DEMA 2025 Recap: A Great Show With One Unexpected Plot Twist
We’ve just returned from another DEMA Show—one of the most energizing weeks of the year for the dive industry. As always, we reconnected with friends, met new partners, learned from great educational sessions, and came home inspired to continue supporting the divers and dive pros who make this community what it is.
But while most of our time at DEMA was fantastic, one meeting delivered news we weren’t prepared for. Given how many dive ops around the world operate with multiple training agencies, we believe it’s important to share what we learned.
A Little Background on Our Dual-Affiliation
Pennyroyal Scuba Center has been a PADI destination since 1994, dating back to our earliest days. In 2004, we switched to SSI due to insurance affordability and, over the years, we’ve served students from multiple agencies in order to stay accessible and student-focused.
In 2015, we brought PADI back specifically to support referral students who needed certification dives to complete their training. From 2015 to 2020, this dual-agency system worked well and aligned with our mission: keep diving open, affordable, and inclusive.
Then came the pandemic.
We lost two of our PADI instructors to COVID-related complications—including my father—and I stepped in to take on park management. With only one remaining PADI instructor, we reached out to PADI repeatedly over the years for help facilitating crossovers for our SSI instructors. Each time, we were told that no crossover pathway was available.
In 2023, I specifically asked about the Dive Shop Orientation program. I was told there were none scheduled nearby, only to learn later that one occurred three weeks later just three hours away, with our rep in attendance. That was our first sign that something wasn’t quite right.
2024–2025: Mixed Signals and “Quiet Concerns” About Women’s Dive Day
When our new PADI rep called in 2024, the conversation was positive. Again, I asked about crossover options. Again, I was promised follow-up. Again, no follow-up ever came.
After our 2024 Women’s Dive Day event, I received calls from two nearby PADI shops letting me know our rep had visited them—and expressed frustration that we were hosting the event “without selling enough PADI classes.” The implication was that events should be branded with the training agency, not inclusive of all divers and all agencies.
Fast forward to Women’s Dive Day 2025: the same rep attended and was treated with the same hospitality we extend to every sponsor and partner. Everything seemed fine. We received positive feedback. There were no complaints.
Until DEMA.
The Meeting at DEMA: “This Is Why We Aren’t Renewing Your PADI Dive Center Status”
Our meeting with the rep began like any other. We talked about Women’s Dive Day, certifications, and our overall year. When I mentioned roughly 200 SSI certifications and a handful of PADI certs, that’s when the tone changed.
He informed me that:
PADI would not be renewing our PADI Dive Center status.
His explanation:
- PADI has a new policy that does not allow dual-affiliation dive centers.
- Only facilities that teach PADI exclusively will be renewed.
- We could keep teaching PADI courses only as independent instructors, with higher material costs and no listing in the PADI Dive Shop Locator.
- We would likely lose access to diver verification tools linked to our Dive Center account.
- Our Dive Center number—31 years old—could only be restored if we returned to being PADI exclusive.
My first reaction was simple: Consumer choice exists for a reason.
The dive industry isn’t a monopoly. If a student wants to learn through PADI, SSI, NAUI, RAID, SDI, or anyone else—divers should have the freedom to choose. Most customer come in and say I’m looking to get certified & ask questions about the program.
After the meeting, unsure whether this “new policy” was accurate, I contacted someone with internal familiarity. Their response confirmed it:
Yes—PADI is removing Dive Center status from any shop that isn’t 100% PADI-exclusive.
The announcement wasn’t supposed to go public until DEMA. However a majority of people in attendance have said they never heard anything about it.
Our Decision Going Forward
When faced with the choice between offering customer choice and agency exclusivity, our path was clear.
We will not abandon SSI just to maintain a logo or a listing.
We will not force students into a single brand if it isn’t right for them.
And we will not continue paying higher fees to receive lower support.
So we released a public statement on November 13, 2025, informing the industry of what happened and why we are stepping away from PADI entirely—both as a Dive Center and as instructors.
The reaction was immediate.
Dive pros, shop owners, and instructors from all over reached out with support, concern, and similar stories of mixed messages or shifting policies.
Why This Matters for the Industry
This is bigger than one location.
If PADI is enforcing an “us or them” policy, the impact could be massive:
- PADI listed roughly 6,600 Dive Centers worldwide in 2021.
- If even a quarter of them are dual-affiliated and lose renewal, that’s 1,650 centers.
- That could be over $1.9 million in lost revenue for PADI.
- If that same number of centers sold at least 10 eLearning kits each year, that’s another $3.96 million gone.
- Combined: roughly $6 million in possible annual losses.
We’ll never know the true internal numbers—but the trend is clear:
market share is shrinking, and exclusivity policies don’t grow an industry—they shrink it.
The dive world is stronger when agencies cooperate, not compete to eliminate options. Shops already struggling after COVID-19 should not be punished for diversifying their offerings to survive.
My Advice to Other PADI Dual-Agency Dive Centers
If they did it to us, they can do it to you.
Especially if:
- you teach multiple agencies,
- you host events that aren’t agency-exclusive,
- your certification numbers favor another brand, or
- your rep has already mentioned “consistency in branding.”
Some shops may choose to hide their multi-agency offerings, but unannounced visits may come—and this policy won’t stay a secret for long.
Our Commitment Moving Forward
Pennyroyal Scuba Center remains what it has always been:
- Inclusive
- Diver-focused
- Community-driven
- Dedicated to safety, education, and fun
We’ll continue teaching through SSI and any other agency that aligns with our values.
We’ll continue offering referrals—just not PADI.
And we’ll continue supporting every diver who walks through our doors, regardless of training agency.
Diving should unite us—not divide us.
And we’ll keep fighting for an industry where collaboration beats exclusivity every time.