Here's a little more info on this subject. I for one am on board. This letter went out to all Y instructors that Tom had addresses for.
"Tom Leaird
1623 W. Jackson St.
Muncie, IN 47303
tomleaird@sbcglobal.net
September 17, 2008
Dear Yscuba Instructors,
Both Dan Marelli and I have been working with YMCA of the USA to finalize the agreement that would permit us to continue to serve your needs. The agreement is hung in the legal department and time is getting away from us. We are going to proceed as if the agreement is signed. We have formed a nonprofit Indiana corporation called Scuba Acquisitions Inc, for the agreement and as a way to start. The name of the new organization is Scuba Acquisitions Inc, dba YDI Scuba.
Peter Meyer of Willis North America is ready and willing to proceed with our insurance needs. At this point we have nearly completed the new Standards and Procedures Manual with nearly identical standards as under Yscuba. We have strengthened some and eliminated a few. Open Water Diver is virtually unchanged. Work on the Divemaster and Assistant Instructor Manual is nearly complete as is the Instructor Trainer Manual. Changes to these are very little.
Our intent is to be up and running by DEMA time. We have a booth - #1423, and a room for meeting on Thursday at 5:00 PM in S208. For those of you that aren't going to DEMA or can not make those times, we will continue to send you information. Go to
DEMA for more.
Many of you have asked what you can do. We have a huge list of materials to be developed that you could take on. I have produced an outline format for all courses - especially specialty courses. Many of the little-used specialties have been put on the shelf for now until adequate instructor guide and student materials are available. You can help if you have expertise in an area.
Transferring into YDI Scuba will be simple - merely renew for 2009. If you are inactive, I recommend you renew now. We will be reducing the renewal fee each month you renew early. This also helps us gain some urgently needed cash flow. We will certify divers beginning late in October. For those of you that have insurance and choose to do so, we will be ready to certify your students by the time your classes are finished. Renewal forms and letter will go out the first week of October - before DEMA.
You will not need to sanction each course you teach. However, we caution you to be current in your insurance and qualifications at the beginning and throughout every class you teach.
Please send me an email so I will have your current address. We will be emailing monthly news the first few days of each month. A full newsletter will go out quarterly by mail for those who do not have email. Send a note to the address above and I will save your address in my file. This mailing is going to instructors only. Please advise your Divemasters and Assistant Instructors.
Hope to see you at DEMA, October 22 to 25.
Tom Leaird, CEO Scuba Acquisitions Inc, dba YDI Scuba"
In fact I've volunteered to rewrite a specialty and my offer has been accepted. I'm hoping all other current and currently inactive Y instructors will see fit to give it a fair shake. I've spoken with Tom and emailed back and forth for the last few months. As he states in the letter some things have been changed and some left out. Mostly in the area of specialties. OW training is for the most part unchanged. Still looking at one of the most comprehensive OW courses available. But those of you who have your manual handy are aware that some of the specialties were, shall we say, lacking in content. It did leave us alot of leeway to enhance the course but that could vary greatly from instructor to instructor. Which is fine due to conditions, resources, etc but some more is needed. I'm working on the UW Nav specialty.
Anyway there are other areas that need revamped as well and Tom is welcoming any of us to assist. He'll send you the guidelines and tell you what areas need some attention. These changes are to correct some deficiencies in the old courses. My effort is in response to the fact that no one was really teaching the Nav course. And after looking at it I saw why. It was sparse and did not look like alot of fun for students. I'm hoping to assist in creating one that will be challenging, comprehensive, and fun for people to take and really encourage them to develop their skills. All their skills including basic ones like buoyancy control. One big change will be from 2 dives to a recommended 6.
We agree that what will make this new agency succeed will be the quality, content, and knowledge gained by taking these courses. Just as the YMCA course might not have been for everyone these courses will be for those who want an education based on a solid educational principle with a proven track record of success in turing out qualified divers. I've been assured that we will still hold students to the highest standards and not a card factory turning out numbers. The YMCA program did not go away because of the quality of the program. Decisions made by non divers who took over management of it at YUSA and tried to impart unreasonable and unneccessary management (read paperwork) red tape into certifying students killed it. Much of this has been done away with. Quality will still be insisted upon but there will not be as many hoops to jump through to cert a student.
ALso the support being proposed for those who choose to remain fully independent of a shop as far as educational resources go and obtaining student certs will be second to none. There will be times that things will seem a little slow getting started but in the end you'll get the same attention and support as a shop that turns out 50-100 divers a year.
This is still about allowing us to train students to some of the highest standards and be flexible enough to consider the needs of the student, the area we train in, and our resources when conducting these classes. It will be a while but when this is up and running those of you who are independents and not satisified with the support or freedom to teach you have now may want to look into crossing over to an agency based on these principles that won't treat you like the odd step child for not choosing to affiliate with a shop. THere are some changes being made in this area and they are not finalized. If anyone really wants to crossover now I'd suggest contacting Tom to see what might be involved. In any case as new developments are announced I'll keep you informed.
