Tampa, Fla. (March 28, 2017) – The National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI Worldwide), looks forward to the return of its International Conference on Underwater Education (ICUE, or IQ) and the opportunity to honor some of the NAUI leaders who established and grew this educational event, the first of its kind in the dive industry. Open to anyone with an interest in diver education, the conference will take place May 6 and 7, in conjunction with the 2017 Scuba Show in Long Beach, California.
‘The concept of the ICUE is still relevant today. There are always opportunities for education and getting divers together to build community. Diving is a very social sport – that’s important. Social media and the internet connect us, but back in the day, you didn’t get to see everyone very often, but you would see them at the industry conferences where we created networks and shared ideas. IQ created a forum to talk about, try out and argue crazy new ideas,’ said Jeanne Sleeper (NAUI 2648), Manager of IQ 6 through IQ 10.
The conference’s primary purpose is to create a forum for renowned industry professionals to present the latest advances and concepts in educational theory, diving skills, safety, physiology and dive medicine, equipment improvements, and marine science to divers and diving professionals from across the world. The relaunch will consist of two days of events and seminars held in conjunction with the Scuba Show, where an attendance of over 10,000 is expected. For a complete list of ICUE speakers and topics, visit www.naui.org/about/icue/.
Organized by Larry Cushman (NAUI 206), Art Ullrich (NAUI 601), Glen Egstrom (NAUI 937) and John Reseck (NAUI 949), the first ICUE was held at Santa Ana College in Southern California in the late 1960s and grew to become one of the the largest traveling international conferences of its type. The underlying goal of the conference was ‘making diving safer.’ Each ICUE lasted several days and was filled with presentations and seminars on all aspects of diving, which were then published by NAUI as the IQ Proceedings. Following in this tradition, the 2017 IQ will have its proceedings and an event summary published as well.
‘At that time, IQ was a platform for emerging industry leaders to be known and have other divers listen to their good ideas and move those ideas forward. These young twenty-something presenters like Dallas Edmiston (NAUI 4099), Jeff Bozanic (NAUI 5334) and Dan Orr (NAUI 5612) have really done something for diving – some really high level things. There is much we owe to them and so many others who organized and supported the ICUE over the years,’ said Cheri Boone (NAUI 4851) who worked with Sleeper to execute several IQ events in the 1970s and early1980s.
As ICUE reemerges in 2017, these same key figures continue their role as innovators and leaders and, along with many new and established industry leaders, comprise the list of highly anticipated conference speakers. Along with a distinguished list of speakers, several conference originators and organizers will be in attendance and recognized for their contribution to ICUE and the diving industry as a whole: Glen Egstrom (NAUI 937), John Reseck (NAUI 949), Jeanne Sleeper (NAUI 2648), Susan Bangasser (NAUI 3910), Cheri Boone (NAUI 4851) and Jennifer King (NAUI 6867), to name a few.
‘Today, scuba is again in a period of great change,’ said NAUI Executive Director Dallas Edmiston. ‘New challenges to maintaining and growing the popularity of our sport; changing methods and approaches to teaching and learning; new frontiers in diving technology and techniques, including the development and popularization of specialty diving fields; new marketing techniques; and the increased use of multimedia and digital platforms need the attention of all of us.’
On Friday, May 5, NAUI invites divers to attend a special evening reception aboard the Queen Mary to celebrate the conference and recognize NAUI members who managed several successful IQ events. Invitations extend beyond ICUE attendees and offer guests the opportunity to network and mingle with presenters and NAUI leaders. Reception reservations will automatically enter attendees in the ICUE Atlantis Dive Week Raffle. To register for the reception, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/naui-icue-reception-tickets-31030988522.
Those who can’t attend ICUE can still support the event by entering to win the seven-night dive vacation at either Atlantis Puerto Galera or Atlantis Dumaguete Dive Resorts & Liveaboards in the Philippines. This vacation includes deluxe accommodations, meals, unlimited boat diving, and more. Anyone may enter the ICUE Atlantis Dive Week Raffle at https://go.rallyup.com/naui-icue. Entrants do not need to be present to win!
Additional information concerning ICUE can be found at www.naui.org/about/icue/. In addition, the Quarter 2 issue of Sources magazine – to be published in late April – will include a special IQ section with detailed information about the conference, including a speakers list and seminar descriptions. To subscribe to Sources, contact sources@naui.org.
,,,
Founded in 1960, NAUI Worldwide is the scuba industry’s largest not-for-profit agency whose purpose is to enable people to enjoy underwater activities as safely as possible by providing the highest quality practical education, and to actively promote the preservation and protection of the world’s underwater environments. As a pioneer in diving education, NAUI has developed many of the programs and concepts accepted throughout the diving industry. NAUI: The Definition of Diving!