So you saying no renewal because someone has to do dives they are certified for but may have lapseed on their skills and this would push them into diving something they are not ready for? I thing that is the whole point is to keep the people who can not keep up on their skills from thinking they can just jump in and do a 200' wreck or something. I believe as far as instructors you would want an active instructor that is doing the dives he or she is teaching. With this renewal, the diver would not lose X level if they could not keep it current and would not have to retake X level course, but would need to do a refresher of some sort if their cert a X level lapsed.
No, I'm saying that the current renewal philosophy of the first agency that issued expiration dates on C-cards is flawed.
Most instructors have the common sense to not teach a 200 foot trimix or wreck course when they aren't 100% capable and practiced. I do not know any tech instructor in my circle of friends who would do such a thing. When I had been diving nearly every day in the Bahamas for over 2 months with another cave instructor, she and I did two practice dives in Ginnie's ballroom, practicing stage drops and pick ups, and emergency drills before cave diving in Florida because we switched to drysuits, steel tanks, and stage bottles from wetsuits, AL80's and no need for stage bottles - just to go diving.
Quotas to teach your highest level courses such as Tech 2 or Tech 3 or Trimix 2 or Full Cave, means that an instructor is going to actively recruit people to take classes at these levels. My friend, Jim Wyatt, a popular North Florida cave diving instructor, believes that only cavern divers should be actively recruited because cavern is a "safety" course. To push divers into full cave or into greater deco and overhead dives to maintain a teaching status is almost irresponsible if you look at it from a safety and lifeguarding perspective. Most every agency asks for some sort of professional quota from instructors to remain active. The larger the quota, the more problematic it will be. While teaching quotas exist to maintain proficiency, what happens if the only students I get this year to take trimix 2 are not ready in my opinion? Do I run the class and fail them just to have taught? Do I run it and pass them to increase my cert numbers with the agency to enhance my career? Quotas are a double edge sword and I do not feel that lopping off the heads of students with the one blade is a good way to promote safe scuba diving.
An active diver or instructor are those who are actively diving and teaching. I would say that a diver making 150 recreational level dives a year is more "active" than a diver who makes only makes 25 Tech 1 dives every 3 years - especially if that diver practices bottle and deco switch skills routinely. Depending upon where some divers live, making 25 Tech 1 dives may be tough. However, when you start talking Tech 2 and Tech 3, that becomes very difficult. For many, they are forced to dive deep when the opportunity presents and that can be problematic for the individual and their buddies. The "safety" of proficiency is canceled out by the risk of diving when one doesn't feel up to the task, but hopes to get it together underwater. That is not a good scenario.
This industry keeps demanding more and more of instructors. I haven't even mentioned the financial burden placed on instructors for trimix and travel and time away from being able to bring home the bacon during the height of the dive season to meet quotas. It could take a month and over $6,000 in gas plus travel to stay active as a Tech 2 or Tech 3 instructor. Go into the public and private schools and tell the teachers that you have a great deal for them. No salaries. No benefits. No paid sick days or holidays. They'll have to spend several grand every 3 or 4 years on continuing ed, and they can only pass students with a 3.5 GPA or B average and above and each student must also pass the physical fitness test. If not, the student can't take class next senester and the teacher won't get paid. Now, you'll be left with only a few teachers who love to teach. Those who love to teach are often passionate about it and keep learning. They probably need very little encouragement to do their best and to be at their best.
I don't think that a quota system is going to solve the problem people are hoping it solves. I think people are wondering why there are so many poor divers and instructors and wondering how to prevent the death and injury among an inactive diving population. Poor instructors will tyeach 1 person or 10 people or 100 people a year poorly. Poor divers will make 1, 10, 25 or 250 dives a year poorly. Numbers won't solve the issues they are trying to solve. Higher standards and better training will. Great training is also not insured by numbers. In fact, I'd say that instructors with the lowest number of certs and the least number of courses at the highest levels of diving might be some of the best instructors.
Quotas are an attempt to fix a skills problem that may not exist with a paper solution.
