From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the world's largest recreational diving membership and diver training organization.
PADI members, including dive centers, resorts, educational facilities, instructors, and divemasters, teach the majority of the world's recreational divers, issuing nearly 946,000 certifications each year. PADI operates offices in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. The corporate headquarters, PADI Worldwide, is located in California, United States. PADI Offices serve more than 130,000 individual professional members and more than 4,300 dive centers and resorts in more than 175 countries and territories. Translations of PADI materials are available in more than 20 languages. PADI's market share worldwide is approximately fifty percent.
PADI courses range from entry levels (such as Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver) to master scuba diver and a full range of instructor certificates. The system is composed of standardized "modules" divided into theory and practice. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study and confirmation of the student's level of knowledge in discussions with a diving instructor, while practice is obtained through training in pools and in open water. Upon completion of each course, a certificate is issued which is widely accepted as proof of proficiency throughout the world.
PADI courses are known for being shorter than other dive programs, and at the introductory level emphasize practical safety issues instead of theoretical concepts such as the physics and chemistry of diving. Other dive instruction programs have adopted similar techniques. Criticism of PADI programs has focused on their alleged high prices and less-rigorous standards for training. Another criticism, popular in the UK, is that the PADI approach encourages the belief that diving in warm clear waters is the same as diving in cold murky waters. However, this is contrary to PADI training and PADI promotes the use of speciality courses and local orientation sessions, which teach divers required new skills and provide ongoing revenue to its members.
PADI Non Certification programs
- PADI Discover Scuba Diving
- PADI Discover Snorkeling
PADI Kids programs
- PADI Seal Team
- PADI Bubble Maker
PADI Recreational Diving Certifications
- 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 Speciality Courses
PADI provide a range of speciality courses, examples of which include:
- PADI Altitude Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Boat Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Cavern Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Deep Diver Speciality Courses
- PADI Dry Suit Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Night Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Photographer Speciality Course
- PADI Wreck Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Naturalist Speciality Course
- PADI Drift Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Digital Underwater Photographer Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Photographer Speciality Course
- PADI Project AWARE Fish Identification Speciality Course
- PADI AWARE - Coral Reef Conservation Speciality Course
- PADI Diver Propulsion Vehicle Speciality Course
- PADI Enriched Air Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Equipment Specialist Speciality Course
- PADI Ice Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Multilevel Diver Speciality Course
- PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Speciality Course
- PADI Project AWARE Specialty Course Speciality Course
- PADI Search and Recovery Speciality Course
- PADI Semiclosed Rebreather Course Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Naturalist Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Navigator Speciality Course
- PADI Underwater Videographer Speciality Course
PADI Professional Certifications
- PADI Divemaster
- PADI Assistant Instructor
- PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor
- PADI Specialty Instructor
- PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
- PADI IDC Staff Instructor
- PADI Master Instructor
- PADI Course Director
External links