New Standards

Prior to this meeting the Rebreather Education and Safety Association (RESA) and the Rebreather Training Council (RTC) had been having a robust active discussion about industry-wide rebreather training standards. It seemed sensible therefore to take the opportunity for the two organisations to find a common path forward.

Mark Caney from PADI and the RTC stated "The key item to come out of this meeting was an agreement for a joint committee to look at standards issued by both organisations, and work objectively towards harmonisation of standards.

This first standard is called "RTC Rebreather Diver Level 1," and it delineates a stage in a diver’s development where he or she is trained to dive with a rebreather to a maximum depth of 30m (100ft) with no planned stage decompression stops, and without supervision by an instructor or divemaster.

This standard will make it easier to compare certifications from different agencies, and is intended to be followed by others later.¹

The meeting was first proposed by the National Park Service (NPS), then quickly supported by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Divers Alert Network (DAN), and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS).

A number of key experts were involved in the Catalina Island event including Jeff Bozanic, Simon Mitchell and Richard Pyle.

Over the course of four days standards relating to practice, physiology, incidents and equipment evolution relevant to scientific diving with rebreathers were reviewed.