NSS/CDS Workshop

Great time and a great turnout. If you missed it you sure missed a great time.

Thank you DiveRite for the great food and beverages sponsoring our social last Friday evening. It was the biggest crowd we have ever had for a Friday Night Social. Your crew really worked hard to make it such a wonderful success. Thank you Wayne, Amigos , for the breakfast on Saturday Moring at our workshop. We really appreciate all your support every year. Thank you IANTD for the lunch that you provided for the largest turnout that we have had for a Workshop. I must say that nobody went home hungry. I want to thank Cathy, Dive Outpost , for the wonderful snacks that were provided at the Workshop. Finally , I want to that all the sponsors who worked so hard to set up and displayed their wonderful dive gear. If you missed this workshop you missed a great time, great food, and talking to experts in the field on cave diving. Hope to see all of you next year and for those who weren't there set your calendar for a week before Memorial Day next year. We will again be in lake City Florida. Thank you too all the volunteers who worked so hard to make the Workshop such a big success. I am so proud to be able to represent such a fine agency as the NSS/CDS.

Absolutely one of the best workshops I've attended and it was so good to see standing room only in the room with people crowding in to hear the speakers.
Thanks to Curt and others for making this happen.

Agreed. Hats off to all involved.

I especially liked the deco talk, mostly that there is a group working on getting a chamber just for cave divers in north FL.

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Originally Posted by FW

there is a group working on getting a chamber just for cave divers in north FL.

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Bravo!

A Great time with a Great group of people. Made me proud to be a NSS/CDS member!

Thanks to Dive Rite, Shearwater, Kiss Rebreathers, IANTD, JJ Rebreathers, Sub-Gravity, Bonex Scooters, Hammer Head Rebreathers, Sea Bear, Silent Diving, Inspiration Rebreathers, Scuba Force America, SF2 Rebreathers, Rainbow Reef Dive Center, Key Largo Fl. Big Blue Dive Lights, Golem Gear, Liberty Rebreathers, Hollis Dive Gear, Cave Adventurers Mariana, Aquatic Obsession Scuba St Petersburg Fl, Dive Outpost, Amigos Dive Shop, Manta Industries, Cave Country Dive Shop.

Thanks to our speakers, Christine Zenato, Joe Dituri, Nathalie Lasselin, Charles Roberson, Michael Angelo, Andy Pitkin, Dr Tom Iliffee.

Thanks to our volunteers, Especially Renee Power, Larry Roth, and Kenny Summers for going above and beyond.

Thanks to our workshop chair, Curt Bowen.

Thanks to Ted McCoy, Jonathan Bernot, James Draker, Michael Thornton, Josh Thornton, Jakub,

Thanks to the Dr Tom Iliffee and Texas A&M University.

Thanks to the NSS-CDS training committee for donating the Basic/intro cave classes.

A huge thanks from the board to all the attendees that made this one of the workshops best ever.

Next year is already being sketched out so stay tuned.

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Originally Posted by Sly-vester

...Next year is already being sketched out so stay tuned.

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How about moving it back to the Memorial day weekend, and back to Marianna next time? They have a nice armory there, and we had one of our best attendances.

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Originally Posted by FW

How about moving it back to the Memorial day weekend, and back to Marianna next time? They have a nice armory there, and we had one of our best attendances.

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We did have good attendance, but that event did not go well for the CDS. I really enjoyed haveing all the Texas A&M students there. I also liked not having to deal with memorial day weekend anything, like hotel rates and crowds.

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Originally Posted by Sly-vester

Thanks to Dive Rite, Shearwater, Kiss Rebreathers, IANTD, JJ Rebreathers, Sub-Gravity, Bonex Scooters, Hammer Head Rebreathers, Sea Bear, Silent Diving, Inspiration Rebreathers, Scuba Force America, SF2 Rebreathers, Rainbow Reef Dive Center, Key Largo Fl. Big Blue Dive Lights, Golem Gear, Liberty Rebreathers, Hollis Dive Gear, Cave Adventurers Mariana, Aquatic Obsession Scuba St Petersburg Fl, Dive Outpost, Amigos Dive Shop, Manta Industries, Cave Country Dive Shop.

Thanks to our speakers, Christine Zenato, Joe Dituri, Nathalie Lasselin, Charles Roberson, Michael Angelo, Andy Pitkin, Dr Tom Iliffee.

Thanks to our volunteers, Especially Renee Power, Larry Roth, and Kenny Summers for going above and beyond.

Thanks to our workshop chair, Curt Bowen.

Thanks to Ted McCoy, Jonathan Bernot, James Draker, Michael Thornton, Josh Thornton, Jakub,

Thanks to the Dr Tom Iliffee and Texas A&M University.

Thanks to the NSS-CDS training committee for donating the Basic/intro cave classes.

A huge thanks from the board to all the attendees that made this one of the workshops best ever.

Next year is already being sketched out so stay tuned.

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I forgot to thank Eric Parks for really stepping up with the awards this year.

Thank you for your kind words TJ
Renee :)

When having the workshop in Lake City it is more central located to Cave Country. Several members said they would not have been able to attend if it had been on Memorial Day Weekend. I for one would not be able to attend. Having a non diving wife and 2 sons that don't dive and 9 grand children that don't dive, I would be absent.
My family gives me time to enjoy the springs all year long. That being the case I have to give them family holiday time.
With the workshop being such a big success and large attendance, my feeling is "if ain't broke don't fix it."

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Originally Posted by shellmoundal

When having the workshop in Lake City it is more central located to Cave Country. Several members said they would not have been able to attend if it had been on Memorial Day Weekend. I for one would not be able to attend. Having a non diving wife and 2 sons that don't dive and 9 grand children that don't dive, I would be absent.
My family gives me time to enjoy the springs all year long. That being the case I have to give them family holiday time.
With the workshop being such a big success and large attendance, my feeling is "if ain't broke don't fix it."

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I personally think most divers tend to avoid the busy holiday weekends because of the huge crowds at the springs those weekends. It's nice to be able to actually sneak a dive in before or after the conference. On Memorial weekend, good luck with that! Traveling on the road will be a hassle, and finding a place to stay might also be difficult during that time. Just my humble opinion.

Y'all seem to forget that a lot of NSS-CDS members live outside of FL, and need the extra day for travel.

I wouldn't be able to come if it was on the holiday weekend. Some jobs don't allow you to be off during holidays or its limited at best.


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Sounds like survey of the membership is needed.

I also am not up for a holiday weekend due to quality time with the family on a long weekend.

Most cave divers, having spent mucho $$$$ on training and equipment, not to mention the time needed for said training can figure out a way to get a couple days off work surrounding the weekend prior to the holiday. He who wishes a return to Memorial Day weekend has probably not recently attempted passage through Atlanta & I-75 on a holiday. Costs for lodging are also significantly less during the week prior . I say keep it the way it is. I've been to every CDS workshop for at least 15 years so I have the data to support the hypothesis.

Its kinda like going out to dinner on Mothers Day or Valentines day, or trying to buy a "whatever" me Elmo on Christmas Eve. I understand what the original intent was, and in our modern times seemed to work against it.

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Originally Posted by Sly-vester

Its kinda like going out to dinner on Mothers Day or Valentines day, or trying to buy a "whatever" me Elmo on Christmas Eve. I understand what the original intent was, and in our modern times seemed to work against it.

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So, in "modern times" we shouldn't go out to dinner, or buy presents?

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Originally Posted by FW

So, in "modern times" we shouldn't go out to dinner, or buy presents?

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I like it...[emoji2]

- Jeff