Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques

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 organisations.

Origins

An international congress of diving federations representing all underwater disciplines met in Brussels on 28 September 1958. National delegates attended from following countries: Belgium, Brazil, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Portugal, Switzerland, the United States of America and the former Yugoslavia. Following a decision at that congress, a meeting was held in Monaco on 9–11 January 1959, which officially established the World Underwater Federation, with an acronym based on its French title as ''CMAS''.

A founding member and key proponent of ''CMAS'' was the French underwater explorer and diving pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau who was chosen to be the inaugural president with Luigi Ferraro, Italian underwater pioneer, appointed as vice-president.

CMAS succeeded the ''Comité des Sports Sous-Marins'' (Underwater Sports Committee) of the Confédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive (CIPS) (International Confederation of Sport Fishing), which was founded on 22 February 1952.

Organisation

CMAS consists of three major committees - sport, technical and scientific. These committees are overseen by a board of directors (BoD) elected periodically at the annually convened general assembly. The BoD, the sport committee and the scientific committee oversee sub-committees known as commissions. Day-to-day operation is overseen by a steering committee appointed from the BoD. Its headquarters is currently located in Rome.

The steering committee

The steering committee consists of eight members. As of 2020, the members were:

*President - Anna Arzhanova (Russia)
*Secretary general - Kevin O'Shaughnessy (Ireland)
*Vice president - Jean-Louis Blanchard (France)
*Vice president - Claudio Nolli (Italy)
*President sports committee - Ilias Xiarchos (Greece)
*President technical committee - Flemming Holmn (Denmark)
*President scientific committee - Ralph Schill (Germany)
*Treasurer - Alain Germain (France)

Sport committee

The sports committee consists of commissions representing the following underwater sports - apnoea, aquathlon, finswimming, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater rugby and underwater target shooting. An additional commission known as "visual" represents the sports of underwater photography and underwater video. All of those sports are governed at the international level uniquely by CMAS with exception of apnoea in which competition and governance is also provided by a rival organisation, AIDA International.

Competitions

CMAS organises various global and regional competitions for the sports that it governs. Such competitions include but are not limited to:

* Finswimming World Championships
* Underwater Hockey World Championships
*Underwater Orienteering World Championships
*Underwater Photography World Championships
*Underwater Rugby World Championships

In 2007, CMAS launched the CMAS Games with the first edition taking place in Bari, Italy. The event aimed to grow the popularity of underwater sports by bringing all the world championships under one event. However the event was unpopular, as many of the sports had to adjust their calendars in order to synchronise the various competitions. The CMAS Games were scrapped after their first edition and the various sports returned to having their own individual championships.

Technical committee

Role

The role of the technical committee is the provision of "safe diving for CMAS members" and seeks to achieve this by "promoting world class standards for all aspects of Scuba Diving and ensuring adherence of them by member federations and dive providers". Its officers who are elected from persons nominated at the CMAS General Assembly by affiliated national diving federations include the following positions - president, secretary, standards director, education director, technical director, diving security director, special tasks director and a number of general members. It oversees the two following systems - a diver training standards system known as the "CMAS International Diver Training Standards" and a certification system known as "CMAS International Diver Certificates".

Since CMAS effectively started as a volunteer organisation for hobbyists, its courses tend to reflect the full range of European and world diving standards. Compared to other diving organisations which may be more geared towards holiday and tropical water diving. While organisations like PADI or SSI tend to bring divers into the water immediately, CMAS entry-level training is more extensive, featuring more "classroom" delivered theory.

Qualifications

Standards, certification and training delivery

The CMAS Technical Committee has developed a qualification system currently known as the "CMAS International Diver Training Standards" which consists of published universal standards for recreational diving, technical diving and leadership diver grades.

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 recognised 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 organisation and the diver.

CMAS itself does not provide training or conduct the issuing of certifications - this is available from two sources. Firstly, from national diving federations affiliated to the CMAS Technical Committee using their member diving clubs, their member instructors where the federation is exclusively an instructor organisation or by agreement with independent underwater diving training organizations operating in the countries where those federations are based. Secondly, from specially accredited dive centres known as "CMAS Dive Centers" (CDC) who use dedicated CMAS training materials.

Recreational diver training programmes

Standards are offered for recreational diver training for the following grades of scuba and snorkel divers.

* Introductory SCUBA Experience - "this training programme aims at providing interested persons with an introductory diving experience, to a maximum depth of ten (10) metres under the direct supervision of a CMAS Instructor, whilst using air as a breathing gas, in a safe manner."
* One Star Diver - "a diver who is competent in the safe and correct use of all appropriate open water scuba diving equipment in a sheltered water training area and is ready to gain open water diving experience in the company of an experienced diver."
* Two Star Diver - "a diver who has gained some open water diving experience and is considered ready to take part in dives partnered by a diver of at least the same or a higher grade. The two-star diver may dive with a One Star Diver in sheltered shallow water."
* Three Star Diver - "a fully trained, experienced, senior diver who is considered competent to supervise other divers of any grade in open water and support an instructor in the pool and open water training."
* Four Star Diver - "a three-star diver who has attained a higher than average level of knowledge and ability supported by broad diving experience. They are able to assist in the training of One Star Divers and be competent to lead divers in order to accomplish major diving tasks or project objectives."

Snorkelling

* One Star Snorkel Diver - "a snorkel diver who is competent in the safe and correct use of relevant snorkel diving equipment used in a swimming pool or sheltered water. The snorkel diver is familiar with relevant personal equipment and its use in a sheltered open water area. The snorkel diver is ready to gain further open water training."
* Two Star Snorkel Diver - "a snorkel diver who has gained some open water diving experience. The snorkel diver is considered ready to take part in dives with other snorkel divers, under supervision if a minor. The CMAS 2 star snorkel diver is considered trained."
* Three Star Snorkel Diver - "A fully trained snorkel diver who has gained considerable experience in open water snorkel diving under various conditions. The three-star snorkel diver has acquired life-saving skills and can lead snorkel divers in open water dives."

Speciality diver training programmes

Standards are provided for the following speciality training for recreational divers:

* Apnoea Diver Level I
* Apnoea Diver Level II
* Apnoea Diver Level III
* Disabled Diver: Open Water Diving Environment Level I
* Disabled Diver: Open Water Diving Environment Level II
* Disabled Diver: Open Water Diving Environment Level III
* Enriched Air Nitrox Diver
* Drysuit Diver
* Altitude Diver
* Underwater Navigation
* Search and Recovery Diver
* Ice Diver
* Compressor Operator
* Nitrox Gas Blender
* Trimix Gas Blender
* Cave Diver Level I (Cavern Diver)
* Recreational Scooter Diver
* CPR & BLS
* Oxygen Administration
* Rescue Diver

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases