Dema show???

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

I got certified after seeing a diver come out of the water. He took me in the next day (he was an instructor). After I was certified my dive shop had a dive of the month club. I went every month. I meet other divers and we dove freshwater lakes, rivers, quarries, and ponds. From there I started diving in the ocean and never looked back. When my wife got certified the shop had dive vacations to exotic places which only the well to do could aford. After certification you need mentoring till you build upon your skills become proficient and meet others that already have the love of diving in them.

Maybe instead of the "Be a Diver" campaign we should have the "Adopt a Diver" one :D

Of course you can spin this in 2 ways ....

Positive spin: Every expert diver should "Adopt" a newly certified diver and strive to dive with him/her as much as possible for at least X number of dives .... until the new diver becomes expert .... then the new diver does the same with another newly certified diver ... and so on ....
We could set-up some kind of web based tracking / recognition / rewarding system (funded with DEMA $$$)

Maybe we call this "Mentor a Diver" ... so we avoid spin 2 ?

Alberto (aka eDiver)



I like this. It's kinda like pay it forward. Take a new diver under your wing. This would be a great way to retain divers and make new friends. Although some divers don't like being stuck with new divers, but I believe this is on charters.

REWARDS: An all expence or copay trip to cool dive destinations for the divers with the most mentoring credits
 
I attended DEMA in Vegas in 08 and a previous show in FL....waste of $
 
Two sides of the diver retention issue;

1. New divers are there for the one time experience. They are going on vacation to an area that offers diving as a side experience. You are not going to retain these individuals.

2. The balance would be easier to retain if stores/instructors understand that we are in the entertainment business. Providing an active social calendar, providing dive partners, and social/networking programs around their diving events will go a long way to diver retention. People will always gravitate to entertaining venues.

In my old dive club, we would leave Friday night, dive 6 hours to our boat, get up a Saturday at 6AM and cross the lake for two hours to get to the dive sites. If the weather was co-operating, we may get up-to two hours underwater before leaving at Noon on Sunday for the trip back. So, was it the two hours underwater or the friendships that drove it?

Start talking to those who drop out. Their experiences start to line up under the above issues.
 
Thread bump... :)

It is six years later...what has changed? Has DEMA done ANYTHING that has helped grow the industry? There were lots of listening sessions with white boards...but any actual plans implemented or just hot air and BS?

The industry...has continued the decline, and it can't be blamed on just the economy, there has been improvements or leveling out since 6 years ago...but not the dive industry, a steady march down.

Bueller?????
 
It is six years later...what has changed?

Well, you're still throwing the same stones that you were throwing six years ago. So that hasn't changed.

I scanned through some of the 400+ replies in the thread but didn't see you make any substantive suggestions. So that hasn't changed in six years, either. (Chanting "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! DEMA board has got to go!" isn't a substantive suggestion.)

In one post you actually say "In my vision..." and then go on and on about all the things that you wouldn't do.

Be the change you wish to see in the world, Chris. I think you'll find it's a lot less frustrating, and a lot more productive, than spending all your energy trying to be the leader of the anarchists.



2009:

Is DEMA relevant?
DEMA is... ?
Last year at DEMA...
How many DEMA members...
...DEMA staff.
This year's DEMA show...
DEMA BOD...
Next year's DEMA show...
Has DEMA done ANYTHING?
Last year's DEMA show...
 
Last edited:
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom