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54-462: In 1966, PADI was founded by John Cronin and Ralph Erickson. Cronin was originally a NAUI instructor who decided to form his own organization with Erickson, and to break diver training down into several modular courses instead of the single universal course then prevalent. Erickson developed continuing education scuba courses during this time and wrote the initial issue of the first trade magazine for scuba instructors, The Undersea Journal . Cronin got

108-414: A parachute sea anchor can be deployed to minimise drift. Windage will generally position the buoy and boat downwind of the parachute. The other end of the tether is clipped to the diver's harness or buoyancy compensator by some form of quick-release shackle. These procedures and equipment can also be used at night. If a sea anchor is deployed to limit drift, it must be kept clear of the divers to minimise

162-534: A PADI Divemaster registered with PADI to run the specific course. Some additional training and course attendance is required. These courses do not include actual diving skills, just skills or knowledge that may be useful while diving or interesting in the context of diving. Some PADI training standards have been found to be ambiguous of contradictory, For example, the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course does not require direct instructor supervision of

216-429: A depth restriction. Confined water has some of the characteristics of benign water, in that it is not possible to accidentally stray from the environment, but although some usages of the term confined water imply benign conditions, that meaning is not inherent in the term, as water in a confined space may logically be referred to as confined water, and such confined water may contain significant hazards. Benign water

270-412: A few variations of open water environments with more specific names. There are also a number of named diving environments which are usually also open water environments. The extreme case of open water is the deep open ocean, where the bottom is at a depth which is irrelevant to the diver as there would be no chance of surviving long enough to reach it. Open oceanic water is often remarkably clear, but this

324-491: A membership of over 128,000 professional members and 6,600 dive centers, and had awarded more than 28 million diving certifications internationally. PADI operates in 186 countries and territories. From 2015-2020, the average male to female membership split was approximately 63% to 37% respectively. The organization hosts Women's Dive Day events across the globe in an effort to increase awareness for women divers . PADI courses are performance-based diver training programs, and at

378-627: A nationally or state accredited training provider. PADI courses are recognized, recommended and cited by the institutions and organizations listed below for both recreational diving and vocational training . PADI courses are recommended for college credit in the US by ACE. PADI is a member of the United States Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC). Recognition's and equivalencies has been established between PADI and Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques ,

432-506: A range of categories, including "Essentials", "Safety Focus", "Advanced Skills", "Cold Water", "Conservation", " Photography ", "Discovery", " Freediving " and " Technical Diving ". For the youth demographic, the Padi Seal Team and Bubblemaker Programs are provided for students ages 8+. As of 2023, the courses in "Beginner", "Continuing Education" and "Professional" categories include: PADI training standards are generally inaccessible to

486-422: A specialty instructor for several specialties, without demonstrating competence to teach or even perform those specialties, including Dry Suit Diver, which requires a significant skill set and understanding of the principles to be done safely. PADI offers a specialty program called Public Safety Diver for divers who are either employed in or serve as volunteers in the public safety diving sector principally within

540-408: A staged decompression obligation is incompatible with open water diving, though it does not affect classification of the environment. This meaning is implied in the certifications titled Open Water Diver and variations thereof. In underwater diving , open water is unrestricted water such as a sea, lake, river, or flooded quarry . It is a contradistinction to an overhead environment , where there

594-556: A student during "adventure dives", which may include a diver's first experience using a dry suit, while the standard for the PADI Dry Suit Diver course requires not only direct supervision of the student by the instructor, during open water dives, but also that open water dives must be preceded by a theory class, and a confined water skills training session, both of which must be satisfactorily completed before venturing into open water. A PADI Open Water Instructor can be registered as

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648-451: A swimming pool to practicing skills in open water in which the environment is not restricted to a small, controlled locality and depth, with conditions more typical of a natural body of water which might be used by divers, and the range of hazards and associated risk is significantly expanded. In this context confined water and benign water are special cases of open water, as they comply with the more general condition of unobstructed access to

702-556: A wide range of plankton that would not often be seen by day or closer inshore. This is known as blackwater photography. Weighted downlines are commonly used to provide a stable vertical reference. These may be tied to the boat or supported by a buoy. Each diver may be attached to a downline using a shorter tether to ensure that divers do not go too far from the boat or too deep. The downline may be marked with lights to indicate depth and to attract mobile organisms. A wide range of animal life may be seen, including many species that spend

756-1037: A worldwide group of dive shops and resorts committed to selling PADI products and promoting the PADI diving and marketing philosophy. PADI Worldwide, Inc., contracts directly with member dive shops, to join the RRA, and PADI Americas, Inc., administers the RRA in the United States. A PADI 5 Star Dive Center is a dive centre that exclusively offers PADI training and certification, has been a PADI dive centre for at least 12 months, with no verified violations of PADI quality assurance over that period and no open QA investigations, and have been awarded all three of PADI's dive centre recognition awards (the criteria for which do not appear to be publicly available). The centre must also advertise to recruit and retain customers. The centre must have provided at least one course each of Advanced Open Water Diver, PADI Rescue Diver, and Divemadter or Assistant Instructor, in

