Open Source Instruction for Entry Level Scuba

[awetmedic]

and no I did not know, this is my first day here.

 

[awetmedic]

Thanks Roger, not being articulate is a strength of mine. Online instruction for a course lasting about 6 hours but yet costing well over $100 is expensive. So far, I have got some great links from NOAA, DCIEM and AUIS that are great references for material. Furthering the industry is one thing, involving the community in sports is another reason to teach scuba.

As far as the high cost of scuba, some of the people we will be teaching are struggling financially, some are just great volunteers for their community and should be rewarded. Although we have the cost down to $100, volunteers can get it even lower than that. Charging a volunteer $500 for a scuba course and then having them spend another $500 on equipment, travel and open water costs, isn't much of a reward.

 

[awetmedic]

There is a philosphical if not ethical reason for being founded in information from the entire community instead of a business or just one agency. A nonprofit is supposed to be all inclusive. Branding with any one agency goes against the fundamentals of serving all of society. It would be like mixing religion with our nonprofit.

 

[boulderjohn]

There is a philosphical if not ethical reason for being founded in information from the entire community instead of a business or just one agency. A nonprofit is supposed to be all inclusive. Branding with any one agency goes against the fundamentals of serving all of society. It would be like mixing religion with our nonprofit.

Sorry, this makes no sense to me. We are not talking about religions here. We are talking about getting certified to dive. Are you saying it is unethical to have people learn from a well-known and well respected agency, and so you will instead offer them your own unrecognized instruction leading to a certification no one has heard of and probably won't be accepted when the diver tries to use the card?

 

[boulderjohn]

We do have experienced instructors on staff. Walmart is legally able to issue diver certifications, anyone can. A certification card does not always prove the diver who hasn't dove in 5 years knows what he is doing. The point about the experienced diver program was in response to somebody saying that our certification won't ever be good enough.

I am curious about this. I used to be a part of a recently recognized agency, Unified Team Diving (UTD). I don't know all the details, but I know that before they could get insurance, they had to have a thorough review of their standards and procedures, and because some of them were out of line with traditional standards and procedures, they had to go through a process to prove that what they had was acceptable.

It is true that a certification card for a diver who was only in the water once 5 years ago means little, but it means something. A card from my neighbor means nothing.

In the other thread you said it would be unethical for a nonprofit agency such as yourself to use an existing agency for certification, so that is why you can't just let your existing instructors teach through their existing agencies. That still makes little to no sense to me.

But I will try to be helpful anyway.

There is someone who apparently has everything you are looking for. Scuba Divers of America was founded by an instructor who was kicked out of NAUI. The headquarters is a vacant lot in Arizona. We have had several threads on ScubaBoard started by people who have taken his courses and been burned when no one will accept them. It is generally considered to be a scam, even though it follows all the processes you describe, and it has been reported to the state attorney general as such. He already has pretty much all of stuff you are looking for, and he has already done what you are trying to do--get some academic material and create certifications that are not recognized. Perhaps you could forma partnership, or at least he could give you some good tips.

Hope that helps.

 

[fjpatrum]

After two threads saying the same thing, boulderjohn, I don't think you're going to get clarification. As you noted, there is no good reason not to use existing agencies for certification.

To the OP, just because you've found 50 agencies doesn't mean you can take a cert card from any of those agencies to some other place and have it recognized. NAUI, PADI, SSI, and a handful of others are recognized all over the world. That can't be said for "Joe's scuba shack certification" or similar club cert. Unless you're affiliated with a major agency, your students absolutely will have issues getting gas somewhere other than you. It may not happen a lot, but it will happen.

 

[awetmedic]

Hi John, that is good information. Our purpose is to serve the people who patronize our nonprofit, honestly and with our best ability. If you saw our site, even though it still has another month or so, you would see the lengths that we are going to, to be open and honest. Any of our students who wanted to dive at any place other than us would know that some people would reject them and some wouldn't. I doubt if I would form a partnership with anyone, as we are a 100% volunteer organization and generating a profit is not one of our goals. It would conflict with people in this difficult industry trying to make a living. Students that just dive with us will probably be the majority and they will be well warned of the highly protective nature of the big agencies. I know, I used to give that warning for decades. Thanks for your help.

 

[awetmedic]

What I am saying is that nonprofits are not supposed to support any group exclusively, businesses, religions, race, gender. Scuba is a sport, which agency would you deem to be well respected? A very large one has a long history of misdeeds. Another one also has its share of problems. If our divers, dive with us and know of the fierce protectionism of the industry they will be well informed and be able to make a decision for themselves. In the meantime, this sport will be opened up to people who could not normally afford it.

 

[awetmedic]

This is my first day here, and I did post the same without knowing. Our students would be made well aware of the fierce protectionism of the industry. If you are a person that has always wanted to dive, but can't afford the thousand bucks by the time you finish your certification, then you probably won't mind the few dives you get with us.

 

[oreocookie]

Your goal sounds noble, but I'm afraid it might be slightly misplaced. It seems to me that, at least at the recreational level, the training is the cheapest part of diving. My reg, bc and computer each cost at least what I spent on my OW course. I imagine you have a sufficient amount of gear for the students to use, but if they can't afford a normal course from an LDS, would they be able to afford renting gear to dive on a vacation outside of your group? Those costs can be quite high in some places. just curious, also not sure what an OW course typically costs in your area.