(DiverWire) Following the success of the first US-based Tec Xplor event in March, PADI Americas has announced another tec diver-friendly event for early June.
The next U.S. Tec Xplor event will be Monday, 6 June at the PADI Americas Regional Headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. Designed as a forum for the tec diving community AND a venue for interested recreational scuba divers to learn more about becoming tec divers, the event will include exhibits from equipment manufacturers, pool demonstrations, presentations and giveaways. Tex Xplor events are open to divers of all levels. Attendance is free and both breakfast and lunch are provided. Attendees should bring a bathing suit, towel, mask, snorkel, fins, exposure suit and certification card.
Representatives from Apeks, Dive Rite, Hollis Gear, InnerSpace Systems, OMS, Poseidon, rEvo, ScubaPro, Silent Diving, Titan Dive Gear and White’s Diving arrived early to set up stations around the pool while attendees lined up in the lobby, anxious to start the day. The representatives were there to talk about tec related equipment and conduct pool demonstrations throughout the day. Manufacturers also donated gear to be given away as prizes throughout the day, including lift bags, dry bags, reels, surface marker buoys, regulators, underwater lights, thermal undergarments, a multi-gas computer and – the grand prize – a dry suit. In total, more than $5900 US worth of equipment was given away to Tec Xplor attendees!
When participants weren’t trying out equipment in the pool, they could attend presentations from experienced tec divers Jill Heinerth, Jeff Loflin, Dr. Drew Richardson and Karl Shreeves. These presentations covered everything from sidemount and CCR diving to real life accounts of tec dives and a look at new PADI TecRec courses coming later this year. Tec Xplor Day participant and PADI Course Director Ross Neill said, “Not only was I extremely happy with the presentations themselves, I also feel these are topics that needed to be addressed. There are some revolutionary ideas coming to the foreground that PADI is not only part of, but perpetuating. This is stuff members and instructors must know about.”
For future events, more information or to register, please visit padi.com/TecXplor.