810-508: A year. PADI was the first organization to use confined water or pool dives for training new divers and introduced the PADI Rescue Diver course and manual for rescue training during the 1980s. In 1989, PADI founded Project AWARE to help conserve underwater environments. In 1992, Project AWARE Foundation became a registered nonprofit organization with an environmental mission and purpose. PADI continues to partner with PADI AWARE, supporting

864-427: Is underwater diving in an open water environment, where the diver has unrestricted access by way of a direct vertical ascent to the breathable air of the atmosphere. Other environmental hazards may exist which do not affect the classification. Open water diving implies that if a problem arises, the diver can directly ascend vertically to the atmosphere to breathe air, so it is also understood that, with this restriction,

918-524: Is a physical barrier to direct vertical ascent to the surface, and to a flooded confined space where there may not be enough room to maneuver freely. In open water the diver has direct vertical access to the surface of the water in contact with the Earth's atmosphere. Environments which by definition are not open water include overhead environments, and diving in these is called Penetration diving . This may involve entering caves or wrecks, or diving under ice or

972-438: Is composed of modules with standardized learning objectives divided into theory and practical skills development. Each module is a stand-alone course for which certification is provided to the participant on successful completion of the course. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study using books or digital training using PADI E-Learning. All study options are supplemented with video and, in most cases, live instruction to help

1026-429: Is focused on small organisms or instruments at close range is likely to have diminished awareness of depth, buoyancy, current, surge, other divers, large organisms, and even the direction to the surface. An accepted procedure for scientific blue-water collection diving with several working divers, is to tether the working divers to a central hub connected to a surface platform, and to have an in-water safety diver attend

1080-456: Is largely by limitations on the certified diver's recommended range of acceptable environmental and equipment options and providing profitable additional training programmes to extend these options by small increments. PADI offers dive shops and training centers the opportunity to affiliate with the PADI brand by becoming a member of the PADI Retailer and Resort Association (PADI RRA) which is

1134-679: Is no more than a professional organisation and certifying agency, and its members operate independently, and PADI is therefore not responsible for their actions or omissions. In a civil case in Missoula, Montana, where PADI Open Water Diver Linnea Mills drowned during a PADI course where the PADI dive shop and PADI instructor allegedly contravened both PADI training standards, PADI business practices, and several other procedures generally considered safe recreational diving practice, PADI's argument that Gull Dive and their staff were neither its agents nor employees, and that it could not be held responsible for

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1188-422: Is not always the case. There is no natural visual reference for depth in the open ocean, and depth monitoring and control is critically important to diver safety. Blue-water diving is done in mid-water where the bottom is out of sight of the diver and there may be no fixed visual reference. It is done by scientific divers for direct observation and sampling of pelagic organisms and particulate matter, particularly

1242-459: Is often used to refer to a swimming pool or tank where initial skills training of divers takes place, which is both confined and benign. The Queensland government defines confined water for recreational diving purposes as "Water which offers pool-like conditions, good visibility, and water which is shallow enough so that all divers can stand up with their heads well clear of the water". Other definitions do not require such shallow depth, but may have

1296-402: Is open water with very low risk and no unknown hazards, where it is unlikely or impossible for a diver to accidentally stray to an area of higher risk. Some definitions add a depth limit and that the water must also be confined. Benign conditions are environments of low risk, where it is extremely unlikely or impossible for the diver to get lost or entrapped, or be exposed to hazards other than

1350-430: Is referred to as black-water . The term black-water may also be used to refer to diving in zero visibility, or in sewage. Christopher Newbert, author of Within a Rainbow Sea , (1984) is credited as an early black-water diver. In his book, he describes solo offshore night dives to depths of up to 150 feet (46 m). Black-water diving is often done as a photographic opportunity for recreational divers as there can be

1404-490: Is targeted on increasing the support diver's awareness of the challenged diver's abilities and limitations, and how to effectively assist in their management. Prerequisites are Open Water Diver , in date Emergency First Response primary and secondary care, and recommended PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy . The course covers diving with people with reduced mobility and supporting divers who are blind or have less obvious disabilities, and focuses on what disabled people can do, to help

1458-723: The Colombian Navy , and Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM). PADI is also a registered training organisation in Australia . As of 2012, PADI rescue diver and divemaster programs are included on the United Kingdom 's Health and Safety Executive list of approved diving qualifications. Those PADI courses aligning with standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for 'Recreational diving services' were audited by

