NAUI Courses

Recreational diving in North America traces its roots to 1948 with Jacques-Yves Cousteau and a self-contained underwater breathing unit he called the Aqua-Lung, but it wasn’t until the late 1960s that the term “scuba diver” became the accepted name for Aqua-Lung users.

In those early days, the only training a new diver received was the warning not to hold their breath. During the 1950s recreational dive clubs were the only source for training civilian divers but as the population of divers grew, the need to codify the training was also growing.

Al Tillman, the director of sports for Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, established a training program sponsored by L.A. County to certify skin and scuba divers. In April 1955 they held the first Underwater Instructor Certification Course, (1UICC) and created the world’s first civilian diver training agency. The L.A. County program soon began granting Provisional Certification to instructors across the country to respond to a growing number of requests. The names of these newly certified instructors were published in “Skin Diver Magazine” under a column titled National Diving Patrol.

In 1959 the National Diving Patrol was renamed the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). In August 1960, a meeting of the Underwater Society of America was scheduled to be held in Houston, Texas. NAUI’s first Instructor Certification Course was held at the Houston’s Shamrock Hilton Hotel that August with 72 candidates.

But NAUI is not only history; it is also the future. NAUI is its members. Our Association continues to grow as we promote “Dive Safety Through Education”, the same motto established in 1960 as the guiding principle of NAUI's mission. NAUI members are known and respected all across the industry for the quality of their teaching, concern for the individual student, and safety awareness. Even as we grow, we remain a real association of members who share common values and a trust in one another’s commitment to our motto. There has never been a better time to become a NAUI leader or instructor. As scuba diving continues to grow in popularity and in the number of participants, your decision to earn the right to join NAUI will be one for which you can always be proud.