Older Training Agency

[PoPo Diver]

Alright all you long time divers, I was presented with a cert card today from an agency that I’ve never heard of. The card was so faded it was hard to decipher, but the card holder said it was MDDS. A google search didn’t give me any results. I believe it was a legit card bc it had his picture and I could see it said open water, but the rest was pretty faded. Anyone have any input?

 

[tursiops]

List of diver certification organizations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Any other info on the card, like location, date?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

List of diver certification organizations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Any other info on the card, like location, date?

And even that is not a complete list. I found out when I was doing some marketing for SEI, that after the fall of the Soviet Union, there were suddenly a bunch of legitimate training agencies from behind the iron curtain that no one had heard of before in the west. Some were known to a small number of operators where tourism was possible. I always maintained that a good instructor could tell if a cert was legit by a 10-15 minute conversation and 20 minutes in the pool. That tells me all I need to know.

 

[PoPo Diver]

I saw that Wikipedia list and didn’t see the one he was describing. He’s competent, today was just a rusty shaking dive and there were no issues. I don’t remember when he said he was certed though.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

The Dr. Sam Miller void.