1512-673: The European Underwater Federation (EUF) Certification Body in 2004 and 2009, and were certified at both times as complying with these standards. The relevant certifications may include: Most PADI training programes are not directly covered by ISO standards. PADI is a member of the following member councils of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council – the RSTC Canada , the RSTC Europe and

1566-578: The Boy and Girl Scouts to PADI diving instruction, to the more recently popular geolocation game Foursquare, badges have been successfully used to set goals, motivate behaviors, represent achievements, and communicate success in many contexts." PADI's environmental emphasis is cited in the 2007 book, New Frontiers in Marine Tourism , in its section, Dive Tourism, Sustainable Tourism and Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda – Environmental management and education:

1620-545: The C-Card Council (Japan) . PADI is recognised as the largest recreational diver training agency with the largest rate of issue of diver certification, and the largest membership of professional instructors and dive leaders in recreational diving. They are a for-profit organization focused on efficiency of training of the largest number of customers. To gain membership of PADI, a person must agree to follow PADI training standards, be reviewed by PADI for quality assurance, sign

1674-514: The United States. This certification is not recognised in some countries which have national standards for occupational diving qualifications and require registration with a national body. PADI, via its subsidiary, Emergency First Response, Corp , distributes the following programs in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid for both divers and non-divers: These may not be recognised by health and safety authorities in some jurisdictions where workplace first aid certification must be through

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1728-508: The backing of their dive center." National Association of Underwater Instructors Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 755036014 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:32:26 GMT Confined water (diving) Open water diving

1782-413: The case of PADI, (Chapter Seven). "PADI, as well as other diver certification organisations and individual businesses, has put significant resources into conservation and developed public awareness programs". New Frontiers in Marine Tourism also cites in the section entitled Student Scholarships and Social Responsibility: A Growing Agenda for PADI, that "The PADI Scholarship program … is a good example of

1836-417: The daylight hours at depths below those accessible to ambient pressure divers, and migrate vertically through the water column on a diurnal cycle . Many of these are bioluminescent or translucent or both. The boat moves differently from the divers and the divers move differently from the plankton, making it necessary to work to get a position from which there will be enough time to frame and take photos of

1890-491: The death of a client of Gull Dive was overruled by a judge, who stated that PADI exerted control over Gull Dive and its instructors by way of its membership agreement, which obliged members to follow its standards and instructions. Adaptive Support Diver is a course for divers who Want to support a dive buddy with a physical or mental barrier to full independence as a recreational diver, and must rely on some support from one or more support divers for acceptable safety. The training

1944-441: The drifting subjects. The boat will drift under the influence of current and wind, while the divers and plankton will drift with the current. If there is wind the boat will drag the downlines, and if tethered to the buoy, it will drag the buoy and divers attached. If divers swim ahead of the towing action, they will have a short time to drift with the plankton and take photos until the slack in the line has been taken up, at which point

1998-468: The gelatinous zoo-plankton that are fragile and transparent, making them relatively inaccessible by other methods, and by recreational divers for observation and photography of a range of organisms not easily seen in inshore waters. The techniques of blue-water diving have been developed over the years to suit the conditions and address the hazards of an environment which is functionally bottomless, and has no fixed visible positional references. The diver who

2052-404: The hub. The tethers pass through fairleads at the hub and are tensioned by a weight at the end, which keeps slack out of the line and thereby reduces the risk of entanglement, and prevents the end of the line from passing through the fairlead. The tether serves to limit the distance a diver can move away from the hub, which is typically fastened to a substantial downline supported by a large buoy at

2106-441: The hull of a large ship. In some contexts the lack of a decompression obligation is considered a necessary condition for classification of a dive as an open water dive, as a decompression obligation is a procedural and safety restriction on immediate ascent to the surface, but this does not affect the classification of the venue as open water. Swim-throughs – the recreational diving term for arches and short, clear, tunnels where

2160-473: The idea for PADI's Positive Identification Card at a trade show. PADI established the Master Scuba Diver certification, the industry's first certification awarded for accumulation of specified certification and experience, and not based on a specific training program, in 1973, later launching the modular scuba program. By 1979, PADI was producing 100,000 certifications a year after previously hitting 25,000

2214-459: The introductory level emphasizes practical knowledge, safety and motor skills. The basics of diving physics and physiology are introduced during entry level programs. The details of these concepts are left for later courses when they are necessary for the required competences of the specific training. According to PADI, these practices fall within current modern learning philosophies and receive regular updates via peer review. The PADI training system

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2268-600: The membership agreement and pay the annual membership dues, for which they are allowed to buy PADI course materials, resell them to their customers, and use the PADI trademarks and logos for marketing their services. In early 2024 PADI dive centres in Africa and the Middle East were prohibited from offering scuba diving training with certification from any agency other than PADI. PADI marketing puts an emphasis on convenience, fun and continued attendance on PADI courses. Risk management

