As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the way many businesses operate, one industry has been faced with raising new standards. That industry is the diving industry. With thousands of dive shops, dive resorts and dive vessels in the world, each one is now having to face whether their rental scuba equipment is being properly disinfected when issuing to multiple divers. And the diving industry turned to the NSU Academic Diving Program (NSUAPD) for its legendary equipment disinfecting protocols.
“When the Coronavirus started to impact dive centers and resorts, we were asked by several groups in the dive industry to share what our disinfecting protocols were,” states Tec Clark, Associate Director for Aquatics and Scuba Diving. “That’s because the NSUADP has equipment disinfecting protocols that are incredibly unique in the industry. We have used these protocols since our inception, all with the desire to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our NSU community of divers and scuba students.”
In 2012 NSU President Dr. George Hanbury appointed diving industry expert Tec Clark to create the NSU Academic Diving Program. Today, the NSUADP is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors’ (PADI) third largest Educational Institution issuing over 350 certifications annually.
Clark continues, “The problem with the majority of scuba equipment rentals in the industry, is that they are fresh-water rinsed, then issued to another diver. That’s not good enough because this is life-support equipment that engages with our respiratory tracts. In fact, there are four mouthpieces on a regular set of scuba diving equipment. And with a program as big as ours we ensure that no student could ever get sick from using our gear.”
As the requests from key players in the diving industry rolled in, Clark created a video to highlight the products and protocols used by the NSUADP. The video entitled Disinfecting Rental Scuba Gear has been applauded by the dive industry and many are adopting the methods used by the NSUADP.
The NSU Academic Diving Program is one of the nation’s largest university dive training programs. The NSUADP teaches courses from snorkeling through Scuba Instructor at NSU’s Fort Lauderdale campus. Founded in 2012, the NSUADP is a PADI Educational Institution and a DAN Training Facility. Courses are available both and for academic credit. For more information contact tclark@nova.edu.