How happy are you with today's level of Diver Education?

DCBC · Oct 15, 2009

Each of us may have been at dive sites, or on charter boats where other divers are present. Perhaps some of us have been "buddied-up" with strangers.

How competent (in your opinion) are today's new divers?

Do you feel that the average diver being certified today is capable of looking after himself and his/her buddy in the water?

Could today's training courses be improved? If so would shortening or lengthening the SCUBA program produce better results?

muddiver · Oct 15, 2009

No, seriously, there are a number of important sets of skill and knowledge that are left out of the mainstream SCUBA education process. One would be the management of breathing gas for any dive, whether you teach the psi method or the more accurate CFM method. Self reliance and rescue and/or diver rescue is often glossed over or skipped. Equipment appears to be a minimal or moot point because I see a number of green divers that have problems setting up their rig. True neutral weight and buoyancy control is often left for advanced or specialty classes. I'm sure you will get more response than this.

LGH · Oct 15, 2009

It all depends on what instructor they had during their class. The difference can be night and day between two divers certified by the same agency as OW divers.

drbill · Oct 15, 2009

Based on what I've observed, few divers pass OW with the skills they really need. Even AOW students don't generally exhibit them. I attribute much of it to the minimalizing of the certification requirements and passing students whose check was good.

When I took the LAC basic certification course (after diving w/out certification for 8 years) it was a 2-3 week course that covered much of what is in current courses up through rescue diver. Of course a course like that would probably be cost prohibitive today and limit the number of new certified divers. Hmmmm???

makebubblesnotwar · Oct 15, 2009

I don't think enough is covered at all. I've seen plenty of divers that really don't know what they're doing, instead they're watching the DM or instructor. The OW course is the length it is because the certifying agencies feel its enough for the diver to be capable underwater but short enough so they can draw in people on vacation who will probably dive 5 times their whole life.

JeffG · Oct 15, 2009

DCBC:
How competent (in your opinion) are today's new divers?

Some are good and some are boneheads. At pretty much the same ratio of yesterdays old divers.

DCBC:
Do you feel that the average diver being certified today is capable of looking after himself and his/her buddy in the water?

Yes (provided the diving conditions are not introducing a great deal of change for the diver. New to drysuit...never done current...never done a wall dive.)

If the divers limit the amount of change, they usually do ok. Its when they get overwhelmed do things go sideways.

DCBC:
Could today's training courses be improved? If so would shortening or lengthening the SCUBA program produce better results?

Unknown. Depends. Not enough info to make a call.

I am not a big fan of the one weekend PADI classes that I have seen. But some divers still manage to succeed with it, while others might scare the crap out of themselves and never dive again.

TMHeimer · Oct 15, 2009

I took the OW classes at night (6 nights over 3 weeks, then the check out dives). I have nothing to compare this to, but I felt pretty good about it. There was time in between to digest what was taught in class and at the pool. I would have had a hard time doing all the class/pool in one weekend. For DM course, we are doing the weekend thing- 4 or 5 full days, etc.- This seems OK, but then again, we are refining skills we already know, not learning them from scratch. I'm sure there are some OW divers who did well with the weekend deal--those with better memories than I.

DennisS · Oct 15, 2009

It's a learners permit. If they start off doing 10-20 foot beach dives, move on to some 30-40 ft reef dives, they should be fine. The current OW course is a starting point, not a final destination.

carrielsal · Oct 15, 2009

DennisS:
It's a learners permit. If they start off doing 10-20 foot beach dives, move on to some 30-40 ft reef dives, they should be fine. The current OW course is a starting point, not a final destination.

I agree! Too many people take the OW class, then only dive once every year or so on vacation. They have no interest in practicing skills or taking advanced courses. I don't think the problem is necessarily the OW class, but the mindset of the diver. :shakehead:

Carrie

Walter · Oct 15, 2009

DennisS:
It's a learners permit. If they start off doing 10-20 foot beach dives, move on to some 30-40 ft reef dives, they should be fine.

If only it were so. Many aren't competent to be out of the pool.

How happy are you with today's level of Diver Education?

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