What is the point of certifications?

There are many other "sports" that are more dangerous than ours. There are many other sports that have more expensive gear than ours.

There are not many sports that also have more expensive certifications.

We certify because?

I certified so that I could get gear that I want to use to go into the water.

Every dangerous activity has training for it, but not always required for ADULTS.

Every dangerous activity has safety gear, but it is not required all the time.

Every dangerous activity has the risk of death, and people do die.

Why am I certifying? Because someone figures that I have to do it.

Do I really need to know the whys when it comes to depth or speed of ascent/decent? No.

Is the diving community being too strict? Is it for monetary gain? Would we see the death rate skyrocket without the certification??

Maybe it is just another way of thinning the herd.



Just random thoughts.

I am still new here but I do know that at least one aspect of having a lot of certifications is that if you want to work for a Cruise line as a Dive Instructor you have to have at least 50.

If you want to collect your own gear, purchase a compressor, set up your fill station and teach yourself to dive off your own boat or dock, then knock yourself out. But as soon as other people are involved (e.g. dive shops, boat captains, divemasters, etc) then there needs to be a method of attempting to verify that some who says they know how to dive has met some sort of minimum standard of competency if only to try and cut down on stress for everybody involved. "Certification" is not perfect, certification documents can be faked, not everybody that has a card knows what they are doing and all that, but it is an attempt to provide some structure. Scuba diving is one of the few sports (skydiving is the other that comes to mind) where an actual imminent risk of death is routinely present. Make no mistake, you can die doing this and in most cases people need structured training by a competent instructor to learn the skills needed to avoid making serious mistakes. You can argue about standards, training methods, costs and the like but some kind of training is needed by almost everybody who takes up this sport, and "certification", for all it's faults, is a way of setting standards for that training.

If you have to ask a question like this, you shouldn't be diving. Or at least not any place close to me.


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Sphillips3, you are not wrong.

Name me another activity that is so restrictive?

---------- Post added February 8th, 2014 at 08:13 PM ----------

DogDiver:

If you have to ask a question like this, you shouldn't be diving. Or at least not any place close to me.


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I ask the question because I know that I know how to dive safely, and I respect the restrictions my training has imposed.


Mind you, not to get into a spitting match, I do not like diving with closed minded people. I play within my limits, but want to ask why? Why? Why?

Legal liability of the parties involved is the tall pole in the tent.
The industry realized that policing itself would be better than letting the government screw it up.
The fact that it is a revenue stream helps and mates nicely with gear purchases is a win/win.
The nature of the dangers (silent and unforgiving) make basic training a really wise choice.

You really don't need a cert to buy gear (online or used). Air fills or charters are another matter.

But as soon as other people are involved (e.g. dive shops, boat captains, divemasters, etc) then there needs to be a method of attempting to verify that some who says they know how to dive has met some sort of minimum standard of competency if only to try and cut down on stress for everybody involved.

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Good post, and I'd add to reduce risk of lawsuits. Divers who are certified are often presumed to be fairly knowledgeable about the risks they are taking in the activity. Non-certified people are not.

And consider this. Let's say that, for whatever reason, a few dive charters at places you like to dive were publicly known to take divers without without even checking certifications or required them. 100 Foot wreck dive in current fresh out of OW? No problem. Oh, never certified but Dad taught you in a nearby lake? Cool.

Would you dive with them? Aside from giving them your business/money & thus encouraging their business practices, you'd put yourself at higher risk to be present in an emergency, and your trip would be more likely to be interrupted rushing somebody to the hospital.

Richard.

You are a troll, and trying to stir something up.

I did name another sport where "certification" is required - skydiving. You cannot make a solo jump until you have achieved a minimum level of competency as certified by a USPA instructor. All your training jumps are made with instructors or jumpmasters attending. Altitude and freefall progress on a scale, depending on your level of certification. As with scuba, if you have a buddy with an airplane and have a reserve packed by an FAA licensed rigger, you can teach yourself to skydive too, but if you want to be part of the sport, certification is required.

sphillips3:

You are a troll, and trying to stir something up.

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Neither. I think of things, and then wonder why. Is it wrong to ask why?

And you are right, skydiving is about the only other thing that I can think of.

Even things like Dirt bikes, as long as you do not plan to race, you do not need a license.

To get air...

All you need to buy gear is a credit card and internet access.