Type Program offered by NGO Extinction 31 December 2008 | Founded August 1959 Legal status 501(c) organization | |
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Formation August 1959 (August 1959) Purpose Underwater Diver training Headquarters YMCA of the USANational Head Office Location 101 N Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 Region served United States of America and other countries Motto We build strong kids, strong families and strong communities Affiliations Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques, World Recreational Scuba Training Council Similar National Speleological Society, Global Underwater Explorers, Divers Alert Network, National Association of Under, American Academy of Under | ||
YMCA SCUBA Program (also known as Y-SCUBA) was an underwater diving training program operated by the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of the USA from 1959 to 2008. It was the first nationally organised underwater diving instruction program offered in the United States of America. The program is now delivered by Scuba Educators International, an organisation founded by a group of former senior YMCA SCUBA instructors in 2008.
Contents
Origins
In 1954, the YMCA of the USA and other interested parties under the auspices of the Council for National Cooperation in Aquatics commenced a study to look at the safety aspects of underwater diving. Findings of the study were outlined with the view of creating a course of training sufficient to produce ‘capable performance in those who elect to participate in… recreational (diving) activity’. A trial course was run during the late 1954 and early 1955 by the YMCA of the USA using this outline. The material used in the course was then published in The Science of Skin and SCUBA Diving (or The New Science of Skin and SCUBA Diving as some sources suggest) during 1957. The YMCA of the USA then developed its own program of underwater diving instruction for delivery as part of its existing aquatics program. It certified its first snorkelling and scuba diving instructors in August 1959, thereby becoming the first nationally organized underwater diving training program offered in the USA.
Winding up
In July 2008, the YMCA of the USA announced that the scuba program would cease on December 31, 2008 and that it would continue to replace lost certificate cards for training conducted from 1984 to 2008. In 2008, a group of former YMCA SCUBA instructors created a new organisation called Scuba Educators International (SEI) for the purpose of continuing the YMCA SCUBA diver training program under a new banner.
Recognition
In 1980, YMCA SCUBA joined CMAS, thereby gaining access to CMAS International Diver Training Certificates for its divers and instructors. YMCA SCUBA was a member of the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC) from its foundation in 1986 until 2008.
Qualifications
At the time of closure, the YMCA SCUBA qualification system was structured as follows.
CMAS equivalencies
The following equivalencies were those in place as of December 2004.