Have anyone been turned down for diving because of their certification agency?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I don't think recognition is an issue when it comes to getting on boats but I have found that when you progress to higher training and more specialties then agency becomes a problem. PSAI dive-master course needs you to know ABC trim which is a more intensive course than PADI peal performance Bouyancy so if you want to be a PSAI DM then you may need to know what PSAI means by buoyancy. Similarly their Rescue course is a different animal than PADI so at DM level they may not accept what you learnt in PADI. I am also told that for PADI Ice Diving course your AOW has to be a PADI AOW and not SDI but I would like other to confirm that.

 

[KD8NPB]

We were a YMCA shop before a PADI shop...

I've seen some C-cards from the mid 60s / early 70s.

 

[Hawkwood]

I don't think recognition is an issue when it comes to getting on boats but I have found that when you progress to higher training and more specialties then agency becomes a problem. PSAI dive-master course needs you to know ABC trim which is a more intensive course than PADI peal performance Bouyancy so if you want to be a PSAI DM then you may need to know what PSAI means by buoyancy. Similarly their Rescue course is a different animal than PADI so at DM level they may not accept what you learnt in PADI. I am also told that for PADI Ice Diving course your AOW has to be a PADI AOW and not SDI but I would like other to confirm that.

Prerequisites
To qualify for the Ice Diver course, an individual must:

2. Be certified as a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization.
3. Be 18 years of age or older.

 

[Zeke XA3]

Originally Posted by drbill
…I also think of a story Bob Meistrell of Body Glove/Dive N Surf told me about a dive trip to the Philippines back in the early 60s. He had forgotten his c-card and was told he couldn't dive…

I understand Hans Hass had a similar problem… Hans Hass of all people!

If someone came up to me on my boat and said im Hans Hass/ Bob etc, i forgot my card, let me dive. I would have turned them down.

No history of famous people diving in Instructor courses, but plenty on paperwork and liability in my on the job training!

 

[Akimbo]

…If someone came up to me on my boat and said im Hans Hass/ Bob etc, i forgot my card, let me dive. I would have turned them down…

Wow, I am getting old. Not recognizing Hans Hass would be on par with having no idea what Jacques Cousteau looked like. Come to think of it, I wonder if he was ever carded?

 

[Fishpie]

Leave Hans on the dock, but I'd definately have taken Lotte diving.

 

[sphyrnidus]

I was never refused with my card that was issued by a club on Curacao in 1968. The club had their own certification, basically the same as BSAQ. About 1992 the club was discontinued and so I was wondering what would ever happen if I lost the damn thing. Most often when I show it on a boat, the DM says, heck I wasn't even born then. Anyway just to be on the safe side I asked a PADI instructor/diving buddy to get me a card, which he did. But I stil prefer to take my original card with me.
Btw in the Netherlands the LDS never asks for a card when filling. It's only on boats and liveaboards that they want to know. But otherwise anybody can buy gear, fill up and dive. That said, very few accidents happen here, and those that occur are mostly involving foreigners who underestimate the diving in tidal waters and low viz circumstances.

 

[agesilaus]

I always carry my cards and have been asked for them at every shop I have dove with. I did not know that padi dropped tables. I know that ssi dropped tables a few years ago.

I just took OW from SSI and their book and the instructor both covered tables in detail. And the final had several questions that required the tables to answer.

BK

 

[Redshift]

I have heard the "get your certification with agency A and not B otherwise it may not be recognized in some places". Have never actually heard of anyone having problems, if they hold an international qualification. Problems may arise when it's a national certification, which may not be well known. But I think in that case, a dive operator should get those divers in the water and do a check, not just say they won't take them.
What I have seen is dive centres not being sure about the limits of some certifications, but usually they trust people and with internet, those are easily checked. And have also seen what others have mentioned, that certifications from some agencies can have more weight than those from others, for example CMAS and BSAC over PADI.

 

[maniago]

I'm not a shop or anything, but its seems to me that "official" currency training will show up one day as a requirement in our industry. I'm sure that shops or boats are already leery of diving some weezing fat blob that shows up with a 1960's or 70's card...