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Scuba Diving International (SDI) is pleased to announce that a range of SDI courses are now available on Mike Ball Dive Expeditions trips to the Great Barrier Reef. Advanced Adventure, Easy Nitrox, Underwater Digital Photography, Marine Eco Awareness and Solo Diver programs are a few of the SDI Programs now running on Mike Ball’s Spoilsport, the region’s premier liveaboard. Combining Scuba Diving International’s innovative, facility-based training solutions with the unique “Spoilsport” experience gives divers the best possible opportunity to combine the trip of a lifetime with fun, enjoyable and educational diver programs designed to maximise their reef experience.
Based out of Cairns, on Australia’s North Queensland coast and one of the world’s leading dive destinations, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions are considered the leaders in Great Barrier Reef dive trips. From the inauguration of his first Liveaboard “Watersport” over 25 years ago to his Hall of Fame induction in 2004, Mike Ball has focused on taking divers to the best sites in the Outer Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. With numerous Rodale’s Readers Choice Awards, including Best Food and Best Crew, Mike Ball’s operations are the gold standard for Australian reef diving and deliver a level of service and dive experiences others aspire to.
Scuba Diving International Australia’s Regional Director of Sales & Training, Richard Taylor, was emphatic about the benefits for divers by combining SDI programs with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. “We are obviously very excited and pleased to be associated with an operator with the renown and world-wide recognition that Mike Ball has,” Taylor said.
“It is a reflection of the quality of our materials and the simplicity and flexibility of the Scuba Diving International training system that Mike Ball’s operation has chosen to adopt SDI. We know that the Mike Ball name is synonymous with the best in liveaboard experiences and are proud to say that SDI is now able to provide their divers with greater convenience!”
Recently completing an SDI Crossover and Upgrade program in Cairns “Spoilsport” staff were impressed by the SDI training programs and flexibility and the way the courses were well suited to a resort liveaboard operation.
“The real clincher for us was the way the training materials are put together and the way the specialty programs suit what we need to satisfy our liveaboard passengers,“ said Craig Stephen, Operations Manager for Mike Ball.
Stephen pointed out that SDI’s On-Line Training system was well received and with four specialty programs already running -- including Computer Nitrox – “we all agreed that the SDI training offers an excellent solution.”
When asked about the move to SDI, Mike Ball, himself an innovator in diver training and the first to introduce a Solo Diver system on his vessels, said “Scuba Diving International are an innovative company with an approach to the training business that we found refreshing and suited to the needs of our customers and our operations. SDI worked with us to make this a seamless alternative and I look forward to a successful and mutually beneficial relationship with our new training partners.”
With Nitrox available to divers on all trips, Mike Ball offers Fly/Dive Coral Sea and Code Hole Expeditions, from three nights to seven nights. Minke Whales and Manta Rays are among the incredible variety of tropical reef life often seen at such locations as Osprey Reef, the Ribbon Reef and the Cod Hole. The ‘Open Deck’ policy provides the freedom to dive as much as you want with large inflatables enabling personalised dives away from the main vessel. An Underwater Photo Competition runs on each trip and included in many itineraries is a spectacular 250 km Great Barrier Reef Flight, half below 200 meters (600 ft).
Brian Carney, President International Training and head of SDI and TDI globally, was full of praise for Mike Ball and the SDI Programs run on board. “I am a huge fan of the way Mike Ball has managed his operations over the years and the positive image Mike Ball Dive Expeditions has projected to consumers around the globe, so to say I am happy with this latest partnership is a gross understatement,” Carney said when he learned the news. “It is a privilege for International Training to be associated with one of the undisputed leaders in dive travel.”
For more information on SDI and their Diver Development programs please see International Training :: Home :: or contact SDI Australia at admin@tdisdi.com.au or (02) 8004-0950. SDI’s Innovative and Industry Leading On-Line Training can be found at SDI-Training. To contact Mike Ball dive Expeditions please see Liveaboard scuba diving Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns or phone +61 7 4053-0500 or email DJ at resv@mikeball.com.
Based out of Cairns, on Australia’s North Queensland coast and one of the world’s leading dive destinations, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions are considered the leaders in Great Barrier Reef dive trips. From the inauguration of his first Liveaboard “Watersport” over 25 years ago to his Hall of Fame induction in 2004, Mike Ball has focused on taking divers to the best sites in the Outer Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. With numerous Rodale’s Readers Choice Awards, including Best Food and Best Crew, Mike Ball’s operations are the gold standard for Australian reef diving and deliver a level of service and dive experiences others aspire to.
Scuba Diving International Australia’s Regional Director of Sales & Training, Richard Taylor, was emphatic about the benefits for divers by combining SDI programs with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions. “We are obviously very excited and pleased to be associated with an operator with the renown and world-wide recognition that Mike Ball has,” Taylor said.
“It is a reflection of the quality of our materials and the simplicity and flexibility of the Scuba Diving International training system that Mike Ball’s operation has chosen to adopt SDI. We know that the Mike Ball name is synonymous with the best in liveaboard experiences and are proud to say that SDI is now able to provide their divers with greater convenience!”
Recently completing an SDI Crossover and Upgrade program in Cairns “Spoilsport” staff were impressed by the SDI training programs and flexibility and the way the courses were well suited to a resort liveaboard operation.
“The real clincher for us was the way the training materials are put together and the way the specialty programs suit what we need to satisfy our liveaboard passengers,“ said Craig Stephen, Operations Manager for Mike Ball.
Stephen pointed out that SDI’s On-Line Training system was well received and with four specialty programs already running -- including Computer Nitrox – “we all agreed that the SDI training offers an excellent solution.”
When asked about the move to SDI, Mike Ball, himself an innovator in diver training and the first to introduce a Solo Diver system on his vessels, said “Scuba Diving International are an innovative company with an approach to the training business that we found refreshing and suited to the needs of our customers and our operations. SDI worked with us to make this a seamless alternative and I look forward to a successful and mutually beneficial relationship with our new training partners.”
With Nitrox available to divers on all trips, Mike Ball offers Fly/Dive Coral Sea and Code Hole Expeditions, from three nights to seven nights. Minke Whales and Manta Rays are among the incredible variety of tropical reef life often seen at such locations as Osprey Reef, the Ribbon Reef and the Cod Hole. The ‘Open Deck’ policy provides the freedom to dive as much as you want with large inflatables enabling personalised dives away from the main vessel. An Underwater Photo Competition runs on each trip and included in many itineraries is a spectacular 250 km Great Barrier Reef Flight, half below 200 meters (600 ft).
Brian Carney, President International Training and head of SDI and TDI globally, was full of praise for Mike Ball and the SDI Programs run on board. “I am a huge fan of the way Mike Ball has managed his operations over the years and the positive image Mike Ball Dive Expeditions has projected to consumers around the globe, so to say I am happy with this latest partnership is a gross understatement,” Carney said when he learned the news. “It is a privilege for International Training to be associated with one of the undisputed leaders in dive travel.”
For more information on SDI and their Diver Development programs please see International Training :: Home :: or contact SDI Australia at admin@tdisdi.com.au or (02) 8004-0950. SDI’s Innovative and Industry Leading On-Line Training can be found at SDI-Training. To contact Mike Ball dive Expeditions please see Liveaboard scuba diving Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns or phone +61 7 4053-0500 or email DJ at resv@mikeball.com.
