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I want to continue on the theme discussed by Alan Wright and 
possibly others, about a "grandfather" clause in technical 
certification.  Here in Australia  ANDI and IANTD are only starting
and the closest training facility to me here in South Australia 
facility is 1600km (1000 miles) away.  However, most cave diving in 
Australia occurs in South Australia and we have a long established 
tradition of cave diving certification through the Cave Diving 
Association of Australia (CDAA).  CDAA standards include only air diving 
at the moment and instruction for mixed gas diving in the CDAA is not 
currently envisioned.  However there is a small group of us who use 
trimix in some of our cave dives - this is with the aknowledged but not 
sanctioned by the CDAA.  We have taught ourselves, drawing on a 
knowledge base derived from a great deal of operational experience (I 
am the baby of the group with only 15 years diving), information kindly 
and freely given by anyone we have asked, and my background as a diving 
medical technician and physiologist with a long term interest in diving 
medicine. As it stands now, we mix our own gases, service our gear, 
write our own tables etc. and are a self-contained group.  I am sure 
there are others out there doing this, it is not that hard.  I suspect
existing ANDI or IANTD course would be of limited educational value to me and 
other such people.  My only motivation for getting ANDI or IANTD 
certification would be if such was necessary to by a gas mix or get 
access to a dive site outside of my own stomping grounds.  I believe 
such self-regulated certifications for technical diving are necessary, 
this has been proved by the CDAA which has eliminated cave diving deaths 
in Australia since its inception in 1974, but motivated by wanting to 
channel finite resource (time and money) most effectively I would like 
to avoid doing any technical diving courses that duplicated what I have 
taught myself.  I would appreciate hearing from any ANDI, IANTD or others 
about how I might get appropriate certification.

David Doolette

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