In early 1980, the YMCA SCUBA program achieved a unique status when the World Underwater Federation CMAS (Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques) granted equivalency to YMCA SCUBA instructors and divers. This distinction positioned the YMCA as part of the world’s diving organization composed of some 12,000 diving clubs, 65 National Federations, and 3.5 million divers.
In mid-1985, the YMCA became part of a national committee to develop Instructional Standards and Minimum Course Content for Entry-level SCUBA Certification. On September 1, 1986, the standards were finalized and approved by the major United States certification agencies. YMCA SCUBA became an active member of the Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC) which is the secretariat to the ANSI SCUBA Instructional Standards.
As the YMCA program approached its 50th year, YMCA of the USA made a decision to sunset the program, thus ending the involvement of YMCA in SCUBA education.
After the announcement in 2008, former YSCUBA instructors Ken Nemeth, Dan Marelli, and Tom Leaird made a decision to begin a new agency with no connection to the YMCA but continuing with the spirit of its high education standards. Tom Leaird led the creation of Scuba Educators International (SEI), to uphold this tradition of excellence and a new agency was born.