NAUI Nitrox - Bummed

[ChrisEdwards]

About 3 weeks ago, my Son and I signed up for the NAUI Nitrox and AOW classes with the LDS that we did out OW with. My Son is 13 years old, 14 this January 2007.

We paid the $150'ish each for the Nitrox Class. We took the class, my Son scored 94% on the written test. We did the tank checks for the O2 percentage at the fill station, completed the log books, etc., dove 4 tanks each of 32% and 36% Nitrox, in the ocean, averaging 75fsw, including two night dives.

I just stopped by my LDS and they gave me my Nitrox card, but NAUI refused to issue my Son a card because he's too young, according to the LDS he needs to be 15 years old.

I think this is pretty sucky.

 

[snakedr]

Sounds like your LDS / instructor owes yo a bit of a refund. I find it very surprising they did not know the age requirments.

 

[SmileMon]

You can always have your son do BSAC nitrox, minimum age is 12.

 

[matts1w]

About 3 weeks ago, my Son and I signed up for the NAUI Nitrox and AOW classes with the LDS that we did out OW with. My Son is 13 years old, 14 this January 2007.

We paid the $150'ish each for the Nitrox Class. We took the class, my Son scored 94% on the written test. We did the tank checks for the O2 percentage at the fill station, completed the log books, etc., dove 4 tanks each of 32% and 36% Nitrox, in the ocean, averaging 75fsw, including two night dives.

I just stopped by my LDS and they gave me my Nitrox card, but NAUI refused to issue my Son a card because he's too young, according to the LDS he needs to be 15 years old.

I think this is pretty sucky.

So why slam NAUI by name? NAUI did nothing wrong. Why not name the LDS?

 

[tedtim]

We did the tank checks for the O2 percentage at the fill station, completed the log books, etc., dove 4 tanks each of 32% and 36% Nitrox, in the ocean, averaging 75fsw, including two night dives.

Interesting. If the standards for the course indicate that the minimum age is fifteen, then taking someone on the course younger than that diving on NItrox could be a violation of the standards.

Does NAUI also have a depth limit for AOW training for the younger divers? This sounds like a lack of knowledge by the instructor(s) and LDS.

 

[tedtim]

So why slam NAUI by name? NAUI did nothing wrong. Why not name the LDS?

Well, unfortunately if the instructors are trained by an organization, then their actions reflect on that organization. Sure, it could have been another organization, but in this case it was not. My guess is that had the reference not been made to NAUI that there would have been a number of people who presumed it to be another organization (common target).

 

[Walter]

So why slam NAUI by name? NAUI did nothing wrong. Why not name the LDS?

I have to agree, the instructor didn't follow NAUI's published standards. The instructor is clearly at fault in this case.

 

[oxyhacker]

Seems to me the shop owes you a refund - they screwed up by allowing someone who didn't qualify to take the class. You may have to return the training materials, but if they can't give you the card after your son passed, they haven't fulfilled their part of the deal. Come to think of it, maybe you could even sue them for endangerment, for risking your son's life by taking him diving with the killer voodoo gas nitrox before his immature young body was old enough to handle it.

On the other hand, are you card collectors or a divers? If card collectors, I understand your frustration. If divers, look at the bright side - your son has gotten all the information and training to dive nitrox, 2 years before he would have been eligible if the shop had been paying attention. So you can both go and dive nitrox now, which, one assumes, is why you took the course in the first place. So maybe you ought to give the shop a choice, of refunding your money, or promising the issue him the card the minute he is old enough.

 

[daniel f aleman]

It woul be interesting to know if NAUI HQ (in this case after receiving a certification request for a 13 year-old and refusing because the minimum age is 15) had a Quality Assurance talk with the LDS. That kind of mistake usually gets instructors put on probation...

 

[bperrybap]

So you can both go and dive nitrox now, which, one assumes, is why you took the course in the first place.

Not sure how this would work, since all the places I've been
and dive ops I've used have been pretty strick on checking certs
for Nitrox fills.
I guess if you owned your own tanks you could get around it
but I sure wouldn't count on it for any type of dive trip involving
boat diving.

--- bill