Why Are We Different?
At Precision SCUBA, we train groups of students, friends, families, and colleagues to form strong bonds with each other and with the ocean. While many dive shops fill their classes with numerous students and rotating instructors, we believe in the benefits of small group attention and one on one training. In the past, I taught in a huge dive shop chain and certified multiple classes of 30 students at a time, so I know and appreciate the benefits of smaller groups and the difference in the divers I certify.
While some other agencies are dedicated to certifying as many divers as possible, NAUI is focused on certifying knowledgeable, and safe divers through strong education practices. With 50 years of diving experience and 47 years of teaching, we believe we can make a difference in the divers we train at Precision SCUBA!
Our Scuba training is complete, precise and results driven!
Scuba training in Arizona is quite different than coastal dive instruction since we don’t really have a local ocean close by. While most Arizona dive shops perform their “Open Water” checkout dives in Lake Pleasant, I try to schedule our final checkouts in the ocean. My reasoning for this is while a lake is generally calm and predictable for both the student and instructor, it doesn’t prepare a newly certified diver for the challenges of the open ocean. Waves, surge, current, buoyancy, kelp (seaweed), temperature, boat vs. beach entry, and many other variables are why I schedule our divers in the ocean for their final dives and open water testing. Secondly, Diving should be fun and exciting, and the ocean brings that to you on every dive!
My philosophy is to turn out the best trained, strongest divers in the Southwest. I cover topics that other agencies have dropped from their curriculum to make their courses faster and easier. Some training agencies have added those basic skills to specialized courses to get you to spend more money by taking more classes. Here at PSI, I cover a full range of educational topics and skills to certify divers who are ready for anything. I’m still “Old School” for a reason. I don’t cut corners; I give you the best course for the money and am proud and confident in the divers I certify.
Why NAUI?
There are so many diving organizations in the world. A person may be wondering, what makes one better than the other? Or is there even a difference? Although all diving organizations will certify you to some degree with the most basic levels of knowledge and skills to be considered qualified as a scuba diver, there certainly are key differences when picking which one will best benefit you.
The National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) began with a shared vision of what quality scuba training should be, with a commitment to “Dive Safety Through Education.”
With NAUI you are trained to plan, develop, organize, and lead your own dives from your very first course. This means you will be trained to be self-sufficient, and you will NOT be trained to be “dependent” as a diver on others. There are no stipulations or caveats with NAUI certifications. Your training will provide you with the confidence, skills, knowledge, and ability to independently dive safely anywhere in the world from day one.
NAUI maintains a global reputation as the best in training and education, and this is a direct reflection of their core values of quality dive training through education. Many organizations choose NAUI for their diver education programs, such as Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, the United States Navy dive training schools and the SEAL Teams, Coast Guard divers, NOAA divers, NASA and the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, the National Park Service, fire departments and rescue agencies across the United States, most colleges and universities, and NPO’s and NGO’s around the world, just to name a few. This is because NAUI has long been respected for having the highest training standards in the diving industry. In addition, NAUI is also highly regarded for their Technical Diver training. NAUI’s Technical Diving Division leads the industry in the development of new dive theories and research that keeps NAUI on the cutting edge of technical diving. Further, NAUI is allied with the Divers Alert Network (DAN), a non-profit organization for diver’s assistance, emergency medical assistance worldwide, insurance, and medical research on SCUBA diving and diving safety.
NAUI Instructors are qualified, professional educators who are granted “academic freedom” to teach diving in any reasonable manner as long as NAUI standards and policies are met. Academic Freedom is what most university curriculums and military training programs are based upon, and this policy allows NAUI Instructors the ability to meet the learning needs of each student. NAUI training support materials are designed for flexibility in teaching, and NAUI Instructors are fully authorized to exceed NAUI standards in ways that do not jeopardize student safety. Examples include exceeding the number of minimum required open water dives or increasing academic content. NAUI believes that divers should not be totally dependent upon their equipment or others for their safety, and as such, NAUI members emphasize the science and skills of diving, and further, that anyone certified as a “diver”, at any level, should be able to perform the basics of a rescue of another diver. One of the things the NAUI Credo states is that it is more important to train a few students well than to certify many marginally trained divers. In this respect, NAUI believes that educational quality must never be sacrificed for economic reasons.
And finally, NAUI is its members.
Established in 1959, formalized as a non-profit by 1960, and granted 501c(6) status in 1971, NAUI remains the world’s largest and most respect Non-Profit Diver Educational Organization to this day. NAUI members are known and respected all across the industry for the quality of their teaching, concern for the individual student, and safety awareness. To this day, NAUI members remain a real Association of Members who share common values and a trust in one another’s commitment to this motto. NAUI even maintains full CE and ISO certifications as well.
NAUI certifications are respected and recognized worldwide, and to earn a certification as a NAUI diver is to know you have received the best education and training in the industry.
Source: www.naui.org