for a looong time. Their site says since 1954.

As can be seen here: VDST: Tauchkurse they are affiliated with CMAS, but also offer training below CMAS 1-star. Perhaps the instructor is offering that. Or perhaps he is not following his agency's guidelines.

Difficult to understand since it is in German only. I guess it is a Germany only organization.

 

[knotical]

Here's a Google translation of that page:
Google Translate

 

[BoltSnap]

I got more information on the instructor and course I told you about:

1. Classroom/theory less than 3 hours (one session)

2. No exams or quizzes administered of any type at all.

3. Students will be receiving CMAS 1 Star c-card

4. Pool time was 6 hours total for 3 sessions but this included getting into the pool facility, unloading equipment from the truck, setting up equipment, dressing, etc. Actually water time is less than 3 hours. They actually used one tank without filling it up for 2 sessions (15L Steel).

5. Only three Openwater dives (3 X 15L tanks used for open water).

6. No books or any study material was used at all.

 

[knotical]

Unless there's been a recent change, CMAS 1 star requires 5 open water dives. Beyond that, I don't currently have any detailed info.

 

[alewar]

I'm a "VDST diver", however the VDST is not a certification agency but a nonprofit sport association. In fact, it's the umbrella association for most of the local German diving clubs. You have to pay a small monthly fee to be a member and you get an insurance similar to DAN and some other minor things I don't remember anymore. They are authorized to issue CMAS cards, so affiliated CMAS instructors can do all the paperwork with them in German instead of sending everything to France. VDST also regulates a lot of related sports like underwater rugby, orientation diving, fin swimming, etc. I have the impression they spend more time and effort on those things than on scuba diving.

 

[knotical]

According to the standard you can download here: One Star Diver Training Programme CMAS still requires five open water dives.

It also says there is a required knowledge examination, but it can be oral. The rest is demonstrating mastery of skills.

 

[alewar]

I got more information on the instructor and course I told you about:

1. Classroom/theory less than 3 hours (one session)

2. No exams or quizzes administered of any type at all.

3. Students will be receiving CMAS 1 Star c-card

4. Pool time was 6 hours total for 3 sessions but this included getting into the pool facility, unloading equipment from the truck, setting up equipment, dressing, etc. Actually water time is less than 3 hours. They actually used one tank without filling it up for 2 sessions (15L Steel).

5. Only three Openwater dives (3 X 15L tanks used for open water).

6. No books or any study material was used at all.

Here are the official standards of CMAS OWD certification:

One Star Diver Training Programme

be sure to read both PDF files.

My CMAS certification consisted of about 5 classroom classes of about 1-2 hours each and a final, written (multiple-choice) exam. At least in German there is a quite good book covering the theory and CMAS exam questions. It's called "Praxis des Tauchens" by Thomas Kromp and is for all practical purposes the official reading for the first three levels of certification.
Pool time was at least one hour per week from october until march. You have to be proficient in snorkeling and swimming with fins to get the cmas c-card. Finally, even though the standards only require 5, you end up doing more than that, with rescue exercises etc. I think I did 9 or 10 dives before getting the card since I did all the optional exercises too...

You should contact CMAS about the instructor offering their c-card in the lax way you just described...

 

[TryOutDive_com]

I learned Diving with the VDST. Its a very, very hard shool. So its impossible to get the certification after a few funny hours.
Use the Contact-Form on the Website of the VDST and kick this Bastard in the ... ups ;-)