| ACUC American & Canadian Underwater Certifications, Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | ACUC |
| Motto | "Safety•Conservation•Recreation |
| Formation | 1986 |
| Headquarters | Ontario, Canada |
| Official languages | English, French, Spanish |
| Leader | Robert Cronkwright and Juan Rodriguez |
| Website | http://www.acuc.es |
ACUC, American and Canadian Underwater Certifications Inc. is an international recreational diving membership and diver training organization incorporated in Canada in 1986 by Robert Cronkwright. Cronkwright was originally a NAUI instructor from 1969 to 1971. In 1971 he crossed over to the Association of Canadian Underwater Councils and became a Training Director, Secretary/Treasurer and later Vice President of the Association (1972–1984). He was also Training Director for the Ontario Underwater Council (OUC) in the 1970s.[1]
Cronkwright's long time friend and ACUC Instructor Trainer Evaluator, Juan Rodriguez, purchased shares in the company in the mid-1990s. Since becoming an ACUC Instructor, Rodriguez was instrumental in expanding ACUC's business interests in the global marketplace. In May 2003 Juan Rodriguez became the sole owner and President when Cronkwright retired. Nancy Cronkwright, Cronkwright's daughter, continues as Vice President and Director of the corporation. She has been with the company since its beginning in 1986, and previously she was Office Manager for the Association of Canadian Underwater Councils (1982–1986).
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ACUC's corporate head offices are divided into two regions. North America head office is in Ontario, Canada. Eur-Asia head office is in Madrid, Spain.
ACUC has numerous delegate offices worldwide, including Argentina, Latin America, Cuba, India, Italy/Croatia & Italian Switzerland, and South Korea.
ACUC is a member of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council.[2][3] ACUC is a founding member of the RSTC-Canada and RSTC-Europe. Currently, Juan Rodriguez is a technical advisor for AENOR (Spanish Association for Standardisation and Certification) and Nancy Cronkwright is a technical advisor for the SCC (Standards Council of Canada). The company is presently working with AENOR and SCC in the development of ISO - TC228 recreational diving standards.
The ACUC training system is composed of theory and practical training modules. Students learn the theoretical aspects of the program directly from an ACUC instructor supplemented with training manuals, handouts, presentations, and videos. Practical training is provided in a pool or confined water environment by a certified ACUC instructor. Students are certified once they have completed a theory exam and practical evaluation. Practical evaluations are performed in the open water by a certified ACUC instructor. The number of dives required for practical evaluation and instructor-to-student ratios are based on the current ACUC standard for the level of certification.[4]
ACUC training courses range from "Snorkel Diving" and entry levels such as "Scuba Diver" and "Open Water Diver" to "Master Diver", as well as numerous specialty diver programs. Leadership level programs start from "Divemaster", and progress to "Instructor Trainer Evaluator", which is the highest level within the ACUC training ladder.[4] Through affiliation with LifeGuard Systems, based in Shokan, New York, USA, they also provide public safety diving and surface ice rescue certifications used by numerous fire and police service groups internationally.[5][6]
The company also has a long standing agreement with the Canadian Forces and the Spanish National Guard to recognize numerous military dive training programs and provide equivalent civilian dive certification cards for military personnel in Canada and Spain.
In addition to the certifications listed above, ACUC instructors may apply to ACUC for approval to teach their own distinctive specialty programs.[4]