YMCA courses?

[padrediver]

They are very different courses and you'll find both in universities and both in resorts as well as other courses.

I have the packages here from both courses.
Very different? Different boyle's, charles, dalton's, henry's laws?
Different mask clearing procedure? Different ascent/descent procedure?
Different tank size/pressures? Very different in what way, TODAY?
There are a few minor cosmetic differences.
Have you seen the new year 2000+ NAUI stuff?(video/DVD/casette/CD)
Their basic scuba is now almost a resort course.(like PADI/OW)
Much easier than the New Science of Skinand Scuba Diving deal I originally took.
Both courses now come in the same plastic box type...you could easily confuse
them in a dive store. Everybody thinks the course they took is the best one,
whether it is or not. everybody thinks their car is the most gorgeous thing
going down the road, although actually it's MY car!
.
(Yes, I have taken a refresher course)

 

[Walter]

I seem to recall being told sometime about thirty years ago that the Y course never got really popular because it was offensive to non-christian and women's groups.

Do you make this stuff up or did someone feed you the BS? The YMCA was the first National training agency, women were in the first class of instructors in 1959 and have been active ever since. The YMCA was the first agency with a woman as its head. The YMCA SCUBA Program is guided by Christian principles, but it is not a Christian organization.

 

[padrediver]

It's not B.S. I could mount a lengthy defense but choose not to for my own
reasons. I have a feeling you are a Y diver and of course feel that your
course is better than any other. You are entitled to your opinion and I to mine.
If you will check the UT SYSTEM website you will find that the University
of Texas System is absolutely the richest university in the USA, with a
one trillion+ dollar($1,000,000,000,000.oo+ endowment, including almost
1,000,000 acres of UNDEVELOPED land, most as yet unexplored for oil.
In short, they can afford the best and they chose NAUI.(As did the other
top 50 U's in the country(incl. U of Florida)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I seem to recall being told sometime about thirty years ago that the Y course never got really popular because it was offensive to non-christian and women's groups.

It's not B.S. I could mount a lengthy defense but choose not to for my own reasons. I have a feeling you are a Y diver and of course feel that your
course is better than any other. You are entitled to your opinion and I to mine.
If you will check the UT SYSTEM website you will find that the University
of Texas System is absolutely the richest university in the USA, with a
one trillion+ dollar($1,000,000,000,000.oo+ endowment, including almost
1,000,000 acres of UNDEVELOPED land, most as yet unexplored for oil.
In short, they can afford the best and they chose NAUI.(As did the other
top 50 U's in the country(incl. U of Florida)

Interesting ... I'm a NAUI instructor, and very much support NAUI programs. On the other hand, I took my OW, AOW, and SLAM certifications from the YMCA, and still enjoy assisting my former YMCA instructor with his classes.

And I have no idea where you're going with these comments. YScuba is a great program, and there is nothing in it that I find offensive to anybody. FWIW - about the only differences in the overall approach between the two programs is that YScuba puts more emphasis on skin diving skills than NAUI does ... and NAUI puts more emphasis on the early instruction of basic rescue skills than YScuba does. And in both cases, instructors are free to add skills as they see fit.

This isn't an "us vs them" situation ... they're both good programs, and neither can lay claim to being "the best". That's more a matter of who's teaching than anything else.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Walter]

Actually, I team teach with a NAUI instructor from time to time. We've learned a great deal from each other and have taken the best from both programs as well as things we've picked up from other sourses.

Bob, I'm not sure I'd agree with the details of your assessment of the Y vs NAUI standards. NAUI does require a student bring simulated unconscious victim from 10 feet while the Y does not. OTOH, Y requires a student rescue a simulated panicked victim on surface while NAUI does not. Both should be required. Both are basic rescue skills. Neither program is perfect, but both are excellent.

 

[padrediver]

Interesting ... I'm a NAUI instructor, and very much support NAUI programs. On the other hand, I took my OW, AOW, and SLAM certifications from the YMCA, and still enjoy assisting my former YMCA instructor with his classes.

And I have no idea where you're going with these comments. YScuba is a great program, and there is nothing in it that I find offensive to anybody. FWIW - about the only differences in the overall approach between the two programs is that YScuba puts more emphasis on skin diving skills than NAUI does ... and NAUI puts more emphasis on the early instruction of basic rescue skills than YScuba does. And in both cases, instructors are free to add skills as they see fit.

This isn't an "us vs them" situation ... they're both good programs, and neither can lay claim to being "the best". That's more a matter of who's teaching than anything else.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Agreed. I could tell you about my 1st course at Divers Training Academy, but you probably wouldn't believe me.

 

[EuphoriaII]

If you will check the UT SYSTEM website you will find that the University
of Texas System is absolutely the richest university in the USA, with a
one trillion+ dollar($1,000,000,000,000.oo+ endowment, including almost
1,000,000 acres of UNDEVELOPED land, most as yet unexplored for oil.
In short, they can afford the best and they chose NAUI.(As did the other
top 50 U's in the country(incl. U of Florida)

So that explains it. They've been investing money in their inland Scuba certification instead of their football team.

 

[flipperz]

echoing some of the other's comments-in the YMCA class you will work harder, do more skills, spend more time in the pool and in general be challenged more so than in other agencies curriculums. It will take longer but you will be a more confident and confident diver for having done so. The Y doesn't spend time selling you gear-they want you trained properly.

The YMCA SCUBA program was the first national scuba training program, preceded only by the LA County Parks and Recreation certification on a local basis. All other training agencies derived their curriculum from the Y program but have diluted the program to fit a retail environment. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with the other agencies, even the Y has modified their program over the years, just not to the extent that the others did. Remember that the Y is non profit, thus the amount of time it takes to train is not as important to the Y as it to the other training agencies. The instructor though is largely responsible for your success, more so than the training agency. Interview different instructors from different agencies and look at the respective programs and their requirements. Good Luck!

Jeff