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Adaptability of PADI’s Diving Programme helping Veterans heal

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PADI® Members around the world are helping veterans heal, both physically and mentally, through the techniques learned in the PADI Adaptive Support Diver and Adaptive Techniques Specialty courses. This week the PADI organisation honours active-duty military personnel and veterans across the globe, along with the many PADI Members who offer dive programmes to support them. In addition to the confidence building and life changing aspects training as a PADI diver offers, diving can also heal.

“We are committed to increasing access to the underwater world for everyone and believe that the transformational power of learning to dive can benefit the emotional and physical well-being of all humanity,” says Kristin Valette Wirth, Chief Brand and Membership Officer of PADI Worldwide.  “Promoting health and wellness through diving is a key focus area of PADI’s People and Humanity Pillar of Change, with the primary objective to remove barriers and increase access to diving for all.”

According to the World Health Organisation, there are around one billion people on the planet who are living with some sort of disability—mental or physical. PADI’s courses have always allowed and encouraged adaptive techniques, but with the launch of PADI’s Adaptive Techniques Specialty Course in 2018, the inherent flexibility of PADI courses for people with disabilities was better highlighted. This has helped instructors learn how a simple technique change can allow more divers to meet performance requirements and earn a PADI certification. Instructors learn how to implement techniques to leverage the strengths of their students and help each one overcome their unique challenges, thereby providing greater access to diving for all.

This summer, PADI teamed up with Patriots for Disabled Divers, a non-profit organisation founded by Jeff and Merial Currer, who own PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre Patriot Scuba in Virginia, USA, to certify retired U.S. Army SGT Bryan Anderson as a PADI Open Water Diver. Anderson completed his course in Catalina Island, California on the 20th anniversary of his deployment to Iraq, where he was injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that resulted in the loss of both legs and his left hand. Bryan received rehabilitation for a period of 13 months at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre and is one of the few triple amputees to have survived his injuries in Iraq. Anderson was awarded the Purple Heart because of his injuries.

See Bryan Anderson’s story here:

It was Robert ‘Bob’ Taradash, Bryan’s former Battalion Commander in Iraq, that first introduced the idea to Bryan and was instrumental in helping Bryan become a certified diver, serving as both an instructor and dive buddy throughout Bryan’s certification journey. Now an active PADI IDC Staff Instructor and the Executive Director of Patriots for Disabled Divers, Bob wanted to recruit Bryan into diving because he knew that showing the world that Bryan could dive would be a powerful motivator for many people.

“Our relationship, that camaraderie, that desire to be there for each other is what brought us together to dive in Catalina,” explains Taradash. “Just by the fact of him doing this, it might inspire others – disabled or not – to put on a tank, take their first breath underwater, and enjoy the undersea world. I think Bryan’s story, in his adventure to breathe underwater, is going to be part of the lasting legacy in Bryan’s journey to inspire others.”

“You always have that thought in the back of your head, ‘Well, maybe you’re not going to get there. Maybe something will limit you,’” says Anderson. “But I worked through it, didn’t panic, and being a triple amputee, I completed everything that I needed to become a certified PADI Open Water Diver. If you’ve had the thought like you might want to try diving and you’re stopping yourself because your mind is stopping you and you think you can’t, I want to show you that you can.”

Anderson’s recent journey with Patriots for Disabled Divers is just one of many around the world, with PADI Dive Centres and Resorts increasingly training their instructors with the PADI Adaptive Techniques Specialty Course and offering the PADI Adaptive Support Diver Course to those in the dive community.

“Scuba diving can have a tremendous impact on individuals diagnosed with PTSD. I see this transformation on a daily basis.  Many of our PADI Pros have PTSD and there is a noticeable difference in them when they are actively diving.   They have told me that when they get underwater, all the noise in their head is quieted.  They are happier and more social when they get out.  Scuba diving is also very freeing for our students who spend a good bit of time in a wheelchair. They get underwater and experience a feeling of freedom they haven’t felt in a long time and in some cases, ever,” says Merial Currer. “For us working with people who never thought they could dive due to a disability, has been incredibly rewarding.”

Read more about other PADI Members who are champion adaptive diver training on the PADI Pros Blog.

“Through the continued work of PADI Members supporting veterans through adaptive diving, their heroic journeys to become divers inspire us all. They prove that anyone can overcome barriers and try something with the power to transform their life,” says Valette Wirth.

Find out more at www.padi.com

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Spooktacular Underwater Adventure: Oyster Diving’s First Halloween Scuba Party at Mercers Lake

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halloween

Last Thursday, Oyster Diving transformed Mercers Lake into a hauntingly unforgettable underwater realm for their inaugural Halloween Scuba Party. Approximately 20 intrepid divers plunged into the darkness, weaving through a mesmerising scene of spectral decorations, glow sticks, and eerie underwater pumpkins.

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After the thrilling night dive, participants gathered to feast on a ghoulish spread of pumpkin soup, chilli con carne, and decadent fudge brownies, perfect fuel for the frightful festivities.

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With a resounding success, Oyster Diving is excited to announce plans for this event to become an annual tradition. Next year, look forward to a fully licensed bar and live music, promising an even spookier celebration under the moonlit waters.

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Join us next Halloween for an experience that promises to be a haunting delight!

Find out more about Oyster Diving at oysterdiving.com.

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Marine Life & Conservation

Shark Trust launches Oceanic 31 Shark Art Auction

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After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.

People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:

https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction

It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.

The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.

One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.

Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:

https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24

Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.

Find out more here:

https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31

 Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”

Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction


Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden

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