2015 awards archive
2015 Northeast Diving Pioneer
Di Dieter
With over 47 years of scuba instruction experience, Di Dieter may be the best-known and respected dive instructor in the New York Metropolitan area. In his long and distinguished career, he has issued over 5,000 certifications, and today stays busy serving as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer.
Di’s teaching experience includes programs at Downstate Medical Center, training in varied open water environments, and pioneering work at the YMCA scuba program.
In 1976, he established one of the first scuba instruction and certification programs for the physically challenged, concentrating on divers afflicted with Cerebral Palsy. Since 2007, he has been the lead instructor at Long Island Scuba, where he teaches Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster courses.
In his efforts to keep young people involved in scuba, Di is currently conducting several programs involving the Boy Scouts of America’s new scuba diving merit badge.
Among his achievements, he served as New York YMCA Scuba Commissioner and Field Representative. Among the more than 5,000 persons trained by Di are names such as David Tisler and Rick Sammon.
In addition to concentrating on northeast diving, over the past 44 years Di has run fun, safe, successful group trips to numerous dive destinations - 39 of them trips to Bonaire.
Whether it is a dive off a beach in Rockaway, a deep wreck dive, or a foray into Caribbean waters, Di’s students and friends know that he follows his philosophy: “I don’t send you there, I take you there.”
Di creates ocean divers, drawing on his early years when he gained the solid background in diving that would serve him so well throughout his career. He operated a dive boat here in New York as well as a dive business and another dive boat in the British Virgin Islands. He also owned and operated a dive shop in Brooklyn for 11 years. Diving has been his passion and his life, a passion he has instilled in others.
Recently Di was featured in several articles in both The New York Times and Newsday on scuba-related topics, and FIOS News diving segments have featured Di.
In earlier times, when Beach 8th Street in Rockaway, one of the best dive sites in the metropolitan area, was threatened by private interests, Di did news segments for Channel 2 and Channel 5, World Radio Network, and several local community papers, educating the public and government about the unique value of that dive site. He served as the spokesperson for a group of concerned divers in a meeting with then Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and attorneys for the 9 Street Development Group. As a result of that meeting, the development plan included a commitment that divers would continue to have access to Beach 8th Street. We continue to dive there today.
Di Dieter’s awards include a Recognition Award from the SUNY Maritime College Dive Team; a 1997 Certificate of Recognition from Bonaire Tourism while being named a Gold Bonaire Ambassador; and recognition from the Long Island Divers Association. A Certificate of Excellence and Achievement recognized his “dedicated service to the diving community through 40 years of training scuba divers and commitment to promoting local diving.”
Across the years Di has received many letters and accolades from his students in appreciation of his training. Today, even though Di has passed his 70th birthday, he receives regular certificates of appreciation for certifying over 100 students each year.