2322-463: The natural light can be seen at the far end, and there is enough clearance that it is theoretically possible for the diver to pass through the narrowest point without contact with the sides, bottom or ceiling, are technically an overhead environment, but this is often overlooked by divers as there is no risk of getting lost inside, and the risk of entrapment is generally low. Divers progress from learning diving skills in confined or benign water such as

2376-434: The organization with in-kind services, donations through its processes and connection to the PADI network of divers, dive professionals and dive centers. PADI AWARE information has been integrated in most courses and divers are offered the chance to exchange their normal certification card for an AWARE-certification card by making a donation to the program when sending in their application for a new certification. In 2006, PADI

2430-679: The participant visualize what they have read. Confirmation of the student diver's level of competence in standardized knowledge review sessions is carried out by a scuba instructor using both written tests and personal observation during dives to verify the student's knowledge and skills. Practical skills are obtained through confined water training (pools or relatively shallow water) and performance evaluations in open water . PADI courses target four progressive experience demographics, designated by PADI as "Youth", "Beginner", "Continuing Education" and "Professional". Options are available for students or instructors to attain additional certifications across

2484-519: The plankton will be left behind. This drift problem can be reduced by setting a parachute anchor, which will reduce wind drift to a negligible amount. The divers should stay clear of the entanglement hazard of the parachute suspension lines. At the other extreme from the open ocean, confined water is open water where it is not possible to inadvertently stray outside the designated area due to physical barriers. Usually this also refers to an area of known low risk and minimal hazard – benign water. The term

2538-465: The previous year, and provide diving activities or travel apart from training. There is no mention or guarantee of better quality service compared to any other dive centre. A PADI Elite Instructor is a PADI instructor with no verified QA violations who certifies more than a specified number of divers per year. According to a statement by an attorney for PADI, PADI issues disclaimers on various documents, saying member shops are not agents of PADI, and PADI

2592-466: The public via internet search, making an informed decision on whether a specific training course is appropriate to the diver's needs difficult. Those few programs which comply with ISO standards can be assumed to at least nominally include all the requirements of the ISO standard, but not necessarily anything more. Some PADI courses, i.e. those which have no actual diving component, may be presented and assessed by

2646-423: The risk of entanglement, and it should be buoyed to prevent sinking in a calm. The sea anchor cable should be buoyant line for the same reason. Blue-water diving operations are constrained by water and weather conditions, including wind, sea state, current strength, visibility, and the presence of aggressive predators. Black-water diving is mid-water diving at night, particularly on a moonless night. The environment

2700-640: The support diver understand the use of adaptive techniques. Since 2009, PADI and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have maintained a mutual support partnership. In Canada, PADI sponsors the Scouts Canada Scuba Program. Affiliates include: PADI's instructional methodology is cited in EDUCAUSE's 2012 book, Game Changers: Education and Information Technologies regarding badges as "a symbol or indicator of an accomplishment, skill, quality, or interest. From

2754-401: The surface, and kept vertical by a weight. The float at the surface allows the divers to move freely in the water column within the constraint of the tether, and drift with the current. The tethers also allow rope signals between the safety diver and the working divers. The surface platform, generally a small boat, may be tethered to the buoy, and if there is sufficient wind to make this a problem

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2808-421: The surface. Some recreational diver certification agencies use a variation on this term in the title of their entry level diver certification . Open Water Diver certification implies that the diver is competent to dive in unrestricted water, with various constraints regarding the conditions, and particularly that their competence is limited to diving in open water with free access to the surface. There are

2862-430: The way that various disparate parts of an industry, each with limited resources, can pool their efforts to help more people from developing countries to enter the diving profession… PADI recognizes that good relations with the involvement of local people is essential both to business development and to environmental protection. The scholarship scheme makes entry into the dive business more possible for some students who have

2916-1055: Was severely criticized by a Coroner's court in the United Kingdom for providing what experts regarded as short and insufficient training. Although PADI training standards differ from those formerly prevalent in the United Kingdom under the BSAC system, PADI training standards are consistent with World Recreational Scuba Training Council standards. On 9 August 2012, Lincolnshire Management and Providence Equity Partners jointly acquired PADI from Seidler Equity Partners. In 2015, Providence Equity Partners acquired majority stake of PADI from Lincolnshire Management. In 2017, Providence Equity Partners LLC sold PADI to Canadian investment firm Altas Partners and French private equity firm Florac for 700 million USD, through an entity called Mandarin fish Holding. In 2018, PADI launched PADI Travel, an online dive travel resource and booking platform for dive resort and live-aboard packages. In 2021, PADI reported it had

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