Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)

 

The World Underwater Federation, Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) was founded 1959 in Monaco and it now includes more than 120 federations, from six continents. CMAS is the world’s largest non-commercial diving federation and offers the most extensive dive training systems. It offers the best foundation and training material to learn and practice sports diving to all diving grades in a safe and reliable way. It provides internationally recognised diving licences on completion of courses.

 

Their leading experts take care of all of the most pressing matters, such as Scientific Diving, environmentally-friendly diving, nature conservation, environmental protection, species protection, underwater cultural heritage, sports diving training, diving medicine, legal and insurance matters, competitive sports, youth engagement, underwater photography, and international cooperation. The committed teamwork of the Scientific, Technical and Sports Committees assures a continuous flow of current information and up-to-date scientific knowledge.

 

The main task of the CMAS Scientific Committee is to bring into focus the important issues related to the freshwater and marine underwater world. They provide the affiliated CMAS federations with guidelines for Scientific Diving standards, quality control, teaching material and assisting with starting CMAS Scientific Diving training programmes. At the moment there are five CMAS Scientific Diving Centers, each affiliated with a national university: CMAS Scientific Diving Center (BRAS00) is located at the Universidade do Vale do Itajaí (UNIVALI) in Itajaí SC, Brazil; CMAS Scientific Diving Center (GERS00) is located at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany; CMAS Scientific Diving Center (GERS01) is located at the University of Stuttgart, Germany; CMAS Scientific Diving Center (ESPS00) is located at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain; CMAS Scientific Diving Center (EGP/S00) is located at the Centre for Maritime Archaeology & Underwater Cultural Heritage, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

 

In 1988 and 1996, CMAS and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prepared and published „The Code of Practice for Scientific Diving“ to provide scientific divers with guidance on safe practice under varying experimental and environmental conditions.

 

As a world federation, CMAS is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and is a member of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). CMAS is a professional partner, a committed stakeholder and a qualified service provider in sports diving.