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The European Diving Career Institute in Varna, Bulgaria ,
International NAUI Leadership Training

  By Frederick Claro, CD # 18819

    It is part of human nature to dream and aspire for the extraordinary, and we all dreamt about being pioneer in one domain or another. Our major problem today, in a world of high technology, and pre-set existences, is that we find it difficult to innovate and become part of the dream picture.
     But for us, dive professionals and NAUI leaders, the world is open and still a lot of opportunities are available out there for the motivated and patient ones. We all read dream-like articles in diving magazines about the lives of remote dive leaders, spending their lives in stunning tropical places, diving with the most amazing marine creatures on earth and cruising through an apparently easygoing life, far from the hard reality of the modern world. But, as a diving educator, what is left to do? What is still to do out there, which never has been done? This article is the story of one of the most amazing educational diving ventures in a non-tropical environment of these last few years.
     It all started from the electronic window of a Personal Computer:

     The Genesis:

    Mr. Ivan Ivanov, Director of the biggest commercial diving company in Bulgaria: Hydroremont, contacted us at Consult Dive International in early 2000 to start the training of a group of diving enthusiasts and ex-navy divers (all instructors), to become NAUI Instructors and develop NAUI in the Balkan region.
     After mutual agreement, we went there to teach the first ever NAUI Leadership and Instructor programs in Bulgaria in May 2000. This first training resulted in the qualification of 5 new NAUI members: 4 Instructors and 1 Divemaster.
     Soon after the first program, in October the same year, we went back to train 4 more Instructors and Mr. Ivanov became the first Bulgarian NAUI Instructor Trainer.
     It was during the evening resting time that we sat down and talked about the evolution of the NAUI professional education in Varna and the region. We agreed to develop the already great facility of the “Nadia” Hotel to a complete Institute, where the concept of training the candidates in an “all in one” package would be the philosophy.
     It is true that, as diving educator, we all had the problem of losing a lot of time in transportation from a classroom to a pool and from the main training ground to the open water training sites…The time lost in transportation and preparation could not be recovered and we all agreed that this time could be used much more efficiently in teaching and training.
     Mr. Ivanov decided to build a specifically designed pool for NAUI training in the already existing hotel facility for 2001 and to transform an existing dining room in a real classroom. The European Diving Career Institute (EDCI) was born!
     Until that time, only Bulgarian candidates had been trained by us at the Center. The aim with the creation of the Institute was to make it an international facility where NAUI Instructor candidates would come from Europe and hopefully the rest of the world to train and become NAUI Instructors.

     The internationalization:

     We decided to combine our marketing efforts and to develop further the concept of an “all-in-one” training facility. The next Instructor program was to be held in October 2001 and we put great efforts into promoting the different courses both in Bulgaria and on the international market via the Internet.
     The response was great and we were able to fulfill all our expectations covering the whole range of NAUI leadership courses from Divemaster up to Instructor Trainer. We were aiming to run an international program at the Institute with as many nationalities as possible in order to get the facility on the map of International training.
     Our candidates came from Bulgaria of course, but also from neighboring Romania, Canada, South Africa and the British Virgin Islands.
     The training started in early October for our South African candidate who went through our extensive “Pro Career Development Program”, bringing him from the level of experienced advanced diver to NAUI Instructor rating with NAUI /ASHI First Aid CPR and Oxygen Instructor. We had two Divemaster candidates prior to the ITC and two Instructor Trainer Candidates from the BVI and Romania. The ITC itself had four candidates. All trainees successfully graduated and were very enthusiastic about the legendary Bulgarian hospitality, the great facilities of the Institute (although the pool – which will be heated for the spring 2002 – gave all of us some chills in our long training sessions in the Bulgarian fall), and the perfect logistics carried out by the staff of the Institute, with a special recommandation for its director Mr. Ivan Ivanov who managed greatly his duties of directorship of both the Institute and his very busy commercial diving company.

