Advanced Scuba Diver Development Program vs Just taking specialty classes you want?

[tursiops]

stuartv, you are correct, unfortunately. The OW+40 allowance could let people squeek through into MSD with no Deep and no Navigation and no Night experience or training, all of which they probably ought to have!
PADI has patched that hole somewhat by requiring AOW and Rescue prior to MSD...but this still only demands one dive each in Deep and Nav and none in Night.

I'd rather see MSD require the specialties for Deep and Nav and Night plus Rescue plus 100 dives....then we might be getting somewhere.

 

[Germie]

There are more 'bugs' in some prerequisites. I know a person that went from AOW to cavern, intro and full cave (that is allowed). Then the diver had a qualification to dive to 40m. No deepdiver specialty. And then the diver had the prerequisite to do adv. nitrox (deep diver is needed or equivalent, so the person has). And of course you can expect a full cave diver has more experience than a person with a deep diver specialty cert. But you can now get the 40m qualification without ever been in that direction (I believe for padi aow 'deep' is >18m, so 18.3 fits).
In Germany some divecenters allow aow divers only to dive to 25m and cmas 2* divers to 40m. In France you see same. cmas 2*=40m, cmas 3*=60m, and 60m on air with single tank and no deco experience is not an good idea.

 

[sebach]

In Germany some divecenters allow aow divers only to dive to 25m and cmas 2* divers to 40m. In France you see same. cmas 2*=40m, cmas 3*=60m, and 60m on air with single tank and no deco experience is not an good idea.

I'm wondering what makes you think that people go to 60m with no deco experience?

 

[Omisson]

So today the Training committee at SDI sent the following:


"The original open water diver certification programs were very demanding compared to today’s programs; however that does not preclude an individual from having to meet the prerequisites and requirements listed in the training agency’s standards- that includes CERTIFICATION of Advanced Open Water/Diver or other Agency equivalent.
If an individual has documented that plus the requisite logged dives and can complete the requirements to meet the Solo Diver prerequisites they can participate in the training."

So the answer is a DEFINITE NO. Experience and non "AOW" certs do not meet the requirements.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate you following up - I was curious.

 

[Omisson]

Thanks to Dennis Pulley who always gets back to us right away- and Joe Stellini who gave me input on the matter too! SDI is on top of these questions whenever I ask!

 

[stuartv]

So today the Training committee at SDI sent the following:


"The original open water diver certification programs were very demanding compared to today’s programs; however that does not preclude an individual from having to meet the prerequisites and requirements listed in the training agency’s standards- that includes CERTIFICATION of Advanced Open Water/Diver or other Agency equivalent.
If an individual has documented that plus the requisite logged dives and can complete the requirements to meet the Solo Diver prerequisites they can participate in the training."

So the answer is a DEFINITE NO. Experience and non "AOW" certs do not meet the requirements.

So, can someone link me to SDI's page that defines Advanced Open Water?

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Best I could find - at the bottom there are further links...

https://www.tdisdi.com/sdi/get-certified/Advanced-Diver-Development-Program/

 

[tursiops]

So, can someone link me to SDI's page that defines Advanced Open Water?

I think you need to interpret the SDI Training letter as meaning: "...includes CERTIFICATION of Advanced Open Water or Advanced Diver..." That is, the slash mark is being used as an "or" and "Open Water" is on one side of the "or" and "Diver" is on the other side. They are saying you can have an AOW certification or an Advanced Diver certification, or whatever the various agencies want to call their course that is like those courses.

 

[Germie]

I'm wondering what makes you think that people go to 60m with no deco experience?

I have seen that divers. Single 15L and go to the Togo wreck, 60m depth. When I was diving there (on trimix), our iantd trimix cert was not recognised, they wanted a cmas 3* (we all had that cert). It was in september 2012 that we where in France.