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PADI ASIA PACIFIC - SURFACE INTERVAL – JUNE 2009 – REGIONAL NEWS
PADI ASIA PACIFIC REGION – FROM PADI.COM
Regional News
From a PADI Divemaster to Master Scuba Diver Trainer
In April 2008, Simon Bowen, a PADI Divemaster moved to Koh Tao, Thailand to
become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. After gaining a runner up position in the
Go PRO Challenge Ratings Contest in 2008, Simon decided to share his experience with
his fellow PADI Members...
After doing most of my dive training up to Divemaster with a UK based PADI Dive club
in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire and months of being unhappy in my position as
a Corporate Sales Executive, it was a matter of finding the right place on the planet to
fulfil my dream of becoming a PADI Dive Instructor.
In April 2008 I made the move to Koh Tao in The Gulf of Thailand and decided on PADI
5 Star Instructor Development Centre, Bans Dive Resort located on Sairee Beach. The
two Course Directors, Jonas Samuelson and Tim Hunt, were both extremely helpful with
regular email contact prior to my arrival.
In July came the IDC. I was told that Jonas Samuelson was a highly awarded PADI
Course Director, but to see him in action confirms this completely. Tim Hunt is able to
hold your interest in all areas of the IDC constantly. After passing my mock IE exams,
and with all of the study that had been done in the previous weeks, I was certain that I
could pass my Instructor Exam with flying colours, and qualified with high scores in all
areas.
As a qualified Instructor, I then went onto the Ban’s MSDT Internship program. I wanted
the benefit of teaching in a busy environment that I was not likely to experience
anywhere else in the world. I believe that you will not gain this experience – with all of
the problems that you see, all of the solutions that are offered, along with a wealth of
excellent skills and technique resources to draw on from a team of brilliant instructors –
unless you do an internship with a world leading instructional facility - such as Bans. I
would recommend this path to anyone that does an IDC.
So what happens from here for me? I sit my Staff Instructor rating this year, and then
Staff my first IDC to count towards my Master Instructor rating in two years time. I am
then off out to the big wide world to find a company that wants what I have to offer the
world of diving.
And the good news? I know that the intense instruction and training that I have received
over the 6 months I was in Koh Tao has made me an all but bullet proof dive instructor,
and that I am totally ready for that challenge.
By Simon Bowen, MSDT #647702
Simon was a runner up in the PADI Go pro Challenge Ratings Contest in Asia Pacific for
2008.
PHOTO: PADI Course Director Tim Hunt (left) and Simon Bowen aboard one of Bans
Dive Resort’s Student Dive Boats in Thailand
SUBSCRIBE: Keep your email address up to date. Click here for details.
FEEDBACK: PADI welcomes your feedback. To have your say, please click here.
ARCHIVE: To view the last edition of SURFACE INTERVAL, please click here.
Marketing Department : PADI Asia Pacific
Unit 3, 4 Skyline Place, Frenchs Forest NSW 2086, AUSTRALIA
Phone: +61 2 9454 2888 Fax: +61 2 9454 2999
Email: marketing@padi.com.au This email has been sent from an unmonitored email
address. To respond, please send your reply to marketing@padi.com.au.