The CDS Training Program is the teaching arm of the National Speleological Society Cave Diving Section. The NSS-CDS is a subset or Section of the NSS. It focuses solely on underwater cave exploration.
The CDS offers a wide variety of cave diving courses and cave diver learning opportunities. We have instructors in the Bahamas, Mexico, Russia, the USA and throughout western Europe. We train and certify hundreds of cave divers annually.
Although relatively small in size, NSS-CDS instructors have had a profound impact on how people dive and teach around the globe. We were pioneers in:
■ Using backplates, harnesses and wings for doubles.
■ Using modern sidemount equipment.
■ Standardized cave diver training.
■ Teaching entry-level scuba students to perform skills while neutrally buoyant.
Most of the larger technical and sport diver training organizations pattern their Cavern and Cave Diver programs after what we teach. Many of their headquarters staff have taken courses from us.
It would be fair to say we’ve actually changed the way the world learns to dive…for the better.
