Professional Association of Diving Instructors

"PADI" redirects here. For other uses, see Padi (disambiguation).

Professional Association of Diving Instructors
Abbreviation	PADI
Motto	The Way the World Learns to Dive
Formation	1966
Headquarters	Rancho Santa Margarita, California, United States
Membership	over 130,000 dive professional, 6000 Dive Centers and Resorts
Leader	Drew Richardson
Affiliations	DSAT, Project AWARE, Emergency First Response, Current Publishing
Website	http://www.padi.com

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966 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 different courses instead of the single universal course then prevalent.

PADI courses range from entry levels (such as "Scuba Diver" and "Open Water Diver") to "Master Scuba Diver" and a range of instructor certifications. Via their affiliate, Diving Science and Technology (DSAT), they also offer various technical diving courses, including decompression diving, trimix diving and gas blending.

The PADI system is composed of modules with standardized learning objectives divided into theory and practical skills development. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study using books, computer based training using CD-ROM or online learning. All study options are supplemented with video to help the student diver visualize what they have read. Confirmation of the student diver's level of mastery in standardized knowledge review sessions is carried out by a scuba instructor. Practical skills mastery is obtained through confined water training (pools or relatively shallow water) and performance evaluations in open water. Upon completion of each course, a certification is issued to the student.

PADI courses are performance based dive programs, and at the introductory level emphasize practical knowledge, safety and motor skills. The foundations of diving physics, physiology and chemistry are built during entry level programs. The more esoteric details of these concepts are left for later courses when the diver has gained practical knowledge and experience beyond the entry level. These practices fall within current modern learning philosophies and receive regular updates via peer review.

PADI is a member of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council.

Project AWARE

In 1995, PADI founded Project AWARE to help conserve underwater environments. Project AWARE information has been integrated in most courses and divers are offered the chance to exchange their normal certificate for an AWARE-certificate by making a donation to the program when sending in their application for a new certificate.

Affiliate companies

Emergency First Response is a PADI affiliate providing CPR and First Aid training both for the lay person and in the work place.

Current Publishing Corporation develops marine science programs for high school and upper level educational facilities.

Diving Science and Technology Corporation (DSAT) is the development arm for the Recreational Dive Planner and PADI's Tec-Rec program.

PADI non certification programs

• PADI Discover Scuba Diving
• PADI Discover Snorkeling

PADI kids programs

• PADI Seal Team (Age 8 and Above)
• PADI Bubble Maker (Age 8 and Above)

PADI recreational diving certifications

The PADI training system.

• PADI Skin Diver (Snorkeling)
• PADI Junior Scuba Diver
• PADI Scuba Diver
• PADI Junior Open Water Diver
• PADI Open Water Diver
• PADI National Geographic Diver
• PADI Adventure Diver
• PADI Advanced Open Water Diver
• PADI Rescue Diver
• PADI Speciality Courses
• PADI Master Scuba Diver

PADI specialty courses

PADI provide a range of specialty courses, examples of which include:

• PADI Altitude Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Boat Diver Speciality Course
• PADI Cavern Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Deep Diver Specialty Courses
• PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Specialty Course
• PADI Diver Propulsion Vehicle Specialty Course
• PADI Drift Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Dry Suit Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider Course
• PADI Enriched Air Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Equipment Specialist Specialty Course
• PADI Ice Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Multilevel Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Night Diver Specialty Course
• PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Course
• PADI Project AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Course
• PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Specialty Course
• PADI Project AWARE Specialty Course
• PADI Search and Recovery Specialty Course
• PADI Semiclosed Rebreather Course Specialty Course
• PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty Course
• PADI Underwater Navigator Specialty Course
• PADI Underwater Photographer Specialty Course
• PADI Underwater Videographer Specialty Course
• PADI Wreck Diver Specialty Course

"Distinctive" specialties

In addition to the mainstream specialty courses above, individual PADI instructors can prepare and teach (with PADI's approval) their own distinctive specialty courses, and dozens of such courses abound. Some of the courses represent less frequently used mainstream skills (such as "Twin-set diver", "Full face-mask diver", "Surface Marker Buoy" and "Advanced wreck diver" specialties). Others are abstract either with reference to skills or locale (it is possible to take specialties in "Golf ball diver", "Zen/Yoga diver", "Underwater wedding" or site-specific specialties such as "Wreck of the Rhone diver" and "Spiegel Grove Diver").

PADI professional certifications

• PADI Divemaster
• PADI Assistant Instructor
• PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI)
• PADI Specialty Instructor
• PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT)
• PADI IDC Staff Instructor
• PADI Master Instructor
• PADI Course Director

Criticism

PADI is oftentimes subject to criticism. In particular, two accusations are sometimes made against the organization: that it "dumbs down" scuba diving training courses, making them too short and easy; and that it "profiteers" from demand for diver training.

In 2006 PADI was severely criticized by a Coroner's court in the United Kingdom for providing what experts regarded as short and insufficient training. No representative of PADI gave evidence at the inquest, but PADI subsequently issued a rejoinder that in the decade since PADI had come to play a dominant role in diver training, the numbers of diving accidents had declined. 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.

It should be noted that critics of the WRSTC maintain that these standards are not, in fact, a set of standards that all member organizations must live up to, but are, in reality, just a "worst common denominator" of the standards that had been already independently adopted by the member organizations. In other words, the WRSTC standards were "reverse engineered" to conform to what already existed, and in that respect, they are so low that they serve no useful purpose.

The accusation of profiteering is more difficult to justify. Although PADI is often referred to facetiously as a mnemonic for 'Put Another Dollar In', PADI is a for-profit organization, and thus is expected to generate commercial returns from diver training. Some say that the large number of competitor diver training organizations, prevent PADI from realistically accused of market abuse,^{[citation needed]}while others maintain that PADI's dominant position in the industry makes such profiteering inevitable.

A third, more benign criticism that is sometimes made is that PADI over-elaborates the training process, leading to the award of large numbers of different certificates, certification cards and embroidered patches for any diver who continues their diving education up to advanced levels. For instance, divers can earn a "boat diver" specialty certification. For many divers, boat diving is a common occurrence that does not require the special, costly course that PADI may appear to convince novice divers they do need. This criticism is further supported by PADI's elimination from their entry level course of what some authority's feel are critical skills such as buoyancy control, gas management and diver rescue, and the movement of such topics and skills into separately priced products such as the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course.

See also

• Scuba diving
• List of diver training organizations
• Diver training

External links

• Official site
• Project AWARE Official site
• Official PADI Instructor Development Calendar
• Sport Diver magazine, United Kingdom edition and North American edition - The official magazine of PADI