Hi Everyone,
I just read this complete thread, and although it's all over the map, it certainly deteriorated quickly. I'm just going to take a moment to address one post about about instructors and a little about Scubatics.
UTD is a training agency, and we have been crossing over instructors since the agency began. We have about 30 or so current instructors teaching at all levels. Which means after the original 10, we've only added 20 instructors in two years. It's conservative, but I think it's smart. We are taking only 36 more in 2011, and I just spent four days at DEMA interviewing potential instructor candidates. Once we line up those 36, we'll create a wait list. Basically, we are growing at a pace we can manage.
We are also taking on instructors at different levels, including new instructors who can only teach basic open water. Everyone gets to start somewhere, so we are working with experienced divers who want an opportunity to teach the way they dive. We have a very organized and structured program for instructors to move up, and we are 'team diving,' so we are creating a team of instructors who work with each other within the community.
To that end, we have to find the right instructor candidates, so we cast a net looking for the few people who are the right fit. A query about becoming a UTD instructor is only an invitation for an interview. We spend hours on the phone or in person with every instructor candidate before they are invited to join an IDC, and much of that interview is about expectations...ours and the candidate's. If it all lines up, we offer an IDC. If it doesn't line up, we graciously say thank you for the time. We are not interested in pouring our time and energy into instructor candidates who's expectations, ego, teaching methodology, or current diving will not be in concert with UTD's big picture. Is the process perfect? No. But it's proven to work pretty well.
So if anyone has any questions about our training or our instructor crossover process, please contact me directly, either by PM or jeff@unifiedteamdiving.com. We make the time for everyone who calls.
Which leads me to Scubatics. Scubatics is underwater acrobatic competition done with a scooter. Andrew, Ben McGeever, and I invented Scubatics long before UTD rolled out. We were all looking for a way to have some fun in the water with a scooter. I'm a life-long pilot and flight instructor, and I flew and taught competition aerobatics for many years. So we brought aerobatic flying to diving. We wrote a book, made a training video, embroidered a few shirts, then Andrew and I started UTD and Scubatics moved to the back burner. It was still on our minds when we wrote the Standards and Procedures for UTD, so we just rolled it into the agency. It seemed like the simplest way to keep it alive.
We've never pursued bringing Scubatics to the public because we don't really have time. The original website is still up at Scubatics | Underwater Scooter-Propelled Acrobatics, and at some point we will get back to it. But please take it for what it really is: a crazy way to have fun in a pool with your friends when it's too cold or stormy to get out and dive. Nothing more, nothing less.
The dive community, particularly the online community tends to take itself very seriously. Scubatics is a remedy for that. At some point I'll start a thread on SB about Scubatics.
Be safe, and HAVE FUN!
Jeff
I just read this complete thread, and although it's all over the map, it certainly deteriorated quickly. I'm just going to take a moment to address one post about about instructors and a little about Scubatics.
UTD is a training agency, and we have been crossing over instructors since the agency began. We have about 30 or so current instructors teaching at all levels. Which means after the original 10, we've only added 20 instructors in two years. It's conservative, but I think it's smart. We are taking only 36 more in 2011, and I just spent four days at DEMA interviewing potential instructor candidates. Once we line up those 36, we'll create a wait list. Basically, we are growing at a pace we can manage.
We are also taking on instructors at different levels, including new instructors who can only teach basic open water. Everyone gets to start somewhere, so we are working with experienced divers who want an opportunity to teach the way they dive. We have a very organized and structured program for instructors to move up, and we are 'team diving,' so we are creating a team of instructors who work with each other within the community.
To that end, we have to find the right instructor candidates, so we cast a net looking for the few people who are the right fit. A query about becoming a UTD instructor is only an invitation for an interview. We spend hours on the phone or in person with every instructor candidate before they are invited to join an IDC, and much of that interview is about expectations...ours and the candidate's. If it all lines up, we offer an IDC. If it doesn't line up, we graciously say thank you for the time. We are not interested in pouring our time and energy into instructor candidates who's expectations, ego, teaching methodology, or current diving will not be in concert with UTD's big picture. Is the process perfect? No. But it's proven to work pretty well.
So if anyone has any questions about our training or our instructor crossover process, please contact me directly, either by PM or jeff@unifiedteamdiving.com. We make the time for everyone who calls.
Which leads me to Scubatics. Scubatics is underwater acrobatic competition done with a scooter. Andrew, Ben McGeever, and I invented Scubatics long before UTD rolled out. We were all looking for a way to have some fun in the water with a scooter. I'm a life-long pilot and flight instructor, and I flew and taught competition aerobatics for many years. So we brought aerobatic flying to diving. We wrote a book, made a training video, embroidered a few shirts, then Andrew and I started UTD and Scubatics moved to the back burner. It was still on our minds when we wrote the Standards and Procedures for UTD, so we just rolled it into the agency. It seemed like the simplest way to keep it alive.
We've never pursued bringing Scubatics to the public because we don't really have time. The original website is still up at Scubatics | Underwater Scooter-Propelled Acrobatics, and at some point we will get back to it. But please take it for what it really is: a crazy way to have fun in a pool with your friends when it's too cold or stormy to get out and dive. Nothing more, nothing less.
The dive community, particularly the online community tends to take itself very seriously. Scubatics is a remedy for that. At some point I'll start a thread on SB about Scubatics.
Be safe, and HAVE FUN!
Jeff
