Dive Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos
The Dive-In Centre at Larnaca is the Regional Office for SDI/TDI Greece/Cyprus
In April of 1994, Bret Gilliam and Mitch Skaggs formed Technical Diving International as a training agency dedicated to programs outside the traditional sport diving envelope.
Initially the company was located in Key Largo, Florida but moved to its current offices in Topsham, Maine as the company grew. It is the largest tech training agency worldwide with over 10,000 active instructors.
TDI has now expanded to have regional offices in more than 50 countries worldwide. TDI secured the first insurance coverage for both technical diving curricula and tradi¬tional sport diving limits in one policy. The company's founders and regional Directors have been active in the advancement of technical diving education and safety by sponsoring local and international workshops and conferences to offer cutting edge programs to the community.
Currently TDI offers courses in Entry Level and Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures, Extended Range, Entry Level and Advanced Trimix, SCR & CCR Rebreathers, Overhead, Advanced Wreck diving techniques, and a complete host of technician training for equipment servicing and the blending and mixing of gases.
TDI were asked to consider developing an entry level scuba training curriculum by store owners and instructors. That demand had reached a level that compelled them to research and develop an entry-level program.
A new agency, called Scuba Diving International or simply SDI for short, was created. Obviously, the core curriculum of all scuba programs is essentially the same and SDI's standards and procedures meet or exceed all requirements currently in place for membership in the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC). However, SDI offers marked differences in the way that material is presented.
Virtually all-active divers now use a personal dive computer because it makes their diving experience easier, safer, and more fun.
In the SDI program, dive tables are presented as a historical reference on the way dives used to be planned. Students are shown how tables work but are provided a computer as part of their basic gear from the outset.
SDI have produced a full color training text along with an instructor manual. Support videos are also available to bolster the learning process.