"My philosophy is simple. My job is to give you the class your mother would want you to take."

Summary

Diving industry insider with 38 years of experience specializing in freediver, sport diver, technical diver and cave diver education, team building and unification, professional career training and leadership development, talent acquisition and retention, program development, writing, publishing, public speaking, international cross-border policies, ANSI, OSHA, ISO, NPFA, WRSTC, RSTC, IDSSC standards, regulatory compliance, strategic marketing, and technical emergency analysis and management.

Awards

SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Diver Award for 7500+ lifetime dives
Hal Watts Elite Cave Diving Award for 1000+ cave dives in 38 systems
Abe Davis International Safety Award for 100+ cave dives in 5 countries
PADI Aquanaut Recognition Award for JUL Mission #4109
Winner of the 2007 Northeast Regional Ultimate Diver Challenge

Professional Affiliations

Board of Advisors, Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI), 2016
Board of Directors, Professional Scuba Association International (PSAI), 2011 - 2016
Administrator, Agnes Milowka Project, 2011 - Present
Board of Directors, Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC) 2007 - 2011
Board of Directors, Recreational Scuba Training Council (RSTC), 2007 - 2011
Board of Directors, World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC), 2007 - 2011
Board of Directors, Hydronautics - Diving for Science & Adventure, Inc. (H-DSA), 2001 - 2004

Professional Experience

CEO, National Association of Solo and Team Divers, 2021 - Present
Consultant, International Diving Safety Standards Commission, Mendoza, Argentina, 2016 - Present
Rescue/Recovery Site Operations Manager and Cave Recovery Diver, International Underwater Cave Rescue & Recovery (IUCRR), 2007 - Present
Rescue Diver, Lifeguard, Surface Water Rescue, Event Medics, Present
International Training Director (North, Central, & South America), Professional Scuba Association International, Sand Point, MI, 2011 - 2016
Technical Diving Training Director, Professional Diving Instructors Corporation, Scranton, PA, 2007 - 2011
Owner, Scuba Coach Trace/Tech Expeditions, Clifton Twp, PA, 2006 - Present
Beach Lifeguard Supervisor, Appletree Management Group, Poconos, PA, 2001- 2006
Technical Director, Hydronautics - Diving for Science & Adventure, Inc., New York, NY, 2001 - 2004

Dive Centers

All About Scuba, Alexandria Bay, NY, 2018
St. Lawrence Scuba Company, Watertown, NY, 2016 - 2018
Lehigh Valley Dive Center, Bethlehem, PA, 2005 - 2016
Lynnhaven Dive Center, Virginia Beach, VA, 2001
Divers Direct/World Watesports, Key, Largo, FL, 2000
Austin's Dive Center, Miami, FL, 2000
Brac Aquatics, Ltd., Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, BWI, 1999
Scuba-America, Scranton, PA, 1989 - 1999

Commercial Diving Experience

Diver, Kyle Conti Construction, Hillsborough, NJ, 2015 - 2018
Diver (Contractor), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2002 - 2005

Organizations

USA Freediving, 2018 - Present
International Underwater Cave Rescue & Recovery (IUCRR), 2007 - Present
United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), 2004 - Present
National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS), 2003 - Present
Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), 2001 - 2012

Certifications

PSAI Freediving Sport Diving, Technical Diving, Cave Diving, and Technician Instructor Trainer Evaluator
PDIC Freediving, Sport Diving, Technical Diving, Cave Diving and Technician Instructor Trainer Examiner
SDI/TDI Sport and Technical Diving Instructor
SEI Scuba Instructor
YMCA Lifeguard Instructor/American Red Cross Lifeguard
GUE-F, GUE Tech 1, GUE Tech 2 Trimix Diver
NSS-CDS Cave Recovery Diver
100+ certifications from PSAI, PDIC, GUE, SDI/TDI, IANTD, NSS-CDS, NACD, PADI, NAUI, YMCA, etc.

