sheck33
Contributor
really? that is not my experience.......
Surface swim during ow cert.
- Thread starter miketc
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really? that is not my experience.......
bwerb
Hoser/English Translator, eh
First it's Quebec which has the sign law NOT the rest of Canada...if you put up a sign in "another language" in Quebec you must also put up one in French as well (which I believe must be as large as or larger than the "foreign tongue").
The only place you'll see a preponderance of bi-lingual signage outside of Quebec in in Federal buildings and airports.
And none of the Canadian provinces teach Imperial measurements in school.
My son is 17 and he has know idea what a yard is......It is not taught anymore in our schools, in Canada.
Most, if not all engineering, surveying, etc is all done in metric....
Bob3
Contributor
The nuns we had in gradeschool were very quick to adopt the metric system, it gave them a BIGGER STICK to beat us with.:mean:
Obviously this is a question which can be objectively answered. But since not all confined water training is done in a body of water of known dimensions, sometimes an instructor needs to use the 'bout that far rule.
Hmmm. 200 yards. That's 'bout the distance from X to Y. Pick two easily distinguishable points.
While our shop has a resort swimming pool to train in, the funky curves of the pool are not conducive to swimming laps. Instead the swims are performed in the sea. It's water that is shielded by a shoal reef to minimize waves, and shallow enough to stand up in easily.
To us, it seems that 200 yards is about the distance from the end of our dock out to one of the dive boat moorings and back to the dock.
For a PADI course, swims need to be done in confined water. Depending upon the conditions where the original poster did his/her swims, the water may have legitimately been "confined water." Whether a specific area would be considered "confined water" may vary from day to day.
Finally, it is easy to overestimate distance. Having a mental image may help. I try to remember that 100 yards is the length of an American football field between the endzones. If those docks were seperated by about the length of a football field, the distance was about right. And since 200 yards would take about 2 minutes for a competitive swimmer to cover, expect that most weekend warriors will take substantially longer.
Hmmm. 200 yards. That's 'bout the distance from X to Y. Pick two easily distinguishable points.
While our shop has a resort swimming pool to train in, the funky curves of the pool are not conducive to swimming laps. Instead the swims are performed in the sea. It's water that is shielded by a shoal reef to minimize waves, and shallow enough to stand up in easily.
To us, it seems that 200 yards is about the distance from the end of our dock out to one of the dive boat moorings and back to the dock.
For a PADI course, swims need to be done in confined water. Depending upon the conditions where the original poster did his/her swims, the water may have legitimately been "confined water." Whether a specific area would be considered "confined water" may vary from day to day.
Finally, it is easy to overestimate distance. Having a mental image may help. I try to remember that 100 yards is the length of an American football field between the endzones. If those docks were seperated by about the length of a football field, the distance was about right. And since 200 yards would take about 2 minutes for a competitive swimmer to cover, expect that most weekend warriors will take substantially longer.
Phazeshyft
Contributor
I have -been a surfer for over 10 years and would still find a 500 yard swim tiring. I think it may be a little excessive. I am gonna have to get back in to good shape this fall.
The PADI Instructor manual only says to "avoid" swims over 200yd/m. It goes on to say "The overall objective is for you, the instructor, to use discretion in achieving the safety goal of assuring that student divers have reasonable swimming ability while keeping the experience enjoyable and rewarding."
Most people do not understand (including PADI Instructors) that the "standards", or "bold print" (or blue print as it used to be) as they appear in the instructor's manual are the performance requirements for the course. As long as these requirements are met, there is considerable latitude in how to achieve these requirements. There is no "one way" set in stone to do anything.
I wish more people understood this. It stands worth it to point out, as others have, that you can still have an excellent PADI course if it is conducted by an excellent PADI instructor.
Personally, I salute the instructor in question if he "raised the bar" a little for the watermanship assessment. I wish more people would do it.
Anyway, just my $.02
Most people do not understand (including PADI Instructors) that the "standards", or "bold print" (or blue print as it used to be) as they appear in the instructor's manual are the performance requirements for the course. As long as these requirements are met, there is considerable latitude in how to achieve these requirements. There is no "one way" set in stone to do anything.
I wish more people understood this. It stands worth it to point out, as others have, that you can still have an excellent PADI course if it is conducted by an excellent PADI instructor.
Personally, I salute the instructor in question if he "raised the bar" a little for the watermanship assessment. I wish more people would do it.
Anyway, just my $.02
Let's see..., yes its more than two football fields possible 2.5X. I used the same mental image when I was there and its more like two football fields with both zones. The water is shielded by reefs and the waves were minimum but not shallow enough to stand up in (about 7-8 ft). Confine water to me mean that the instructor could reach me if something goes wrong.
I'm all for rising the bar "a little" but it should not put the student in unnecessary risk or feel his life may be in danger. A little should not be more than double a requirement. I was in water that is about 7-8 ft deep and if I was in trouble at 200-250 yards/m away I think my instructor would have a problem reaching me. If we had done this swim in a pool or my instructor accompaning me during the swim, then I wouldn't have as much of a problem. I'm just worry about the next guy/gal with lesser swimming skill when I started this tread.
BTW, other than this my instructor was great and I'm not here to get him in trouble. I'm just going to let this end here.
I'm all for rising the bar "a little" but it should not put the student in unnecessary risk or feel his life may be in danger. A little should not be more than double a requirement. I was in water that is about 7-8 ft deep and if I was in trouble at 200-250 yards/m away I think my instructor would have a problem reaching me. If we had done this swim in a pool or my instructor accompaning me during the swim, then I wouldn't have as much of a problem. I'm just worry about the next guy/gal with lesser swimming skill when I started this tread.
BTW, other than this my instructor was great and I'm not here to get him in trouble. I'm just going to let this end here.
OK first thing first in Qubec they do teach the imperial system in primary school then you dont use it much after that. Basicly you get a yard is equal to ...(still dont want to look it up)
A US gallon is equal to 3.78 L etc....
Secondly I can figure out how much a yard is if I look it up just its been a while since i went to primary and dont use yards very often(actually never) and didn't feel like looking this info up before posting. Though I figured it was about a meter just didn't want to post something inexact seems on this board theres always somebofy to point out your mistakes
Ok next whats this thing about not writing anything in english in montreal guess you haven't been there in a while. The way it works is that if you want to write a sign in english (in front of a store for ex your sign has to be bilingual and the french has to be twice as more predominant "projet de loi 101". And most stores are bilingual.(what does this have to do with diving again..........?)
As for getting back to the subject.
Yak we dont fail somebody if he cant do the swim actually never really saw somebody who just couldn't swim the butterfly kick, just saw very innefective butterfly kicks. The point is to demonstrate that you know the swims and have tried them out and to show students why surface swims are pretty tiring.
Of course students get to relax and wait till there ready before doing the next style (which can get pretty long if you are the DM that stays in the water between the two docks and just sit there while you watch students swim by and making sure everythings ok.
And cmay
i agree with you add my 0.002c
jdb
Guest
1 yard = .9144 meters
1 meter = 1.0936133 yards
What can I say, I was board.
1 meter = 1.0936133 yards
What can I say, I was board.
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