Open Source Instruction for Entry Level Scuba

[gurnie]

Since the whole theme of this thread is that everything should be free, who is paying to keep the gear in serviceable condition, changing the filter on the compressor, keeping the insurance up to date, managing the website, or heck write and keep the "standards" up to date. It is easy to get someone to pull you a solid once in a while, but I find it hard (one may say naive) to believe that any instructor or facility with a pool would be open to such a commitment.

 

[endurodog]

I asked in the other thread that looks like it got deleted or something.

Awetmedic I'm unsure of what your trying to accomplish with this. Is it training that you feel is better? Is it a money raiser for your non-profit or involving more people in the sport through less expensive training? There was some discussion on making sure divers were in shape and recertified? What's your bottom line for all of this?

 

[awetmedic]

Being new here, I started a thread in two sections and I did reply, but here it is again. There is one basic reason I posted here, to find public domain information on learning how to dive. I have been given some great info so that mission is being accomplished. Secondary to that, is my viewpoint on education and information in regards to me being the CEO of a sports nonprofit that is 100% volunteer. (except for the challenged adults we support) Sailing is much more of an activity for us than scuba, but all sports are part of our mission.

Exciting or unusal sports like sailing, scuba, amphibious vehicle operations, underwater video and more are rewards for volunteers at our sports nonprofit.

Being 100% volunteer, we rely heavily on volunteers. They need to have exceptional motivation, training and athletic ability to do things such as coach a special Olympic sailing team.

Taking the viewpoints from a single agency for any sport, excludes you from the deep ocean of methods, techniques and more from around the world. The solution, open source instruction for not just sailing or scuba but for any sport.

If you look at my profile pic you will see an amphibious vehicle in our pool. I suppose we could write up a complete course description, pay fees and wait for months to see if an agency who has no experience with these vehicles at our location with our physically challenged clients approve of the way we are doing it and then implement their own ideas without them having the first day of experience here.

Or, we might want to go global, open source and we might even find somebody else that does this. I can tell you right now, that other than our facility insurance for all sports and other activities, any dive insurance plans would surely choke over paralyzed divers driving amphibious vehicles and firing weapons from them! (A pic on my start here page)

So for sailing, unusual sports and activities and more, a scuba agency membership just dosn't do anything for us. Free and open source instruction does.

I am also ticked off about cutting the instructor out of the classroom, and if the agencies are going to compete for an online prescence, then by golly, we will too!

I hope that wasn't too muddled.

 

[awetmedic]

In reply to gurnie

I have been doing this to serve challenged adults since Sept. 24, 2001. I have so far absorbed all the costs of the compressor, equipment, utilities, construction and more with only about $3,000 in cash donations, $15,000 in revenue and $20,000 in equipment and product donations over this 10 year span. We got our letter of determination as a nonprofit in 2008 and it will probably be another 5 years or so before it is self supporting. It gets better every year! You would be surprised at the dedicated volunteers that we have that has made this possible. The above costs do not include facility construction which I have covered.

 

[endurodog]

I never saw your first reply, sorry.

So it looks like

Your looking for open source training materials.

Your looking to reward volunteers in your org with an adventure activity.

Looking to incoperate the areas of training that fit your mission from many different programs (I think on this)

And your unhappy with online learning.

 

[Mitchell]

So whats the name of your nonprofit. We should be able to tell a little more about you by looking it up on Guidestar.org. Sounds interesting.

 

[nimoh]

After reading most of the threads on this, I don't see any specific issues that you are trying to address which leads me to believe that you just want to start your own training agency, and are now looking at reasons to do so.

 

[awetmedic]

Are you also going to get a compressor and fill cylinders for free.

I have got a compressor and have not charged in 10 years, I plan to continue.

 

[awetmedic]

Forsyth Area Sports Teams Inc., you will have to go to the IRS.gov website, we are not big enough for guidestar to consider. My homepage link takes you to one of our web sites, the old one it at wavetheusaflag.com

 

[awetmedic]

After reading most of the threads on this, I don't see any specific issues that you are trying to address which leads me to believe that you just want to start your own training agency, and are now looking at reasons to do so.

You may have missed the open source issue. Our mission is not specific to any one sport such as scuba. We would be one of the probably 100,000 or more clubs, agencies and organizations that do sports training in this country.