As you come towards the end of the year, it’s only natural to take a look in the rear view mirror and contemplate the year that was.
“Where did the year go?” You might ask, and “What happened to my resolutions?”
Our favourite part about this is that everyone looks back and sees their own year. Everyone remembers different highlights and challenges; different moments become etched in their memories.
With that, we wanted to share what 2017 meant for PADI®, and reflect on some of the moments that will stick around in our memories.
PADI Members Helped Protect Our Ocean
All over the world, PADI Dive Shops proved their commitment to conservation. There are simply too many to name them all individually, but we wanted to give a big shout out to all they’re doing in their local communities – from being 100% AWARE, to Dive Against Debris® events, beach cleanups, removing straws from their restaurants and bars and even simply passing on their knowledge to new divers. Every step they’ve taken goes a long way in protecting the environment, and it was certainly a highlight for us to see just how many people got involved this year.
PADI Women Were Celebrated Around the Globe
For the third year in a row, the dive community came together to celebrate PADI Women’s Dive Day. In 2017, more than 700 events took place in seven different countries! People often question the need for PADI Women’s Dive Day, but statistics show that there is a gap between the number of men and women certified, and we want to change this! A huge thank you to everyone who supported this campaign and we can’t wait for an even bigger day next year.
Two New Adaptive Diver Courses Were Released
Diving should be as inclusive as possible and to support this, PADI released two new courses designed to introduce and support people with disabilities. The PADI Adaptive Support Diver increases your awareness of the varying abilities amongst divers. It will introduce you to adaptive techniques that you can use when diving or freediving with a buddy who has a disability. The second course, the PADI Adaptive Techniques Specialty is designed to help PADI Professionals become more aware of individual considerations with teaching or working with people who have a disability. It you want to learn more about these courses you can do so here.
Fluffy the Great White Shark
Earlier this year, a baby great white shark was found stranded on a Sydney beach. Locals affectionately nicknamed him Fluffy and after monitored by experts to ensure he was in the best condition to return to the ocean, he was released.
Hurricanes Irma, Maria and Harvey
These three hurricanes certainly weren’t the first natural disasters to hit the dive community hard, nor will the be the last. People all over the world have felt the impacts of weather events and natural disasters throughout 2017. What stands out to us though, is the way the PADI community rallies around those in need. Wondering what you can do to help? the best thing is to visit these areas and experience them for yourself.
A Live Broadcast from Underwater
Technology has moved forward dramatically over the last few years and Mitchell Oates showed this off by live streaming his dive on the Great Barrier Reef. Twitter and Periscope users watched as he dived beneath the waves, and again later in the year when he went cage diving with great white sharks in South Australia.
Come diving at the #GreatBarrierReef live on Twitter https://t.co/PkxriZyg1a
— Mitch oates (@MitchOates) July 13, 2017
You Guys Fell in Love With This Video
There’s not much more to say about this one, it’s pretty easy to see why this little guy won hearts all over the world.
The PADI Flag Flew at 21 Dive Shows Around the World
Every year PADI goes to dive shows all over the world to introduce new people to the underwater world and encourage experienced divers to continue exploring. You might have attended one yourself and stopped by the PADI booth to say hi, but if not maybe it’s something to consider next year. Every dive show is different, but often you’ll get to learn new things, see the latest gear and get the best deals!
A New World Record Was Set
Not too long ago, nearly 360 divers came together as a community to set a new world record in Melbourne, Australia. With the previous record being 308, they absolutely smashed it and now hold the Guinness World Record for the longest underwater chain!
Photo by Sheree Marris
We Welcomed 22 New PADI AmbassaDivers
PADI AmbassaDivers help us spread the word about diving and beautiful dive destinations to even more people than we’d be able to on our own. That’s why we were thrilled to welcome 22 new AmbassaDivers to the PADI Family in 2017! You can find out more about all of them here.
As you can see, 2017 was a massive year for PADI and the diving community! Thank you for all your support last year, and we can’t wait to see what 2018 brings for divers all over the world.
