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Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques

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Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba diver training and recognition. It is also known by its English name, the World Underwater Federation, and its Spanish name, Confederacion Mundial De Actividades Subacuaticas. Its foundation in Monaco during January 1959 makes it one of the world's oldest underwater diving organisations.[1]

Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques
AbbreviationCMAS
FormationJanuary 11, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-01-11) at Monaco
TypeINGO
PurposeUnderwater Sports & Sciences,and diver training
HeadquartersRome, Italy
Location
  • Viale Tiziano, 74 00196 Roma Italy
Region served
Worldwide
MembershipNational Federations
Official language
French, English, Spanish
LeaderAchille FERRERO
Key people
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Main organ
General Assembly
Staff5
Websitehttp://www.cmas.org/


Origins

An international congress of federations representing all underwater disciplines met in Brussels on 28 September 1958. Delegates were drawn from following countries: Belgium, Brazil, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, Monaco, Portugal, Switzerland, the United States of America and Yugoslavia. Following a decision at that congress, a meeting was held in Monaco on 9–11 January 1959, which established the World Confederation of Underwater Activities, known by the acronym of its French title as CMAS.[2]

One of the founding members of and a key proponent for CMAS was the French underwater pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau which was subsequently appointed the inaugural President with Luigi Ferraro, Italian underwater pioneer, being appointed Vice-President.[3]

CMAS became the successor to the Comité des Sports Sous-Marins (Underwater Sports Committee) of the Confédération Internationale de la Pèche Sportive (CIPS) (International Confederation of Sport Fishing), which was founded on 22 February 1952.[2][3]

Organisation

CMAS consists of 3 major committees - Sport, Technical and Scientific.[4][5][6] These committees are overseen by a Board of Directors (BoD) elected periodically at the annually convened General Assembly. The BoD, the Sport Committee and the Scientific Committee oversee sub-committees known as commissions. Day to day operation is overseen by a steering committee appointed from the BoD. Its headquarters is currently located in Rome.

The Steering Committee

The steering committee consists of 7 members. The current members are:[7]

  • President - Achille Ferrero (Italy)
  • Secretary General - Alessandro Zerbi (Monaco)
  • Vice President - Ivan Nyiri (Hungary)
  • President Scientific Committee - Hassen Baccouche (Tunisia)
  • President Sports Committee - Xavier Duran Soler (Spain)
  • President Technical Committee - Kevin O'Shaughnessy (Ireland)
  • Treasurer - Alain Germain (France)

Sport Committee

CMAS is the peak international body for the following sports (although parallel 'world governing bodies' exist for some of these):

Further information: Underwater sports

Technical Committee

Members of the CMAS Council are representatives of recognised national diving organisations that guarantee the CMAS standards are upheld within the constraints of local diving conditions. These national organisations award CMAS qualification cards which have the appropriate CMAS grade on one side and details of the relevant national organisation and the person they have qualified on the other.

Since CMAS effectively started as a volunteer organisation for hobbyists, its courses tend to reflect the full range of European and world diving standards. Compared to other diving organisations which may be more geared towards holiday and tropical water diving. While organisations like PADI or SSI tend to bring divers into the water immediately, CMAS entry-level training is more extensive, featuring more "classroom" delivered theory.[11]

On the other hand systems like PADI and SSI recreational(nontechnical) diver program is specially designed to avoid any kind of accident and safety complications but there are a few practices by CMAS guidelines that are considered highly unsafe by the diving community including: 1.teaching and doing decompression dives in nontechnical diving gear without having proper knowledge of decompression models and limits of of navy tables that are used by CMAS, not teaching diving skills necessary for decompression diving and teaching decompression diving to their beginners program(one star) and pretending that decompression diving is a common practice in recreational diving. [11] 2.no emphasize at all on skills such as bouncy control which is vital to safe diving.[11] 3.allowing air dives to 55m in recreational diving gear(nontechnical) and while CNS toxicity is a major risk in such dives there is no word of CNS toxicity calculation and consideration in their diver training program.[11]

Qualifications and certifications

 
The CMAS training system.

