Scuba Junkie, Don't join it

[Centrals]

..... All blame on me?

Exactly and precisely!!!!
1. SJ wouldn't let your mother to complete the course, good on them.
2. SJ wouldn't let you to continue with AOW because they believe you need more training, good on them.
3. SJ should had failed your OW because you did not understand the simple meaning of drinking before the dive!
4. Grow up.

 

[Dish]

Very odd post for your first Scuba Board input, @Bluewings0625 . I worked a couple draft responses, but have scratched them all. Nothing to see here... moving along.

 

[Dan]

What is a big deal about having AOWC? I had 400 dives in 8 years with just OWC before I get the AOWC. Just take it easy, enjoy the diving, no need to rush. Like other have said, grow up.

 

[helarno]

What is a big deal about having AOWC? I had 400 dives in 8 years with just OWC before I get the AOWC. Just take it easy, enjoy the diving, no need to rush. Like other have said, grow up.

Status symbol. Last time I hung around a group of Chinese divers, the first thing everyone asked after getting each other's names was the level of certification, then number of dives. Never mind if their buoyancy was all over the place, never mind if they barely learned anything from those courses. Had a Rescue certified diver try to tell us that after a 1 hour surface interval, everything resets to zero and you can do any number of dives in a day as long as you have 1 hour surface intervals in between. He told this to someone who was showing signs of light DCS after 5 dives to 25-30m the day before.

Unfortunately a lot of less reputable shops around the world (especially those targeting the Chinese market) will do these zero to AOW (and beyond) classes and be remarkably lax about standards. That Scuba Junkie refused to do this and remained strict about standards is a plus in my eyes.

That said, there are many very skilled, knowledgeable and nice divers from China. It has always been a pleasure to dive with them. If only there weren't so many bad divers and instructors giving Chinese divers a bad reputation.

EDIT: Forgot to add, that at least in South East Asia, not having AOW means that many dive shops and liveaboards won't take you below 18M (60 ft). Some liveaboards require AOW. Not having an AOW means you miss out on some good diving around there.