Tuesday, December 9, the representatives of the leading Moscow PADI dive-centres and schools had a meeting at the Russian PADI centre. The subject of the discussion was the unscrupulous behaviour of some clubs and independent instructors.

The study of an expert group brought to the surface a number of Moscow dive-centres and independent instructors to regularly violate the training standards and to give incomplete beginners’ courses, issuing PADI Open Water Diver Certificate without open water training.

Issuing a certificate without open water dives is forbidden by PADI standards! At the moment they are discussing the prospects for suspending the licence (status?) of unscrupulous instructors.

The Russian PADI centre is working on the memorandum to all the students of the beginners’ courses suggesting they should immediately leave the unscrupulous club or dishonest instructor if they had been promised a certificate without open water dive training. All those who have just paid for such a low-quality course or have already done it are requested to inform the PADI-centre about it as their certificates are invalid. The PADI-centre will provide full assistance in your requirements to such clubs (instructors) to provide extra services for the cheated clients and give account for such behaviour.

The results of the study will be published in ‘Diving Club’ and other printed media.