History
The Nautica Association was founded in 1998 in Krakow by a group of befriended divers who were convinced of the idea that the aquatic environment could be fully accessible for people with disabilities.
The history of the Association is closely tied to the Nautica Underwater Tourism Centre in Kraków. It is where the idea was born to use the specifics of the aquatic environment to help others, children and people with disabilities, often with difficult personal situations, to find new opportunities for self-realization. The Nautica Association was registered on 29 February 1998, and the first Board of Directors consisted of - click on the photo to learn their story
Agnieszka Pajdak-Stós
Joanna Pajdak - Subry
Tomasz Plichta
Paweł Staniszewski
Dariusz Spirytulski
A key role for the development of diving for people with disabilities in Poland was played by Tadeusz Masztalerz, who introduced the system developed by HSA to our country. This coincided with the establishment of the Nautica Association, which became involved in the implementation of this idea with great commitment, gaining experience through daily work. At that time, all activities in this field were pioneering. Initially, the Association implemented three programmes: ‘Water Trail’ - swimming lessons for children from orphanages and educational centres; ‘Silent World’ diving lessons for people with impaired hearing and deaf; and finally ‘Zero Gravity’ - diving lessons for people with motor disabilities. A compilation of the last two is the programme currently running.
For over 27 years of uninterrupted activity we have spent almost 1000 hours in the swimming pools, organised 50 training and tourist diving camps in Poland, Croatia, Egypt, as well as many recreational dives. This was possible thanks to the commitment of several dozen of wonderful volunteers, the efficient work of successive Association's boards and the equipment support provided by befriended organisations and companies
Since the founding of the Nautica Association, the successive Presidents of the Boards have been
1998 – 1999: Radosław Bizoń
1999 – 2008: Agnieszka Pajdak-Stós
2008 – 2013: Angelika Chrapkiewicz- Gądek
2013 – 2015: Paweł Staniszewski
2015 – 2016: Natalia Borzych
2016 – 2023: Anna Ćwiękowska
od 2023: Adam Dąbrowski
We are proud of our history and happy that in underwater routes in different corners of the world one can meet over 250 HSA divers for whom our Association was a kind of alma mater.
In 2023, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Nautica Association, we had the opportunity to meet our former and current members, trainees, staff, friendly organisations and donors at a GREAT BIRTHDAY BALL. Take a look at the photo report
