Dan Orr, President of Dan Orr Consulting, has more than 60 years of diving experiences, and he’ll be putting those decades of expertise to great use at the Long Beach Scuba Show when he takes to the Inspiration Stage on 30-31 May.
Dan retired as President Emeritus of Divers Alert Network (DAN) after 23 years, where he helped DAN focus on its worldwide diving safety mission. During his tenure at DAN, he assumed a variety of roles including Director of Training (where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the DAN Emergency Oxygen First Aid Program), Executive Vice President and, ultimately, President/CEO.
Prior to his service at DAN, he worked and taught recreational diving in a retail store, developed and implemented course curricula in the academic environment, and collected data and supervised research efforts in the field of science diving. Dan was certified as a US Navy diver and tested diving equipment for military contractors. He has served and continues to serve in leadership positions on the Board of Directors of many companies and organizations throughout the diving world. Consulting projects have included generating reports on fire safety improvement for liveaboard dive vessels, first aid and accident management improvements on dive vessels and safety management system review and improvements.
Dan has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international diver conferences and conducts regular webinars on a variety of diving safety subjects. He has published and co-authored more than a dozen books and manuals including 101 Tips for Recreational Divers, Scuba Diving Safety, The Coloring Conservationist: Great White Shark Coloring Book, Pocket Guide to First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries; Pocket Guide for Hazardous Marine Life Injuries; and the DAN Oxygen First Aid for Scuba Diving Injuries Training Manual. He has published seminal articles on a variety of diving safety topics including The Normalization of Deviance (aka shortcut mentality), The Rule of Three: The Principle of Error Recognition and Critical Rethinking, An Incident in Scuba Diving is an Accident that Didn’t Happen, Diving Enriched Air (Nitrox) with Your Dive Computer Set to “Air”, Altitude Exposure After Diving: Safety Risks Every Diver Should Know, What Does Age Have To Do With It?, See Clearly, Dive Safely. Vision Correction and Diving, The Crisis Continues in Emergency Hyperbaric Treatment Availability, The Mental Health Benefits of Scuba Diving, Confronting the Enemy from Within: Immersion Pulmonary Edema, The Four “P”s of Scuba Diving Safety, Cardiac Issues-Getting to the Heart of the Matter, The Older Diver and Health Questionnaires, Issues for Older Divers-Health and Insurance Coverage.
Dan has been honored by his peers by being the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors including the NOGI Award in Sports/Education, the Leonard Greenstone Award for Diving Safety, the Our World-Underwater Award, Beneath the Sea’s Diver of the Year, the Wyland Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement, the NAUI Lifetime Achievement Award, the PADI 50 Year Member Award and the DEMA Reaching Out Award. He is a member of the Explorers Club, Hall of Fame for Disabled Divers, the Diving Industry Hall of Fame, and the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame.
Mistakes Divers Make
Recreational scuba diving is considered safe but can be very unforgiving of mistakes. When you look at the latest available diving accident data, especially the ‘triggering events’ in diving accidents, a significant number of the identified triggering events are either directly or indirectly caused by human error. From the most recent available diver accident data, this seminar will identify and discuss mistakes that divers make coupled with recommendations on how to improve diver health and safety. This important information will help reduce the likelihood that an incorrect choice will plunge the diver into a cascade of events leading towards truly unwanted circumstances.
Safety Issues for the Older Diver
When taking stock of our physical abilities and capabilities as we age there are absolutes that divers should be familiar with. These absolutes can affect diver safety. This seminar looks at the changes divers experience as they age and makes recommendations on how our improved judgment and reasoning ability can help compensate for most negative changes in body function so we can continue to dive safely. Aging is a fact of life but how we handle growing older can make the difference between enjoying diving well into our Golden Years and having to prematurely hang up our fins.
Long Beach Scuba Show
The Long Beach Scuba Show, this year sponsored by Divers Alert Network, is celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2026 (30-31 May), and it represents the first show under the banner of new owners Rork Media Limited, which also runs the GO Diving Shows in the UK and Australia, and publishes the global-multi-edition Scuba Diver magazine, as well as being behind the Scuba Diver Magazine YouTube Channel, and long-established website Divernet.
Fans of the long-running event will be delighted to hear that Rork Media plan to retain everything that made the Scuba Show such a staple on the West Coast diving circuit, and enhance it with new and improved elements, including a Main Stage with a huge video wall right in the exhibition hall itself, a new layout designed to stimulate exploration around the hundreds of booths, and additional interactive attractions including a VR dive on a deep-water shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.
The three seminar rooms have been organised into themes, to make it easier to find speakers/topics of interest, so prepare to dive into Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging.
Whether you’re an experienced diver, a new enthusiast, or just curious about the underwater world, the Scuba Show brings together everything you love about diving under one roof.
Explore hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest scuba gear, dive destinations, underwater photography equipment, training programs, and ocean conservation initiatives. Attend inspiring seminars led by world-renowned dive experts, explorers, and photographers, and connect with dive professionals, travel operators, and fellow divers from across the country.
There is also the opportunity to expand your skillset. The PSI-PCI Visual Cylinder Inspection course is open to everyone who wishes to inspect high-pressure breathing gas cylinders, or just know about the process. These specialty courses support the inspection process with formal function specific training on valve maintenance and repair, and Oxygen Cylinder Cleaning. Inspectors who are at the three-year renewal mark and want to attend the PSI-PCI Update course will be able to take care of it at the Scuba Show as well.
PSI-PCI offers the only training that is formally endorsed, utilized, and referred to by the cylinder manufacturers. The training has been created with the input of industry professionals and experts in each field to provide you with the best training available to meet the Federal requirements for the associated processes. You can join the team of PSI-PCI Professionals at the Scuba Show. Don’t wait, seats will fill up quickly! Click here for more information and to book a slot.
The Scuba Show offers two full days of ocean adventure, hand’s-on experiences, and exclusive show specials, and is where the US dive community comes together to celebrate the underwater world.
Get your tickets now!
Tickets are on sale now for the Scuba Show, and new for 2026, there is a change to the cost of entry – there is now one ticket price, which gets every attendee full access to the Exhibition Hall, and entry to all seminars.
With many of the speakers in the dedicated Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging seminar rooms either only presenting on one of the days, or giving two different talks, plus with the headline acts on the Main Stage, and the plethora of booths, interactive elements and much more, there is plenty to keep you occupied on both days, so why not make a weekend of it?
Tickets are available now – click here – priced at $33 for a day ticket, and $60 for a weekend pass. There is also the option of a VIP Pass, which includes a weekend pass plus 6 issues of Scuba Diver magazine and 6 issues of California Diving News (Magazine delivery US & Canada residents only), and a Scuba Show Dive Team T-shirt, for $100.
Under 16s go free – bring the family and let the kids dive into the fun as well.
Join us for two incredible days, 30-31 May 2026, celebrating the world of diving at the Long Beach Convention Center!
