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FROM THE EDITOR |
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ONLY THE FIRST STEP
What will you get out of your instructor training
program? A lot more than you think! Sure, you will earn
the PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor qualification. But
you will also earn the opportunity to turn your life
into something very special. This is something that most
instructors don’t realize until they have been working
out in the field for a while. You will be amazed at what
doors the instructor ticket will open. Opportunities
that you are just not even thinking about yet.
I am speaking from experience. When I left the USA in
1978 as a backpacking dive instructor, I never for a
moment thought that Australia would be become my home,
complete with an Australian family.
Where might you end up? Here is a small sampling of the
many directions that instructors can go…
If you like diving to the edge and enjoy the technical
aspects of diving, you can pursue a career in technical
diving; deep, decompression, trimix, cave, ice…and the
list goes on.
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How about the business side of diving? With the right
experience and training, you may one day be managing or
even owning your own dive operation.
Do you enjoy photography or videography? As an
instructor, you can gain valuable experience that can
make you an expert in this field. Look out National
Geographic!
Most of our diving is done from boats. Working as a dive
instructor on a boat will earn you valuable sea time
towards a skipper’s ticket.
We all understand our responsibility to protecting our
aquatic environment. For some of us, this becomes a
passion that we can pursue as an instructor right into
jobs with any number of environmental management
agencies.
And, of course, some of you may even enjoy teaching
people to dive. After all, that is why we work so hard
to earn our instructor ticket. If this is where your
heart lies, then you can make it your livelihood by
teaching all aspects of diving, from open water, right
up to instructor.
So, where will you be in ten years time? |
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CONTINUING YOUR EDUCATION |
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SPICE UP YOUR CAREER
They say that variety is the spice of life. This is so
very true with diving and dive instruction. Although we
all enjoy teaching open water courses, doing the same
thing over and over again can become tiresome and
boring. This is known in the industry as burnout. Most
new instructors cannot imagine the day will come that
they will no longer enjoy their diving. And it is a sad
day indeed.
But that day should never arrive. We can all enjoy our
diving careers until we are too old to dive. The key, of
course, is to teach a variety of courses, from Discover
Snorkelling to Instructor Programs. Variety in your
teaching keeps you fresh and on your toes. The
higher-level courses such as Rescue and Divemaster help
you keep your skills and knowledge at the highest
levels. Many of the Specialty Courses allow you to
pursue your own personal passion in diving.
How do you get involved in teaching continuing
education? As a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you
have the necessary qualification to teach everything
from snorkelling to divemaster.
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But do you have the experience and confidence? If you
don’t, then get out there and get the experience. With
experience will come confidence. You can also team-teach
with an experienced instructor to gain the necessary
experience.
When you are ready, you will want to earn your IDC Staff
Instructor qualification. This qualification will allow
you to teach the PADI Assistant Instructor Course as
well as assist on IDCs. There is nothing quite as
fulfilling as teaching at the highest level.
So, what are you waiting for? It is time to chase your
passion. |
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS |
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GET INVOLVED
Nearly 30% of the world’s coral reefs have been severely
impacted by human activities. With global warming, the
future for coral reefs is looking very bleak.
Are you doing your very best to look after our marine
resources? I am sure that you are aware that it is every
instructor’s responsibility to look after our marine
environment, both above and below. There are many ways
that you can do this.
Teach! Teach every one of your divers and snorkellors
how to best look after their aquatic environment, both
in and out of the water. This often requires you to go
beyond the scope of the course materials but that is
what it takes…a little bit of extra effort.
Get involved! Get involved in conservation projects and
get your divers involved in conservation projects. These
projects can be as simple as a beach cleanup to
something more challenging such as a coral reef survey.
There are many above water projects that can be of fun
and interest.
A couple of years back, I was running a divemaster
course for a group of divers from England. At the finish
of the course, they commented that a real highlight was
the tree-planting activity they participated in.
Be aware! Be aware of what is going on in your own
backyard. Potentially serious impacts can sneak up on
us. This may require you to continue your own education
by attending environmental seminars and workshops. But I
am sure that you will find these to be both interesting
and fulfilling.
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Although many of us get into diving for the laidback
lifestyle, we all must be on our toes when it comes to
looking after our office, the aquatic environment. |
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RECENT COURSE NEWS |
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March this year saw a windy and wet instructor program
in Airlie Beach. With category 5 cyclone Larry pounding
the North Queensland coast, a new bunch of instructors
completed their training here in Airlie Beach.
Congratulations go to Brigitte Priday, Wayne Freeman,
David Fleming and Richard Allen. As well, Bardon Kaitira
and Anthony McIlwain completed their IDC Staff
Instructor Course.
Although the candidates were kept quite busy, they did
find time to have plenty of fun. After all, isn’t that
what diving is all about? IDC Staff Instructors Bardon
and Anthony ensured that the instructor candidates knew
their way around the town (pub to pub). Wayne kept
everyone awake with his high decibel presentations.
Richard was never short of entertaining comments
regarding the quality of PADI exam questions. And
Brigitte kept the class tied in knots with her rope
skills.
With the program completed, the new instructors have
scattered to the four winds.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? |
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It is always fascinating to see where people go with
their diving careers. With the Internet today, it is not
hard to keep in touch with your fellow dive instructors.
Here is an opportunity to catch up with a few from past
programs.
Traun Lynch was last seen wandering the streets and bars
of Mexico, spending much of his time in Cozumel. A long
way from his native Tasmania.
Jeff Herbert is currently managing the diving at one of
Australia’s best known diving destinations, Heron
Island. Jeff must enjoy the island life as he has also
spent time on Lady Elliot Island.
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Stephen Heriat is an upmarket island man, working on the
5-star resort of Hayman Island in the Whitsundays.
Stephen’s position with water sports sees him driving
boats as well as diving.
When last heard, Richard Wagner was enjoying his time in
the Caribbean. A good mate of Traun, Richard is probably
holed up in a bar in downtown Merida on Mexico’s Yucatan
Peninsula.
Where are you now? If the law is not looking for you,
drop me a line and a few photos that you would like to
share with some old mates. |
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ON
THE HORIZON |
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Probably the most common post-dive questions that you
hear is “What fish was that?”
Not an easy question to answer as there are thousands of
them and they never hold still long enough to identify
them. But all is not lost as you can become a bit of a
local fish expert and along the way help protect an
important natural resource.
There are various ways to become a local fish expert,
but the most effective way is to just dive, dive, dive
and then dive some more.
Of course, while you are diving, you should be
familiarising yourself with the local fish population.
This is best done through fish ID books that are readily
available for most popular dive sites. It is best to
start by simply identifying the major fish families.
Then, with practice, you can start identifying the
individual fish species.
With enough experience and expertise you can qualify for
the PADI Fish Identification Specialty and begin
teaching others how to identify fish.
The next step is to begin recording your observations;
what fish and how many at each dive site. In time, this
data will become quite valuable for the protection of
the habitat and the fish that live there.
This type of project has proven to be very successful
overseas but has not been tried here in Australia. But
now is the time and we will be trialing a fish survey
here in the Whitsundays starting in May 2006. Stay
tuned.
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