There have been several threads over the several months that indicate that training standards for scuba diving need to be raised or tightened up.
As I see it there are three participants to dive training
1--The person that wants to learn scuba
2--The agencies that set the current training standards
3--The instructors that represent the agencies in conducting the the training.
Current thinking seems to be that the agencies are financially driven to produce as many divers as possible as quickly as possible, therefore standards are low.
Coupled with that seems to be the idea that the instructor bears full responsibility for the training of the diver.
Compounding this is a clientle that only wants the briefest and easiest class to get them in the water.
How in the world do we fix this??
A simple example of standards is the swimming evaluation(see the thread-should non swimmers be allowed to dive). Picture what would happen if the standard for all agencies was the perspective dive student must first demonstrate the ability to swim 200 meters non stop with proficiency. How many people would be diving now?
Ascent skills standard. Ascend in a horizontal position at no more than 30 feet per minute making motionless unsupported stops at 10 foot intervals.
Descent skills standard. Descend ina horizontal position at no more than 50 feet per minute making motionless unsupported stops every 10 feet.
Be able to perform while hovering and then ascending buddy breathing and other air sharing techniques while making a proper ascent without having a mask on.
These are just some examples--raising the standards would need to be more comprehensive IMHO.
How long would it take the perspective diver to learn and master these standards? What would it cost to teach these courses? How many checkout dives would it take?
As I see it there are three participants to dive training
1--The person that wants to learn scuba
2--The agencies that set the current training standards
3--The instructors that represent the agencies in conducting the the training.
Current thinking seems to be that the agencies are financially driven to produce as many divers as possible as quickly as possible, therefore standards are low.
Coupled with that seems to be the idea that the instructor bears full responsibility for the training of the diver.
Compounding this is a clientle that only wants the briefest and easiest class to get them in the water.
How in the world do we fix this??
A simple example of standards is the swimming evaluation(see the thread-should non swimmers be allowed to dive). Picture what would happen if the standard for all agencies was the perspective dive student must first demonstrate the ability to swim 200 meters non stop with proficiency. How many people would be diving now?
Ascent skills standard. Ascend in a horizontal position at no more than 30 feet per minute making motionless unsupported stops at 10 foot intervals.
Descent skills standard. Descend ina horizontal position at no more than 50 feet per minute making motionless unsupported stops every 10 feet.
Be able to perform while hovering and then ascending buddy breathing and other air sharing techniques while making a proper ascent without having a mask on.
These are just some examples--raising the standards would need to be more comprehensive IMHO.
How long would it take the perspective diver to learn and master these standards? What would it cost to teach these courses? How many checkout dives would it take?