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Diver's Notes

Diving Associations

Diving Associations
Where to start your scuba education?

When you realize you want to get certified as a diver, the next big question is: which training system to choose? These days, a new or prospective diver can choose from more than 20 international associations. I won’t cover all of them — I don’t know them all myself — just the ones I’m familiar with. And as you’ll see, that’s more than enough.

The Most Well-Known...

Let’s take a look at some of the most recognized diving associations and their roles in diver training and certification.

CMAS
CMAS

CMAS (website) – The World Confederation of Underwater Activities. Founded in 1958 by Jacques-Yves Cousteau himself, this is the original global diving organization. It teaches both recreational and technical diving and is headquartered in Rome. CMAS plays a foundational role in the diving world by uniting various forms of underwater activity and setting international standards adopted by other organizations.

PADI
PADI

PADI (website) – The Professional Association of Diving Instructors, founded in the USA in 1966. It’s one of the largest and most popular certifying agencies in the world. It offers training in both recreational and technical diving.

Every PADI course comes with extra materials like manuals, videos, and online modules, translated into many languages. The quality of diver training is consistently high and doesn’t depend too much on individual instructors, because all courses are conducted according to strict global standards.

There’s even a saying: if something goes wrong but the instructor followed PADI standards, the matter goes to PADI’s legal department — but we’re not going to test that. Overall, PADI is top-tier, and it’s my choice 👍🏻. One small critique though: the Open Water course has a lot of internal marketing for PADI and follow-up courses, but the core diving theory is explained very well.

SSI
SSI

SSI (website) – Scuba Schools International, founded in the USA in 1970. One thing that makes SSI stand out is that instructors can only teach if they’re affiliated with a dive center. They focus solely on recreational diving.

SSI is credited with introducing several practices that are now standard in the diving community. For example, they were the first to implement mandatory alternate air sources and visual tank inspections.

Instructors are known to drill skills until students can perform them automatically. At the same time, SSI is more flexible than, say, PADI — they can adapt their training approach to emphasize the areas where students need the most help.

IANTD
IANTD

IANTD (website) – The International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers, founded in 1985. Despite the name, they also offer recreational certifications.

IANTD was the first to offer nitrox training to recreational divers. They are a leading force in technical diving, with a comprehensive catalog of tech diving courses.

Someday, if I decide to become a tech diver, I’ll definitely train with them — sorry, PADI.

NDL
NDL

NDL (website) – The National Dive League, a relatively young organization founded in Saint Petersburg in 2003. They offer both recreational and technical certifications. NDL is globally recognized, having passed audits from the European Underwater Federation and the Austrian Institute of Standards. That said, NDL isn’t yet as widespread as other associations.

So, How Do You Choose?

It all depends on your goals and options. At the beginner level, most associations offer similar knowledge and skills. Sure, there are differences in instructor and student requirements, theory exams, and skill demonstrations. But overall, all associations must follow ISO diving certification standards. That means you’ll gain the skills and knowledge needed to safely dive to 18 meters.

Also, you can switch between associations later on by completing higher-level courses. This only applies to recreational-level certifications. Switching professional levels isn’t always that easy. For example, a PADI instructor can become an SSI instructor relatively easily through a crossover course. On the other hand, moving from SSI to PADI requires completing the full PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) and passing the Instructor Exam (IE), essentially a full retraining.

Advice
Advice

Here are my tips for choosing:

  • Look local and read reviews. Even though all programs follow the same standards, you’ll be spending a lot of time with your instructor. Make sure it’s someone you feel comfortable with.

  • Know your goals. If you only dive once a year while on vacation, be honest — even with a certificate, a good instructor will give you a thorough briefing and test your skills before diving with you. Diving requires practice, ideally regular. I’ve seen AOW-certified divers with 20 dives, all from 10 years ago, behave worse than someone doing their first dive via a Discover Scuba Diving (DSD) program.

  • Price. Prices vary across organizations, depending on things like materials, brand recognition, and training requirements. In general, the costs are similar for entry-level courses.

  • Recognition. If you plan to dive globally, choose a widely known agency. Yes, it’s possible that a dive center won’t accept your certification (either out of ignorance or bias), but this is very rare — and another dive center nearby will almost always accept it.

  • Don’t rush. Don’t try to learn diving in a hurry during your vacation unless your trip is specifically for that purpose. You risk ending up at the first available dive school without properly researching the instructor.

That’s about it. It doesn’t matter who you start diving with — what matters is that you dive.

And remember:

“Take only pictures. Leave only bubbles.”