Diving Education Today

[Teamcasa]

It seems by the data that less divers are dying every year.

 

[DCBC]

oh come come, Wayne. You're not one to take your ball and go home for this stuff. If you think I misunderstand you then just point it out. From where I'm sitting I'd say it comes across as hating. If you have a better word, then tell me what it is.

LOL Hating the progress we've made? I couldn't do what I do for a living without the progress. The technology is GREAT and it's increased the scope of our diving abilities. Why would I hate that?

I think eventually government legislation concerning diving is inevitable...

I agree.

I'll just make clear that I don't think that how things are is a utopia or that there is no room or need for improvement. I just think that being cynical about where we are and wishing it would all go back to the way it was 40 years ago doesn't get us anywhere.

I don't want things to go back 40 years; I like the technology. That said, I believe that people are depending too much on it. People who can't swim shouldn't be jumping into the ocean because they have a BC on. Divers should be less dependent on equipment and in better physical condition. But that's just my opinion.

I'm pleased to hear that you think that there is room for improvement. We can agree on that at least.

 

[DCBC]

That said, there's also nothing in the standards of PADI to preclude additional time and even excursion dives being made part of the course so as to ensure that the students demonstrate their skills to the satisfaction of the instructor.

Well said. I believe that the majority of PADI Instructors are professional and want the best for their students. Those who I have known over the years (myself included) that train for cold water teach above the PADI standards.

Any problem I may have with PADI is not their Instructors. However, the PADI organization does not allow any Instructor to evaluate any skill outside the scope of PADI's minimum training standards.

A PADI Instructor can attempt to teach the student additional material that the Instructor feels is necessary for safety. However if the student cannot accomplish any of these skills, the Instructor must certify the student anyway. This is the only diving certification agency that I'm aware of that has this restriction. As you brought up PADI, I thought it was worth mention.

 

[DCBC]

It seems by the data that less divers are dying every year.

It would appear that way. Thanks for the information.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

There's a place for difficult training. Recreational diving isn't it. There's absolutely nothing a typical warm water vacation diver will be asked to do that requires "tough" training.

And macho elitists comparing diving to contact sports and wanting it otherwise won't change that reality.

Then why do warm water recreational divers, who do not engage in rough, elitist, macho underwater activities, and whose goal is to survive an easy fun day of diving, perish in easily preventable accidents?

I have a lot of experience in warm recreational waters. Your post implies a lack of respect for those waters.

As a dive guide in those waters, in one day I made as many saves as my lifetime total in 23 years of lifeguarding.

Having to assist tired divers, rescue panicked divers, and keep divers from running out of air was a weekly occurrence. Some weeks it seemed to happen every couple of days.

When it is you, your kid, your spouse, or someone you care about in trouble, you'll be glad that "macho elitists" like me, whether they be dive pros or rescue trained divers, train hard and run in the cold when our knees hurt.

But, that isn't because I'm a macho elitist. It's because I am extremely experienced and know the benefits of preventative lifeguarding for others and oneself. Physical fitness and good skills go a long way to that end.

How do you know how "hard" the training to which I refer is until you have undergone it? Divers aren't beat up senselessly, but conditioned over a period of 8 - 10 weeks to be better physically able to handle the rigors the oceans and waterways may throw at a diver and to overtrain for emergencies. By training beyond the minimum, a diver will be able to handle the typical emergency or problem with ease and also have had an opportunity to experience and prepare for a worst case scenario.

If anything recreational divers need the better training because unlike some of us "macho elitists" they really are not okay with dying down there.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Tough training can make for better performance, but so can smart training. I think in diving, smart trumps tough under most circumstances.

What about the lesser circumstances?

It would be nice to manage both don't you think?

 

[Slonda828]

Exactly. The lady at Dutch Springs who slammed into the bottom with her BC full and 35 pounds of weight on didn't call me macho when I helped her up from muddy bottom at 70 feet, she thanked me. Then I helped her fix her weighting problem. Now when I visit PA she leads me on dives to all the good spots that only the locals know. She is a nice lady, and a great diver now that she understands how to weight herself. I bet you if I was 300 pounds and I could barely drag myself out of the water she would still be down there and her kids would be wondering why Mom isn't home.

 

[DCBC]

Regardless of the number of diving deaths per year, I think it's fair to say that one is too many (especially if it's yourself or a member of your family). Too many deaths are the result of poor fitness and diver error. My contention is that by improving the training a diver receives, death and injury can be mitigated. I'm sure there is much that can be done...


http://www.thescubasite.com/Latest-Scuba-Diving-News/scuba-diving-accident-statistics

 

[Trace Malinowski]

It seems by the data that less divers are dying every year.

Is diving seemingly safer today because the mid-1970's saw a rise in cave diving deaths while the sport was moving into places and depths divers had not experienced, and for which they had not developed adequate training, for the new envelopes to which they began to push exploration as better equipment became available?

Does diving seem safer today because the adventure for the majority of the diving public has been limited due to poorer quality divers that it is more difficult to get hurt, but the sport has become far less interesting as it has been reduced in level of difficulty?

In the past, did more accidents happen because the average diver was diving in riskier areas and profiles? If we took the divers of the past and gave them the tools and technical training of today, would their feats blow our minds?

I'm thinking, yes, because some of those divers of the past who stayed with the sport were also the ones who began agencies like IANTD, TDI and PSAI. A new generation of smart divers through GUE and UTD is expanding on the lessons of yesterday and training smarter - of course most of these divers now employ scooters rather than swim and rebreathers are giving divers more time to break past yesterday's barriers.

But, I wonder how much more fun diving would be in warm water resort areas if we weren't treated like cattle, and how training that stressed physical as well as mental fitness would reduce rebreather and other technical diving fatalities.

I have a good one for Spike TV's Ultimate Warrior series - 1950's US Navy UDT "Frogman" vs. today's U.S. Navy SEAL - under the water.

 

[DCBC]

I have a good one for Spike TV's Ultimate Warrior series - 1950's US Navy UDT "Frogman" vs. today's U.S. Navy SEAL - under the water.

LOL An interesting comparison...