Scuba Educators International (SEI) (also known as SEI Diving) is a non-for-profit

underwater diving Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on contex ...

training organisation established in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during 2008 to continue the underwater diving training program known as the YMCA SCUBA Program which ceased operation in 2008.

Origins

SEI was founded in 2008 by a group of former senior YMCA SCUBA instructors following the announcement of the closure of the YMCA Scuba Program by the

YMCA of the USA The National Council of Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States of America (known as YMCA of the USA) is part of the worldwide youth organization YMCA. It has 2,700 separate organizations with 10,000 branches working with 21 mill ...

with the intention of continuing the YMCA Scuba Program under a new banner. The new agency was conceived as being a non-for-profit organisation that would operate world-wide and in complete independence of the YMCA of the US, “but will continue to share philosophies and dedication to the highest quality education in the (diving) industry”.

Recognition

During 2010, SEI entered in an agreement with the Underwater Society of America (USOA) to issue CMAS International Diver Training Certificates. SEI is a member of the

Diving Equipment and Marketing Association Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA, formerly the Diving Equipment Manufacturers Association), is an international organization dedicated to the promotion and growth of the recreational scuba diving Recreational diving or sport ...

(DEMA) with its CEO, Tom Leaird, serving on the DEMA Board of Directors.

Qualifications

The SEI Qualification System was structured as of July 2014.

Snorkel

* Snorkeling for Families

Scuba

* I Tried Scuba *

Open Water Diver Open Water Diver (OWD) is an entry-level autonomous diver certification for recreational scuba diving. Although different agencies use different names, similar entry-level courses are offered by all recreational diving agencies and consist of a co ...

* Junior Open Water Diver * Diver Refreshed * Advanced Open Water Diver Level 2 * Advanced Open Water Diver Level 3 * Master Scuba Diver Level 4

Leadership

Divemaster A divemaster (DM) is a role that includes organising and leading recreational dives, particularly in a professional capacity, and is a qualification used in many parts of the world in recreational scuba diving for a diver who has supervisory respo ...

* Assistant Instructor * Instructor * Instructor Trainer

Specialities

* DRAM (Dive Rescue & Accident Management) Rescue Diver * Nitrox Diver * Equipment Service * Ice Diver * Full Face Mask Diver * Reef Ecology * Search and Recovery * Dry Suit Diver

CMAS Equivalencies

The following equivalencies were agreed by the USOA and SEI during 2010.

References

External links

SEI Diving Homepage

SEI Diving Italy Homepage

SEI Diving Japan Homepage

SEI Diving Korea Homepage

Scuba Educators International: The Short Documentary
{{Authority control Underwater diving training organizations Organizations established in 2008 2008 establishments in the United States