CROSSING OVER AS A
UTD INSTRUCTOR –
IDC PREP
by Jeff Seckendorf
When we started UTD in 2008, it was with a
very clear mission: create a training and certification agency where a group of like-minded
instructors can teach the way they dive.
The original group of 10 instructors came from
every imaginable training agency: PADI, NAUI,
ANDI, IANTD, SDI, TDI, SSI, etc. But the common ground was team diving – team diving as it
related to tech, trimix, cave, wreck penetration, and
rebreathers. And although rooted in DIR with a consistent equipment configuration, the concepts of team
diving are what drove, and continues to drive, UTD.
Then we started a very focused effort to bring those same team diving practices
to recreational diving. And that’s the interesting part. Rather than complicate a
recreational training program to make it Tech, we took our complete Trimix program, simplified it a tiny bit and made it Tech. Then we took the Tech program,
removed mandatory decompression and made it Rec 3. Simplified that a bit and
made it Rec 2, and so on.
The beauty of the way we developed the curriculium is that the core practices
required for deep team diving are the same cor H ?X?X?\? ?\]Z\?Y?? ?[????X?X][?[ X[H]?[??????\??[??]\? ? Y[? ?X\?????H^H?K ??[ Z\? ??[ ?[????? ?[K?]] ?[ H?[?X[? ?]?\? ?X?[?? H?? ?K????Y[[???? ?[?[????\??[??]\? ? Y[? ?X\?? H ?[YHZ\?\?\?[?? ???Y \?\?\??\?X?[?? ?[Z^ ? Y[? ?^HX\?? H ?[YH?\?X?\??[? ? ?]Y?Y\?[? H ?[YH?X\?????Y?\?][???\?YX[?? ?? [?????K ^H\?H[X^?[??[??H ?]\???]] ?[ H?[?X[? ?[? H?[?? ??][???]H?X???X??[??^??[ ?[K?[? ?? ^B?[?\??[? X[H]?[?? ??\? ^H[?H???\? ^B?]?HH ??Y?\?H[???X[?[?[Y\??[??H ???Y \?\???X\????Y?\?][?]??U?[??]\? ? Y[? ??]?H???[?YY???[ H ? L???