Diving Organizations

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is a recreational diving membership and diver training organization founded in 1966. PADI courses range from entry level to advanced recreational diver certification. Further, they provide several diving skills courses connected with specific equipment or conditions, some diving related informational courses and a range of recreational diving instructor certifications. They also offer various technical diving courses. As of 2020, PADI claims to have issued 28 million scuba certifications. 

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PADI courses are performance-based diver training programs, and at the introductory level emphasizes practical knowledge, safety and motor skills. The basics of diving physics and physiology are introduced during entry level programs. The details of these concepts are left for later courses when they are necessary for the required competences of the specific training. According to PADI, these practices fall within current modern learning philosophies and receive regular updates via peer review.

The PADI training system is composed of modules with standardized learning objectives divided into theory and practical skills development. Each module is a stand-alone course for which certification is provided to the participant on successful completion of the course. Theory is mainly conveyed by way of self-study using books or digital training using PADI E-Learning. All study options are supplemented with video and, in most cases, live instruction to help the participant visualize what they have read. Confirmation of the student diver's level of competence in standardized knowledge review sessions is carried out by a scuba instructor using both written tests and personal observation during dives to verify the student's knowledge and skills. Practical skills are obtained through confined water training (pools or relatively shallow water) and performance evaluations in open water.

Source Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Association_of_Diving_Instructors

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Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba diver training and recognition. It is also known by its English name, the World Underwater Federation, and its Spanish name, Confederación Mundial De Actividades Subacuáticas. Its foundation in Monaco during January 1959 makes it one of the world's oldest underwater diving organizations.

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The CMAS Technical Committee has also developed a diving certification system called the "CMAS International Diver Training Certification System" for most of its diver training standards and which permits divers that have been trained in accordance with the CMAS International Diver Training Standards, to have their training recognized worldwide particularly in countries where CMAS affiliated federations exist. The system includes a double-sided certification card format where one side depicts the achieved CMAS standard while the other side has details of the issuing organization and the diver.

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Source Text: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conf%C3%A9d%C3%A9ration_Mondiale_des_Activit%C3%A9s_Subaquatiques