DAN and SSI are to work together to promote diver safety. SSI dive stores will encourage divers to participate in DAN safety and protection programmes.

The initiative to bring together agency strengths for the greater good of diving and diver safety continues to grow with the announcement of an alliance between Divers Alert Network (DAN) and Scuba Schools International (SSI). Effective immediately, SSI publicly encourages DAN Membership and endorses DAN Dive Accident Insurance as the agency’s official dive accident insurance programme.

SSI will encourage its dealers and divers to support DAN through the use and promotion of DAN programmes as well as the endorsement of the Membership and Dive Accident Insurance programmes offered through DAN. “Scuba Schools International is not just a ‘certification agency,’ we're an Education and Business Support Company,” says Doug McNeese, Executive Director of SSI, “and it’s a good business decision to support an organization whose sole existence is the increased safety of divers. We’re very happy to be working with DAN, and we look forward to a long and productive relationship.”As part of the alliance, all SSI dealers will be provided materials on DAN and its programmes, including the DAN Student Membership Programme.“When these alliances were first created,” says Dan Orr, President and CEO of Divers Alert Network, “it was with the idea to bring together the complementary strengths of industry leaders to increase diver safety and the resources available to them.

We are proud SSI has joined us in this commitment, and we thank everyone involved for their contributions to this initiative. The response we’ve received to this idea of agency cooperation has been tremendous, and I can tell you that it only serves to invigorate DAN’s commitment to serving divers and the industry.”Scuba Schools International has a long and rich history. Since 1970, SSI and its innovative Dealers and Instructors have made numerous contributions to the art and science of dive education. The cumulative result is a very personal and highly effective method of teaching that produces comfortable, confident divers. With over 1,900 Authorized Dealers in 91 countries, an SSI certification card is welcomed anywhere divers are found. For more information on SSI, visit www.divessi.com. Divers Alert Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit medical and research organization dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers and is associated with Duke University Medical Center.

Founded in 1980, DAN has served as a lifeline for the scuba industry by operating the only 24-hour diving emergency hotline, a lifesaving service for injured divers. Additionally, DAN operates a diving medical information hotline, conducts vital diving medical research, and develops and provides a number of first-aid and continuing education programmes for everyone from beginning divers to medical professionals. For more information on DAN, visit www.diversalertnetwork.org.