SDA Welcomes PADI to the Family
Welcome to a momentous edition of the Sea Masters Newsletter.
There is so much to get excited about. As many of you already know, over the Christmas period SDA has changed its certification agency, ending a 20+ year association with scuba schools international. This was a decision that was not made lightly, however moving forward, SDA feels that the advantages offered by our new agency will serve you, our valued customers, much better.
Our new agency is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
We wanted to take this opportunity to explain what this change means to you, our valued existing clientele.
1 The main point to remember is that SDA is still SDA, same great people, same morals and values. Same everything just a different agency on the card.
2 Any training or certifications you have achieved stay exactly the same, SSI certifications are recognised internationally and we know exactly what they mean
3 Anyone half way through an SSI course or with things to finalise with SSI, remains the same. We will still be qualified with SSI until the end of 2011
Now for the great new opportunities PADI has to offer
PADI is a world renowned certification, responsible for certifying in excess of 1,000,000 open water divers worldwide per year. They have a major office based in Frenchs Forest with a staff of over 90 people, each and every one of which is available to Sydney Dive and its club members if we require anything at all.
The most pleasant thing we have found with the PADI staff is their professionalism and experience, all of their senior staff and most of their junior staff are active divers in the Sydney region, most with over 20yrs experience, which means they understand our area, conditions and can tailor make courses and materials suited to us on a personal level. Also they have a great marketing team who has helped us to revamp our website which will make it much more user friendly, along with a revamp of the shop itself over the next few months. All of which makes SDA the number one when it comes to diving in Sydney.
Most of the SDA leadership have already completed their crossover to PADI Dive Master or Instructor and we will be running those courses for any up and coming leaders regularly throughout the year with the help of the newest member of our team Dez Paroz, Des Paroz is based in Sydney, Australia, and runs a range of instructor level training with PADI and CPR/First Aid instructor training with Emergency First Response (A division of PADI).
Des has been diving for 15 years, and has been a PADI Instructor for 12. In 1998, Des became a PADI Master Instructor, and in 2008, he finally took the plunge to become a PADI Course Director. Des is an EFR Instructor Trainer, also a DSAT Tec Rec Gas Blender Instructor Trainer, and an Instructor Trainer in 12 PADI Specialty Programs. Des has a Bachelors in Economics, a Master of Commerce in Marketing and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. SDA welcomes such a highly qualified person into our instructional ranks.
Finally the PADI name is synonyms with diving the world over, this means we will see a marked increase in the amount of through traffic for our club, both locally and internationally through the PADI diver network. This will only strengthen our club which will allow us to run more and more events to bigger and better places.
In this forum I could never fully explain all the pro’s and Con’s of changing from SSI to PADI, however as always the SDA staff are more than happy to have a chat to you. Feel free to e-mail or call Px to have a chat and we will be happy to answer any questions you have.
Also check out the welcome article in this month’s edition of Divelog magazine, welcoming Sydney Dive to PADI. At the same time check out the double page spread from our long time Sea Masters member Terry Chrisafis Spotlight Underwater Photographer page 84-85. Congratulations Terry
A few events to also talk about.
* We have a trip to Forster again, Join Norm to dive stunning Forster. Check out our Facebook group for more information or Contact Norm through the shop.
* The 22nd Sees us doing a deep double dive on the stunning colours reef (40mtrs), part of which will be a deep certifying dive so please hurry to book your places anyone who wants to complete their deep. (Certified deep divers are welcome also)
* On the 29th we will be diving the SS Bombo down in sunny Wollongong, this is a beautiful dive and is a must do for any keen wreck diver. Sitting in 30mtrs it is an advanced dive, however if you wish we can include it in an advanced course. Talk to Px about doing your advanced today.
* We are also taking expressions of interest for our next dive master course. Please e-mail Px if you would be interested in taking the next step in your diving career. Information on this course can be found on our website. Price is POA.
There a few new things on our website, We have gone back to listing our club dives with the leaders for each weekend, This can be found under diving Calender and will be active by the end of the week. So check out when your favourite dive site is on and join us.
Finally we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support during the year that was and we look forward to serving all your diving needs into 2011.
Regards
Bluey
