UTD Scuba Diving Podcast

Send us a textIncident and accident reporting. Is it good for scuba or terrifying for scuba? In this episode Jeff and Ben are joined by Diver Alert Network's Cat Harris. Cat manages DAN's incident reporting system.Should scuba take a page from general aviation, an industry that has consistently published accident data and analysis? Or should scuba continue to hide behind the idea that telling anyone there could be some danger associated with scuba is just bad for business.Also joining us is Andrej Gaspar, a UTD Instructor in Slovakia, whose student just created an reporting system for mountain incidents and accidents.What do you think?Let us know by clicking here.  https://utdscubadiving.com/contact/DAN's Incident Reporting websitehttps://dan.org/safety-prevention/incident-reporting/

Send us a textWhy no bungees? Why no double bladders? Do you need an STA? Why are they all black?In this episode Jeff and Ben tackle these questions and many more as they dig into the ins and outs, and ups and downs of BCDs, wings, dumps, and bladders.Questions? Comments? You can reach us by clicking here.  

Send us a textImmediately following the DEMA show in Orlando, Ben taught a Tech 1 course in the Florida keys. He was joined by three students and UTD Instructor James Mott, who flew down to co-teach with Ben. The team decided to record a podcast in three parts, one at the beginning, right after the first day, one in the middle, and one after the final dive. In this episode you will hear thoughts and insights from both instructors and all three students as they progress through their Tech 1 class.For more information on any of our training or scuba coaching programs:contact us by clicking here.

Send us a textDuring the 2022 DEMA Show in Orlando, Florida, Ben presented in the Technical Resource Area on how ascent strategies can and should change and how Ratio Deco has changed over the decades to become Ratio Deco 3.0. Plus a little history on decompression strategies and algorithms, along with a dose of how are bodies deal with inert gas at higher pressures. The audio is a bit rough as this was recorded on the trade show floor.Purchase the Ratio Deco 3.0 Online Course Materials, click here.Contact us, click here.

Send us a textWe are back at the DEMA Show, this year in Orlando, Jeff did a short presentation in the Technical Resource center about the UTD Scuba Coaching Program. This talk is a synopsis of scuba coaching – what it is, how it works, and, most importantly, the benefits for the students/clients.https://utdscubadiving.com/utd-scuba-coaching/

Send us a textThis episode is extracted from the UTD Instructor Meeting in Madrid October 21, 2022. Jeff in English, interpreted into Spanish by UTD instructor Alan Weinberg talks about new UTD courses – Advanced Diver vs. Rec 2, the new  Oxygen Cleanup Course, the UTD Scuba Coaching Program, and the new UTD Skills Camps.Then training director Ben Bos, also interpreted into Spanish by Alan, looks at the recent changes that were made to Ratio Deco 3.0.Huge thanks to Alan for coordinating the instructor and community meeting and for two solid days of interpreting!

Send us a textCuriosity Projects – for us these are fascinating diving projects that involve science, research, or some other socially conscious reason for being.In this episode, recorded during the 2022 UTD EU Instructor and Community Meeting in Madrid, Spain, we are joined by UTD instructors Alan Weinberg and Andrej Gaspar along with Martin Strmiska to discuss current and future curiosity projects.https://curiosity-projects.org/Contact UTD

Send us a textThis episode started as a deep dive (are we tired of that pun yet) into gas management, but quickly changed into an Obscure Question episode on managing your cylinders. Jeff and Ben look at diving steel tanks in side mount, diving double steel tanks in a wetsuit, why we do a valve drill, why not breathe from a tank that is slowly leaking, and much more.And, as a bonus, there is a riddle at the end of the episode...answer correctly and win cool prizes!Contact us anytime (and submit your answer to the riddle) by clicking here.

Send us a textWell, here we are. It's the 50th podcast, and it's kind of a milestone for us. It's been tons of fun producing these and we have every intention of continuing.For this episode we thought we'd give you a little insight into the more personal side of Jeff and Ben so, we came up with a list of questions for each other. Here are a few of the things we cover:What was your greatest failure as an instructor?If you were the president/CEO of PADI, what is the first change you would implement?What was your “near death experience?”What is the biggest lesson diving taught you?Do you think there should be an unbiased certifying system for divers?What is the most important piece of diving equipment a diver needs?What are your thoughts about training kids?And there's lots more. So, grab a glass of your favorite beverage and join us for this look at the personalities who keep UTD ticking along.Contact us by clicking here.UTD Website, click here.For more info on UTD Scuba Coaching, click here.

Send us a textIn this episode Jeff and Ben go after a random collection of questions that have come in recently:If I live in the U.S. should I learn the metric system for diving?Should you exercise before or after diving?How to shore dive side mount?Integrated boots or rock boots on a dry suit?What is the best scuba diving car?My traveling gear bag weights 55lbs/27kg...what to do?How to deal with different protocols when diving with divers from other organizations? Have a questions? Email them to us at info@utdscubadiving.com. Or click here to contact us.Interested in the UTD Scuba Coaching Program? Click here.