While I've already got one of these at the start of my diving page, I really feel that this would be a good place for another one. Technical diving, by definition, involves activities beyond the scope of normal sport diving. That means it also exceeds the physical and mental requirements for sport diving, and the training standard. No one should participate in any of these activities without first getting a thorough physical exam by a physician who is familiar with diving medicine, and appropriate training in each technique to be used. Not that I suggest that anyone try any of this stuff. That's up to you.
Technical diving is one of the fastest growing segments of the recreational diving business. It refers to those types of diving activities that were once mostly limited to those of us who dive as part of our professions. It includes:
This list is not exhaustive, and certainly, non-professional divers have been doing many of these things for some time. It's only recently, though, that this kind of diving has become very popular in the general sport diving community. There are now dive operations beginning to pop up that cater to the psychotic among us who think diving to ridiculous depths, in cold water and bad viz, to hazardous sites, and while breathing a gas mix that could kill you without warning, is FUN!
Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of sites on the Web dealing with this type of deviant behavior yet. Some of the ones I've found so far are:
If you know of any others, please e-mail me and I'll add them. If I think they're worth it, that is.
There are already several agencies that offer specialized tech diving training programs. These are some of them:
IANTD
International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers
9628 N.E. 2nd. Ave., Suite D
Miami Shores, FL 33138-2767
(305) 751-4873
IANTD offers certifications for Nitrox, Deep Air, Trimix, Cave,
Wreck, and Rebreather diving.
ANDI American Nitrox Divers
International
74 Woodcleft Ave.
Freeport, NY 11520
(516) 546-2026
ANDI offers a basic Nitrox certification, which qualifies you to
use Nitrox I and II, and advanced Nitrox certifications, which
include custom mixes up to 50%. They also offer courses in
tri-mix, as well as a full range of courses in closed and
semi-closed rebreathers.
TDI Technical Diving
International
9 Coastal Plaza, Suite 300
Bath, ME 04530
(207) 422-0998
TDI has certifications for Nitrox, Advanced Nitrox, Tech Diving,
Mixed Gases, and Wreck Penetration.
PSA Professional SCUBA
Association
(904) 368-7974 or (407) 896-6294
PSA offers certifications for Deep Air, Nitrox, Tech Nitrox,
Trimix, Full Face Mask and Communications, Rebreathers, Drysuits,
Caves, Caverns, and Night Diving.
PADI and NAUI are planning to begin offering Nitrox certifications soon, too.
For cave diving, there are two specific training organizations:
The National Speleological Society Cave Diving
Section
P. O. Box 950
Branford, FL. 32008
and The National Association for Cave Diving
P. O. Box 14492
Gainesville, FL. 32604