     The facilities:

     The European Diving career Institute is composed of a complex of accommodation with 7 double / twin rooms settled as mini-apartments, each with its own bathroom and shower, and every room has satellite television. There is a kitchen dining room facility for meals (although breakfast is usually taken on the outside terrace in the garden), and there is a top notch classroom with computer, television, VCR, and telephone access, with a swimming pool just outside which has been specifically designed for scuba diving training (50 ft x 20 ft or 15m x 6 m), 4 feet (1.2 m) in the shallow end and 8 feet (2.5 m) in the deep end.
     There is also a storeroom with all necessary diving equipment, tanks and a compressor facility. Students have a 24 hours access to all facilities, meals are taken 3 times a day with coffee breaks between lectures. A pick up truck carries the equipment for open water training sessions, evaluations and rescue training to nearby St. Konstantin resort, while candidates travel to the open water training site in regular vehicles provided by the Institute and staff members.
     The European Diving Career Institute is a division of Varna Diving Center, a NAUI Gold Pro Affiliate member. It is located in the quiet hillside resort village of Vinitza, some 8 km north of the town of Varna on the Black Sea, famous for its great beaches, natural hot spring waters praised by ancient Greeks and Romans, fantastic people and hospitality, excellent folklore, the world famous Bulgarian naval academy, and some great wreck, cave, and underwater archeological dive sites.
     The Varna region is truly a great holiday haven for divers and non-divers alike and is one of the fastest growing resort areas in Europe during the spring/summer season.

     The Candidates and the Staff:

     We had the extreme pleasure to train in our October 2001 session at the Institute the following individuals:
     -Mrs. Elsie Elder from Alberta, Canada, who was our first female graduate at the Institute and Varna Diving Center, and a retired teacher in Canada. She came to the course with a strong educational background.
     -Mr. Dobromir Monev, a well-known lawyer in Varna, who had outstanding passing scores in the written exams.
     -Mr. Chris Cormack from Toronto, Canada and Manager of “Aquaventures BVI” in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Chris is a young and dynamic dive leader with a strong background as a Divemaster and excellent physical abilities, stamina, and rescue skills. He is an excellent example of what we want as the NAUI Instructors of tomorrow, together with Wayne.
     -Mr. Wayne Black from South Africa, who was our first “Pro Career Development Program” candidate at the Institute. Wayne is a dedicated individual with a great sense of human relations, and also a great sense of humor. He showed us during his training that he has the best qualities to become a top diving educator.
     -Mr. Victor Sfirlea from Bucharest, Romania, who trained as an Instructor Trainer. A very experienced cave diver with tremendous experience in cold and murky waters, his resistance in the cool water conditions impressed the whole of us. Victor brought great feedback to the course as well.
     -Mr. Phil Brown, from Toronto, Canada and owner of “Aquaventures BVI” in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, who also trained as an Instructor Trainer. Phil is a very experienced Instructor, who brought a lot of knowledge and great input to the course. His sense of humor is second to none and his “Legal Aspects of Diving Instruction”, where he impersonated the great “local” judge Philomir Brownev will be long remembered.
     -Mr. Dimitar “Mitko” Hachev, who graduated as a NAUI Divemaster, Lifeguard at the famous Albena resort during the summer season and future staff 2002 of Varna Diving Center. Mitko has very strong water stamina and skills and has shown a strong will to become an excellent dive leader. His performance was really good, especially considering the language barrier.

     All programs and courses were run by myself and both Phil and Victor served as full staff in the ITC. Mr. Ivanov joined us as an evaluator and was responsible for all logistical operations with his son Ivailo Ivanov a graduate of the first Varna ITC in early 2000.

     The Future:

     The Institute’s mission is to train NAUI Instructors who will teach safely and knowledgeably the divers of tomorrow in Europe and internationally. We aim to develop NAUI more in Europe and are willing to train more staff to help us in our multilingual training quest. We would like to invite other Instructor Trainers and Course Directors in Europe or elsewhere to contact us to combine our efforts to train the best instructors the recreational diving industry can train today: NAUI Instructors.
     We have the facility to really make the “Quality Difference” in a friendly, professional, and very enjoyable facility.
     We believe that the European Diving Career Institute will make a real difference in excellent professional training and in getting the NAUI forces working together for a solid recreational diving training future.

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