| |
|
|
| |
UICC History
Learn About the History and
Origins of the Underwater Instructor Certification
Course |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Memorandum That Started It All
In 1952, Al Tillman was the Sports Director for the Los
Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Al drafted a memo about a new sport called skin diving
that eventually found its way onto the desk of the CEO
of the Parks and Recreation Department of the time.
This memorandum is considered by many as the catalyst
that started scuba certification programs that we know
of today.
Due to the historical significance of this memorandum,
it has been reprinted as follows: |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
June 10, 1952
To: Paul Gruendyke,
Director LA County Parks and
Rec.
From: Al Tillman, Sports
Director
Subject: Skin Diving
Classes |
|
| |
|
|
| |
A new sport - skin diving - is
becoming popular in the area.
Recently while diving in Palos
Verdes, I ran into several
divers in the water with me who
didn't know what they were
doing. One had one of
those news underwater breathing
units that allows divers to stay
under for long periods of time.
I have purchased this equipment
for evaluation. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Palos Verdes area in
question is not covered by the
Lifeguards and serious problems
could arise if an accident
occurs and if the County doesn't
act proactively. This
activity falls into the sports
category and I propose that my
department get involved in this
sport and provide training
classes. I believe that
diving will grow in the future
and we have an obligation to
make the sport as safe as
possible. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Let's get together soon to
discuss the possibilities of a
County sponsored training
program. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
cc: N.S. Johnson, Chuck
Bollinger |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
With the backing of the County, the Parks and Recreation
Department joined forces with the Los Angeles County
Lifeguards to design a program to teach safe practices
for skin and scuba divers. The Department looked
to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography as a model to
develop the training programs the County desired.
Conrad Limbaugh was a diving pioneer at the time and was
training scientists at Scripps in using scuba diving as
a research tool. Al Tillman from Parks and
Recreation and Bev Morgan from the Lifeguards were sent
to Scripps to learn everything they could from Limbaugh. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Training Begins
In the summer of 1954 saw the
creation of the first basic scuba manual written by Bev
Morgan, which he modeled after the Los Angeles County
Lifeguard training manual. During this time the
first public classes for skin and scuba diving were
introduced. The classes filled up quickly and the
County realized they would need more instructors to keep
up with the interest that was forming.
With that in mind the first UICC (Underwater Instructor
Certification Course) was conducted at the Natatorium in
Lynwood, California in the spring of 1955. The
course was designed and moderated by an advisory board
comprised of respected leaders in diving education and
teaching. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The First UICC
The training curriculum for 1UICC
was only about 20 hours that spanned over the course of
four Saturdays. Those early instructor candidates
were far from being novices, in fact the majority of the
participants brought considerable experience from skin
diving and other aquatic based activities. |
|
| |
 |
|
 |
| 01 UICC Classroom
Lectures |
|
01 UICC Open Water
Sessions |
|
|
| |
Those pioneers in 1UICC included
such diving legends as Al Tillman, Bev Morgan, Bill
Starr, Rusty Williams, Herb Barthels, Bob Meistrell,
Paul McComack, Bill Jeffs, Julius Arenstein, Dick
Luippold and Ramsey Parks, just to name a few. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Since 1954...
UICC is considered to be the first
scuba instructor training course that eventually paved
the way for other national certification agencies to
develop as the sport of scuba diving became more and
more popular.
To this day, the Los Angeles County Underwater
Instructor Certification Course is the standard that
other programs measure themselves against. It is
by far the world's most rigorous, comprehensive and
prestigious instructor training program around today.
|
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| UICC - Modern Day |
|
UICC - Modern Day |
|
UICC - Modern Day |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