Achievements

Founder of the Big Bight Spearfishing Club
Co-founder & President of the East Coast Freediver Club with Jeff Rempel and David Nesbitt
38 years diving experience throughout North America, Europe, and the Caribbean
30 years teaching experience in 9 countries having trained 650+ students
Developed over 20 sport, technical, cave, solo & freediving programs for PDIC and PSAI
Explored 38 cave systems and 96 shipwrecks
Created the first solo cave diving course in the industry
PADI Underwater Habitat Specialist, JUL Mission #4005, January 11 - 12, 2009
PADI Aquanaut, JUL Mission #4109, January 10 - 11, 2011
Assistant Lacrosse Coach, Marywood University, 1993
ISSA and AMF Certified Personal Trainer
Author of PSAI Advanced Buoyancy Control, Trim & Technique; PSAI Freediving: A Guide for Breath-Hold Divers; and PDIC Extended Range Freediving
Cast Member, Ghost Town Divers.
Appeared with Cristina Zenato in the shark documentary Gimme A Hug
Rediscovered ancient Lucayan remains with Cristina Zenato in Burial Mound Cave for Brian Kakuk, Jill Heinerth, the Bahamas National Trust, and the BBC
Appeared with Manny Puig and Mark Rackley of the Wildboyz
Appeared in the National Geographic TV series Auction Packed
Jr. Jedi Knight, Awarded by Jedi Master William Flannery during U.S. Masters Swim Practice :-)

Favorite Dive Sites

Caves: High Springs, Fla.; Marianna, Fla.; Freeport, Grand Bahama Island
Wrecks: Alexandria Bay, N.Y.; Morehead City, N.C.; Bermuda
Marine Life: Catalina Island, Calif.; Key Largo, Fla.; Porthkerris, Cornwall, England
Reefs: St. Lucia; Turks & Caicos; Bonaire
Lakes: Dutch Springs, Pa.; Kingston, Ont.; Skaneateles, N.Y.
Drift Dives: Brockville, Ont.; Rainbow River, Fla.; Niagara River, N.Y.
Night Dives: Ginnie Springs, Fla.; Bonaire; Narragansett, R.I.
Deep Dives: Keystorm, St. Lawrence River; U-853 Block Island, R.I.; Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman
Tech Dives: J.B. King, Brockville, Ont.; Roy A. Jodrey, Alexandria Bay, N.Y.; Blue Hole, Nassau, Bahamas
Freediving: Dutch Springs, Pa.; La Jolla Cove, San Diego, Calif.; Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Trace Malinowski's Resume

About TRACE

Trace Malinowski has enjoyed an almost unparalleled 40 year career in the diving industry. At age 13, he walked into a dive shop hoping to buy new snorkeling gear and walked out enrolled in a scuba class. That dive shop wasn't just an ordinary shop, it was the retail and training facility for PDIC International, a respected certification agency, that had a rigorous US Navy style diving program at the time.

Since then, he has amassed over 100 scuba and lifeguard certifications, made over 7500 dives, 1000 cave dives, and trained over 650 students in 9 countries with a perfect safety record. He has received the SSI Platinum Pro 5000 Diver Award, the Hal Watts Elite Cave Diving Award, the Abe Davis International Safety Award, and the PADI Aquanaut Recognition for achieving "aquanaut" status by living on the sea floor for over 24 continuous hours in a semi-autonomous underwater habitat.

He has served as the training director for two of the most respected certification agencies, PDIC and PSAI, and served on the board of directors for several diving organizations, including the RSTC and WRSTC, where he championed for higher training standards. Trace has written three diving manuals, and he became the first instructor in the industry certified to teach solo cave diving. He currently is a consultant with the International Diving Safety Standards Commission (IDSSC) and the president and co-founder of the National Association of Solo and Team Divers (NASTD).

The "Scuba Coach Trace" story begins with the failure of certification agencies to meet the demand of today's diver. Shorter traditional class times have resulted in greater stress and diminished performance. He hopes that his classes and coaching sessions will offer a more relaxed, positive, and fun experience, putting quality first, and better ease the transition from non-diver to diver, or from one certification level to the next.

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