Active diver re-certification

[flots am]

Why does an "ACTIVE DIVER" need Re-certification??????? For that matter why does any diver need Re-Certification.

Tons of "Certified Divers" haven't been in the water for more than a decade and would have no idea how to do a 30' dive without puncturing an eardrum or kicking up the bottom. But they're still certified. It's more marketing that actual diving skills.

The card says "lifetime certification" but I wish it didn't. I'd rather is said "Expires 2 years after your last dive".

 

[TMHeimer]

The card says "lifetime certification" but I wish it didn't. I'd rather is said "Expires 2 years after your last dive".

Would an inexpensive refresher course re-validate one's card? Still not sure--If for some reason I wasn't able to dive for 2 years (having logged 100s of dives), I wouldn't want my card to expire. I would like to depend on people who need refreshers to get them, or if it's been 2+ years maybe do a couple of very benign dives to start back up.

Somewhat akin to car inspections in (most?) states and the Eastern Provinces of Canada: You faithfully take your car for a tune up and attend to problems when they occur because you are responsible. Then you have to pay annually or bi-annually to get a sticker. Then 3 months from that you need car repairs again...

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

Let's think about this assertion. At $10/per. Let's say that because it's not actually an OW course, the "instructor" could handle 10:1 to himself. $100 for at least a few hours' worth of work isn't exactly a "money grab".

Honestly, we haven't seen anything quoted specifically from the club itself; just the OP's characterization of something he saw as unfair and unnecessary. It would be helpful for the OP to link to the club or provide some of the literature where they explain their policies or what exactly the refresher or recert entails.

Insofar as money grabs go, this one is pretty high effort and low yield.

I'm not trying to slam the club, nor am I trying to discourage anyone from joining the club. I used re-cert because that's basically what you are doing to join this club. I can't post the the copy of what they call a skill assessment because they only allow access of that to members. The price for me is not a problem, it's the fact that for me and I would think the same for most active divers. once I receive my certification I have no need to dive with an instructor again unless I'm taking further training. I will go diving in the future, and have been diving with the founding members of this club. I was only trying to get some different opinions from unbiased divers.

Saying skills assessment sounds worse than say re-certification. If my skills aren't where you think they need to be, are you going to try and retrain me? If you feel the training organization guide lines are not as good as the one you use, are you going to want me to get retrained by you or someone from your organization?

 

[Nemrod]

As an active diver (25 dives a year) would you join a club that wants you to do an OW pool certification every year?

NO, I would not.

N

 

[divin'dog]

Saying skills assessment sounds worse than say re-certification. If my skills aren't where you think they need to be, are you going to try and retrain me? If you feel the training organization guide lines are not as good as the one you use, are you going to want me to get retrained by you or someone from your organization?

Exactly. Should we assume it would be an instructor level diver who does the evaluation? It might be fine with others who need/want that kind of guidance but it's too much Big Brother for me to be testing every year!

Of course, we're probably making more of it than it really is... I hope, because it sounds like some power trip to me.