Why Choose IANTD?
The International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers has been at the cutting edge of diver training for 40 years. From the first nitrox course in the world to Tek Lite programs that allow for reduced narcosis in the entry-level tech depth range, all the way up through CCR Cave and Expedition Trimix, IANTD has been setting the standard since its very beginnings in 1985.
IANTD was founded as the International Association of Nitrox Divers (IAND) in 1985 by Dick Rutkowski in order to teach nitrox mixtures to recreational divers. Rutkowski was a US Navy veteran (1950 - 1963), a commercial diver (1967), a NAUI Instructor (#4005), and a NOAA Dive Supervisor and Aquanaut, where he held positions as Deputy Diving Coordinator, Director of the NOAA Miami Hyperbaric Facility, Director of NOAA Diver Training, and he founded the NOAA Diving/Hyperbaric Training and Diver Treatment Facility in 1973. The Nitrox program was first developed by NOAA during Dick's tenure, and in 1985, Dick founded IAND as a way to educate the dive industry on the increased safety and benefits Nitrox blends have over air underwater. Seven years later, NAUI became the first agency to recognize IAND certifications, officially bringing IAND into the mainstream of the industry. IAND was the first to teach diving with Trimix in 1991, and the next year in 1992, IAND's name was changed to "IANTD" to reflect its technical training offerings. In 2006, IANTD introduced sidemount for open water use to the recreational side of the industry, and that same year, the Recreational Trimix & Advanced Recreational Trimix Diving courses were also introduced. In-Water Recompression training was introduced by IANTD in 2012, and to-date, IANTD is the only agency who has this program. And finally, IANTD was the first to introduce and offer rebreather training at all levels, recreational and technical alike. Today, IANTD has the most complete selection of rebreather training programs, up to Expedition Trimix Diving, of all agencies.
IANTD offers a complete range of training courses from Open Water Diver through to Expedition Trimix using both open and closed circuit equipment, and a full range of overhead diver training programs. IANTD instructor trainers and instructors represent some of the very best technical divers and educators in the world. All IANTD programs, from entry level upwards, equip a diver with the skills and knowledge to become a safe, responsible, self-sufficient diver, with in-depth survival skills, both mentally and physically. It's a philosophy reflected in our Open Water Nitrox Diver course - why not start with the safety benefits of Nitrox from your very first dive? - and continues throughout all IANTD training programs. Since its founding, IANTD has stayed at the very forefront of diver education, leading the way so that others may follow.
IANTD's Mission:
IANTD’s mission is to explore the opportunities and challenges of Recreational Diving, which includes all forms of Sport Diving, Nitrox, Advanced and Technical diving, in order to foster openness and individual responsibility, and to provide a standard of care for instruction in the diving community. IANTD and its members strive to be honest, ethical and fair in all venues, and believes that there are universal principles that are more absolute, and that its members should try to live by them. IANTD's mission activities include the following areas:
Public Awareness & Advocacy
IANTD is working to promote openness in the diving community; to share procedures, techniques and operational methods with divers seeking to expand their diving experiences. In the interest of safer diving, IANTD encourages freedom with discipline, allowing for development of new methods and procedures, but recognizing the need for an accepted safety envelope. IANTD stays informed on diving developments and includes them in its diving activities.
Safer Diver Program
IANTD believes individual diver responsibilities are developed through rigorous skill refinement and experience in the water. Vigorous instruction with a strong student / Instructor relationship, enhancing a transfer of the diving responsibility to the student, is the essence of IANTD's teaching philosophy.
Program Development & Refinement
IANTD has developed Programs to increase diving knowledge and skill levels. IANTD continues refining these programs, based on reports from Instructors in the field, to improve and strengthen their value to its membership. IANTD continues to develop a set of core values that apply to sport and technical diving. IANTD Standards and Procedures have been developed and have evolved to allow worldwide recognition of skill and knowledge at each qualification level addressed by IANTD.
Fostering Community
Much of the work IANTD has done has been directed at fostering a sense of community in the diving world. The diving community, by virtue of its size, needs internal cooperation to prosper and grow; anything less is counter-productive.
Source: https://www.iantd.com/index.php/about-iantd/about-us
