A few words about the future!
DiveTulsa was born out of dissatisfaction with the priorities of the commercial providers of dive training. Having worked in these businesses as instructors we felt that profit and efficiency had pushed quality and safety too far down the priority list.
Feeling we could do a better job, we started DiveTulsa in January 2002. We focused on exceptional student to instructor ratio (2:1 max), did not force students to buy gear too early in their diving careers, and a huge focus on safety.
It seems that dive students liked our priorities because as our 10th year ended we had 6 record years in a row and certainly became the dominant provider of dive training in our area. In our ten years we taught thousands of divers, did not have a single diving injury, and through our teams dedication produced 99.8% student success.
Although our goals included training new divers we also have other goals too. Our goals also lead us to cave and technical diving which we found to be addictive. These pursuits led us to North Florida where cave diving was born and many of the world's finest divers live and dive. After a few years we had to admit to ourselves that this was where we wanted to be and so we have relocated there.
As a result we do not have any scheduled classes in the Tulsa area. We are teaching in Florida where you can enjoy crystal-clear water. DiveTulsa remains alive so that our students can organize diving and trips and stay in contact with each other. DiveTulsa and its trademarks* remain fully protected. We feel badly that this forces students to choose a less-optimal source of training.
Students often ask us where they should get training now. We offer this advice:
- Don't ignore smaller dive training groups, smaller may mean more service and better student to instructor rations
- Ask anyone that you consider these questions, and insist of straightforward answers:
Safety-Related:
- How many of your students have ever been injured in class? (Note some are reluctant to answer, if everyone says zero you know you haven't received a straightforward answer)
- What is the maximum number of students that one instructor will have in the pool and in the lake? (our standard was 2:1)
- How long has the instructor who will teach me been an instructor?
Cost-Related:
- What is the full cost of learning to dive? (Some play games with breaking out the cost of the book, certification card, gear purchase) Our cost was $225 including EVERYTHING
- Are there any additional costs?
It's worth looking thoroughly and making a good choice!
Thanks to all of our students, team members and DiveTulsa family!