Youngest Certified Scuba Diver in PADI History

(DiverWire) Tamanna Balachandran became the youngest scuba diver to be PADI certified at the tender age of ten-years-old. Balachandran lives in Mumbai, the capitol of Maharashtra in India.On April 16th, the day after her tenth birthday, Balachandran earned her PADI Junior Open Water Scuba Diver's certificate, thus entering the history books as the youngest certified diver in scuba history. She got in just under the wire, too - ten years and 3 days was the previous record, set by an Egyptian diver.The Junior Open Water Scuba Diver's test requires knowledge of depressurization, underwater communication, and strong swimming skills, among other techniques like gear knowledge and safe practices.Balachandran first had to com...
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So the shop accepted her as student before she was ten. Went through all the classroom and pool sessions before she was actually of age to start Jr OW training. That is nothing to be proud of. It's sickening. Crap like this is why instructor insurance keeps going up. They see the risk going up and up with all the BS going on.

Way-to-Go Tamanna !!!!!!

She did a bubblemaker at age 8 then "finished" the course on her 10th birthday. She is a 10 year old little girl, I think we can cut her a little slack. Btw how many people come on these very boards and tell stories of taking their uncertified children diving?

I'm surprised she didn't do her AOW the next day to become the youngest ever AOW. Its some achievement though.

If this is TRUELY something she wanted then good for her and I wish her all of the joys that comes from being an open water diver.

If this is a publicity stunt by her parents than shame on them; they can join the ranks of other selfish attention seeking parents that live vicariously thru they children.

I don't understand how this is an achievement. I wanted to be a certified diver for years when I was younger but had to wait until the minimum age of 12, at which point I was able to begin my training and was certified as an Open Water Diver. No fanfare, no records, just a young diver. So now that the certifying agencies have apparently lowered the minimum age, I fail to see how it's an accomplishment worthy of recognition, except on the binary pass/fail level.

I am also with Jim on this one, in that beginning the course before the legal age and then testing out on a b-day just to break a recorded seems irresponsible. To me, that indicates that performance criteria are not important, and that regardless of skill level this individual was going to get certified. After all, they can always "work on skills" after the paperwork goes though. What's important is the world record, right?

I have no problem with her. Let's make.that clear. I have seven and eight year olds doing snorkeling and skin diving classes in the pool. They are swim team members and some of them can do skills that some certitified divers would have trouble with. But they are not on scuba. Whole different animal. I was taught to swim at age four by my grandfather. As was my brother and sisted. But it was not for any publicity for his store or any kind of record. Being as we were always around water it was a life skill. What I have a problem with is the seeming skirting and bending of standards to accomodate this so called record. What's next?

Joey boy Smith is now the youngest certified diver at age ten and two hours. He began his training in the womb by being subjected to e learning from speakers placed on mom's stomach. He completed breath hold training while still in the uterus. Over the next ten years he participated in many activities under the direction of premier dive facility, Honey Booboo's divin and beauty school. A six star gold platinum cubic zirconia palm frond facility in nonsense, upper slobovia. Intent on breaking this record numerous rules and regulations were scoured for loop holes and interpretations that would permit it. Said his proud parents, and dive school owner Billy Bob Murphy, we looking for a movie deal out of this.



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Jim Lapenta:

....and dive school owner Billy Bob Murphy, we looking for a movie deal out of this. Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

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Not a movie deal, Jim, Hollywood is full of them commie-pinko liberal fags, remember? They's gonna have a ree-allety show.

I'm not sure we should be celebrating someone so young being certified to participate in a sport that may require them to exercise the kind of task management and panic control skills that are far beyond the scope of a 10 year old. When everything goes perfectly diving is relatively easy and manageable for almost anyone but the moment things go south, it takes maturity and experience to manage the anxiety and deal with the challenge.