Scuba diving certification is important if you intend to become a professional diver. There are many scuba certification options available, depending on your needs and budget. Here are some popular certifications for beginners: PADI and SSI, NAUI and CMAS. Find out which one is right to you! Here are some tips and tricks to help you choose the right certification program.
PADI
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), is a professional organization that offers training and membership. The organization was founded in 1966 by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. There are many training requirements to become certified, including diving safety, underwater navigation, as well as dive operations. PADI is a course that teaches divers how they can safely and effectively supervise dives and the nuances involved in underwater navigation.
Students will be certified as a rescue diver after completing the PADI open-water course. There are five courses that require divers to be certified. They each have different learning outcomes and skills. Two of them must be Deep Dive Specialty Courses and one must be Underwater Navigation Specialty Courses. The remaining three must be chosen from a list. Rescue diver certification is intended for those who wish to help in emergency situations underwater. It usually takes two to three full days of training. This includes theory, two open water dives, and a pool session.
SSI
When deciding which certification is right for you, a SSI course is a great choice. Both SSI and PADI courses require a certain level. PADI courses are more rigid and require the student to complete skills in a specific order, while SSI allows students more flexibility. If one skill is too difficult, they can move on to another until they get it right. With SSI, they can also do the training on vacation while on vacation, which means they can get their certification in a matter of days.
SSI offers digital courses, so you can log your dives easily. The manuals are available online or can be purchased or borrowed from a dive center. SSI also offers an e-certification card. To get one, you can create an online profile. While the price of each course varies, in 2018, most courses were around 50 US dollars. You can then upgrade to a higher certification level by taking a diving training course.
NAUI
The National Association of Underwater Instructors, (NAUI), is an association of certified scuba divers. Their primary function is to establish standards and provide education programs for divers all over the world. A NAUI certification allows you to teach scuba diving to non-professionals, while meeting international dive safety standards. NAUI also offers training courses.
Al Tillman (a Scripps Institute of Oceanography peer) held the first NAUI training class in Los Angeles in 1959. He and another Scripps Institute Oceanographer granted provisional diving certifications in 1958. Scuba diving was popularized by Lloyd Bridges' 1960 movie "Sea Hunt". In 1960, the National Diving Patrol began to be established. Jacques-Yves Cousteau, its first president, was appointed. Today, the Navy SEALs and NASA use NAUI training programmes worldwide.
CMAS
Divers from all continents should search for schools that offer CMAS certification. There is no central list of approved dive schools. However, you can use a search engine to locate one. CMAS courses cover 5 days of diving. They emphasize safety and the need to have a buddy. To be eligible for the CMAS certification, you must be at least 16 years old, have logged 25 dives, and have a medical statement from a diving doctor. If you are already certified, you can take an SSI course.
You can take a course equivalent in another agency if you hold a qualification from one agency, but not another. The table references below will help you if your experience is in scuba diving. The table doesn't include information about all training agencies. This means that you may have to start at a lower grade if you already hold a CMAS 1 certification or 2. In this case, you should seek advice from the new agency before making the decision.