The International Diving Educators Association or (IDEA) was originally founded in 1952 as the Florida Skin Divers Association (FSDA)Scuba Training Committee, and later changed its name to the Florida Scuba Divers Association. As the group's membership grew, so did desire to make the organization and international SCUBA diving

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

 certification agency. In February 1976 the FSDA Scuaba Training Committee members officially voted to create the International Diving Educators Association, based on the principles of the original FSDA.

IDEA is a member of the World Recreational Scuba Training Council

World Recreational Scuba Training Council

The World Recreational Scuba Training Council or was founded in 1999 and is dedicated to creating minimum recreational diving training standards for the various scuba diving certification agencies across the world. The WRSTC restricts its membership to national or regional councils...

 (WRSTC).

Courses

IDEA offers specialty courses in the following:

• Search & Recovery
• Wreck Diver
  Wreck diving
  Wreck diving is a type of recreational diving where shipwrecks are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificial reef sites...
  
  
• Artifact Diver
• Underwater Hunter & Collector
• Boat Diver
• Underwater Photography
  Underwater photography
  Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.-Overview:...
  
  
• Current (Swift) Water Diver
• Limited Visibility Diver
• Night Diver
• Deep Diver
  Deep diving
  The meaning of the term deep diving is a form of technical diving. It is defined by the level of the diver's diver training, diving equipment, breathing gas, and surface support:...
  
  
• Research Diver