Cavern Certification minimum age?

[handben]

I was looking at the web site for the new dive shop - Cave Country Dive Shop and see that they offer cavern diver certification at age 16 with parental consent. I'm thinking that this might be just the thing to do with my daughter when she turns 16 next May. She's got over a 100 dives (started at age 10), advanced and nitrox certs and is very comfortable underwater and has great buoyancy and consumption rate and is very mature for her age.

I had thought that the minimum age was 18 till seeing this and am wondering if it is up to the discretion of the instructor or have the agencies changed standards or was I just wrong in thinking you had to be 18?

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

The minimum age is 18 for NSS-CDS. IANTD standards state 15 years old. Because of recent Florida Supreme court rulings that state a parent may not waive the rights of their child I will not train anyone under the age of 18.

[ucfdiver]

I got my cavern card at 12....the NACD will do overrides with the permission of the training director, or at least did in 1999. That being said, I think the student should at least be 15-16.

[K Mejean]

The NAUI minimum age is 18 as well.

[Dive-aholic]

Minimum age varies with agency. Most agencies will allow cavern students at 15 or 16. However, like Jim stated recent rulings in Florida have made many of us very hesitant to take on any students under the age of 18 for any class.

[CaveMD]

The minimum age is 18 for NSS-CDS. IANTD standards state 15 years old. Because of recent Florida Supreme court rulings that state a parent may not waive the rights of their child I will not train anyone under the age of 18.

Would this hold true if either

A. the student was not a florida resident and the training is conducted in florida.

B. the student is a florida resident and the training is conducted elsewhere.

Just wondering how far the purvey/jurisdiction of the state court swings.

[handben]

It is a sad state of affairs that the trial lawyers are messing up our sport. It would have been a real loss if I hadn't been able to get my 2 kids certified when I did. This sport/hobby/lifestyle/passion has really brought us together as a family and is focal point of nearly all of our vacation time (usually 3-4 weeks a year of diving together). I can't argue with the logic though of protecting one's back-side - it is just a shame to let the lawyers dictate our lives.

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

It is a sad state of affairs that the trial lawyers are messing up our sport. it is just a shame to let the lawyers dictate our lives.

Amen brother...We are long overdue for tort reform in this country.

[Marc Bryan]

The minimum age we will teach is 18. The age listed on the site was incorrect. It has now been updated to reflect our policy. Sorry for any inconvienance.

[Dive-aholic]

Would this hold true if either

A. the student was not a florida resident and the training is conducted in florida.

B. the student is a florida resident and the training is conducted elsewhere.

Just wondering how far the purvey/jurisdiction of the state court swings.

This ruling only has merit in Florida. However, other states may have similar rulings as well. Courts only have jurisdiction over their own venues, so just because someone is a Florida resident doesn't mean they have jurisdiction over something that happens out of state. In other words, it's possible to train an under 18 year old in another state without worrying about this particular ruling. Personally, I would want to research the laws in the other state before accepting the waiver, though.