The Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI) was the first internationally recognized agency to establish training guidelines for extended range recreational diving. They date back to the founder, Hal Watts, beginning in 1962.
Take a look to the left, at the key words on the PSAI logo. If one of the key attributes is missing - knowledge, safety or integrity – things can go pear shaped very quickly.
Technical diving always was, and still is, all about wanting to push that bit further. We recognise that technical training is very much like walking up a set of stairs. Take too many steps at one time and you could fall. In some sports people want to run before they can walk, so we build the divers experience at the right rate. This means that if you have successfully completed a trimix course, where the qualification card you carry has a 100 metre depth rating, then your skills set will match what that card says. A 100 metre trimix qualification must mean just that. It should be performance based, with you working safely within 3 metres of the requirement on the card, with your instructor right there, by your side. It means you are capable of getting involved in cutting edge diving and high level explorer focused expeditions…are you really?
PSA International courses are not for those desiring instant gratification and big numbers on the qualification card. Performance based training is for divers wanting and demanding a degree of personal integrity and accomplishment. Otherwise you might as well have cut your card off the back of a Kellogg’s Cornflake packet. PSAI is a training agency that can hold its head up and guarantee that the performance of its students and professionals match, and in some cases exceeds the words on the cards they carry. This starts with the instructor and the instructor trainer.
PSA International Course Overview
What do we expect from our instructors ? Firstly we recognize that is it not necessarily the flag that the instructor waves (in fact the better ones will always be multi-agency), but the quality of the instruction given. How they teach, the knowledge and skill set that they command, and that they actively do what they teach.
They possess the complete teaching tool kit! A vital component within the process of qualification is always going to be your instructor, they make the difference between a so-so course and a great course. Before a PSA instructor works with you, they will have demonstrated their ability both as a diver and an instructor at all previous technical levels whenever they take their next qualification level.
We also recognize that technical trainers will sometimes need to slow people down to instill a better appreciation of their own diving limits. It is very scary hearing a student thinking they know it all, because they have read a few books and have taken part in some internet discussion groups. The reality is experience of the real thing will never be able to be replaced by any other form of activity.
A PSA Instructor will be working within a registered facility . Our desire is to see across the board, facility based instructors as the norm. We know that facilities must have the knowledge and understanding of regulations as well as the traceability and insurance cover required to act professionally for you.
The PSA approach to training is not about "lets be the biggest" and pushing numbers through, but on maintaining high quality instruction and real world diving that takes forward the Golden Triangle ethos of Knowledge, Integrity and Safety.
Last Updated: Sat Mar 25 2006