CMAS has a star system for grading diver and instructor qualifications and certifications:[12]

Scuba diving certifications

  • CMAS Scuba Diver - (Resort Course) limited depth, etc. No certification since only pool training done
  • 1 Star diver - A diver who is competent in the safe and correct use of all appropriate open water scuba diving equipment in a sheltered water training area and is ready to gain open water diving experience in the company of an experienced diver.
Further information: CMAS* SCUBA Diver
  • 2 Star diver - A diver who has gained some open water diving experience and is considered ready to take part in dives partnered by a diver of at least the same or higher grade.
  • 3 Star diver - A fully trained, experienced, and responsible diver who is considered competent to lead other divers of any grade in open water dives.
  • 4 Star diver - A three star diver who has attained a higher than average level of knowledge and ability supported by broad experience. He will be competent to use divers and diving to achieve major tasks or project objectives.

Skin Diver/Snorkel Diver diving certifications

  • 1 Star - Snorkel Diver
  • 2 Star - Snorkel Diver
  • 3 Star - Snorkel Diver

Instructor certifications

  • 1 Star instructor - A three star diver who has a knowledge of the techniques of diving instruction and is competent in practical instructional skills: he is qualified to direct and certify a full CMAS One Star Diver course.
  • 2 Star instructor - An experienced one star instructor who has the knowledge, skills, and experience required to teach groups of divers in the classroom, pool and open water, and to assist in the training of One Star Instructor. He is qualified to direct and certify all CMAS diver levels and all CMAS Snorkel Instructor levels.
  • 3 Star instructor - A fully experienced two star instructor who is competent to take responsibility for the conduct of diving schools and events, [and] to train all grade of divers and instructors and centres, and specialised training courses.
  • Nitrox instructor
  • Confirmed Nitrox instructor
  • Photo instructor level I
  • Cave diver instructor level II
  • Marine Science instructor level I
  • Apnea instructor
  • Rebreather instructor

Speciality certifications

Apnea

(free-diving)

  • Apnea level I
  • Apnea level II
  • Apnea level III

Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee's task is described by its President as:

"The main task of the CMAS Scientific Committee is to bring into focus the important issues related to the marine environment: invasive species, coastal ecosystems, biodiversity observation and monitoring, ... to divers around the world.
In fact, divers are the first and best witnesses of the underwater environment condition and must play the role as a major and dynamic actor of marine environment protection.
The CMAS Scientific Committee is settling the basis of this participative approach of divers to the underwater environment preservation."

It was responsible, in cooperation with Sea Grant and UNESCO for the development of the "Code of Practice for Scientific Diving".[13]

It is responsible for the issuance of Scientific Diver Qualification Brevets which recognize the status of a diver who is qualified to dive in the course of research whilst employed. This internationally recognized standard of competence is a distinct advantage for working scientists who wish to travel between laboratories and institutes in different countries.

Recognitions, agreements and affiliations

Recognitions

Organisations which recognise CMAS as the international federation for underwater sport and activities include:

Agreements

Affiliations

Member federations

CMAS membership consists of at least 130 national federations from 5 continents.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Cave Diving Group (CDG) was founded in 1946 in the UK. The British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) was founded in 1953.
  2. ^ a b c "The history of CMAS". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Luigi Ferraro; C.M.A.S." Luigi Ferraro's official site. 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  4. ^ "The Technical Committee". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  5. ^ "The Sport Committee". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Scientific Committee". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  7. ^ "The Steering Committee". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  8. ^ "About Aquathlon". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  9. ^ "About Orienteering". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  10. ^ "About Sport Diving". Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d C.M.A.S. Diver *, **, ***, ****Training Program Diver. Version 2007/01. Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. 7 February 2008.
  12. ^ Diver and Instructor Standards & Requirements. Version 2002/00. Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. 7 February 2008.
  13. ^ Flemming, NC; Max, MD (1990). "Scientific Diving, a general code of practice" (pdf). UNESCO. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  14. ^ "World Underwater Federation". IOC. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Members: CMAS - World Underwater Federation". Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF). Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  16. ^ "World Underwater Federation". United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  17. ^ "List of– International Sports Federations". SportAccord. 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. {{cite web}}: C1 control character in |title= at position 8 (help)
  18. ^ "Underwater Sports: Fin Swimming". International World Games Association (IWGA). 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  19. ^ "List of International Federations". World Anti-Doping Agency. 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  20. ^ "C.M.A.S. / PADI Agreement" (PDF). Norges Dykkeforbund. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Members' database, International NGO". International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
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