Diver Attrition

[FishDiver]

I was talking to a LDS owner about divers dropping out of the sport. He claimed that only 7% of newly certified divers EVER went diving again. He was quoting a source for the figure but he couldn't rember what it was. That's a 93% attrition rate for new OW cards.

When you add up the people who get the card for one special holiday, or who dive a few times on annual holidays, the number of people that dive on a regular basis declines even furthur.

What percent of certified divers dive on a regular basis, say ten dives a year? This clearly varies based on geography so I am looking for a broad average. If the 93% figure is correct, after you subtract the holiday divers you are left with maybe 1-2% dedicated divers. Anyone care to validate or argue with these numbers?

 

[PerroneFord]

How do dive shops stay in business?

Why do you think dive shops push so hard to get you to buy gear as you are getting certified? They know most people won't be coming back. They gotta get theirs early and often.

 

[Aquanautchuck]

I can't argue with that at all!

 

[DiveMaven]

Our OW class (on Maui) had 6 students, comprised of a father and 3 sons, then my husband and I. Before the end of the class, one of the sons had dropped out (spent all his time on the phone with his girlfriend), another just wanted it done so he could go do other things (as we heard him whine on the boat), and the youngest was having fun (but took 4 tries to pass the final written test). The father had been certified years before but had stopped diving shortly after the first certification and told us he talked the boys into the class so they would all have something to do together. We ran into them toward the end of our vacation and asked if they had done anymore diving. The father told us that none of the boys were interested since there were better things to do.

I'd guess that out of our class of 6, only 2 of us are still diving. Then when we returned a year later, our instructor was not only surprised to see us on the boat, but he was surprised at how much diving we'd done in the interim. He's always pleased when we share how much diving we've been doing and all the adventures in the planning stages.

 

[jbd]

My OW class years ago had 10 students. One person went to Mexico and completed the certification there did a few post cert dives while there and then never dove again. Some people never completed the certification dives. One completed the dives and then dove once four years later. Other than that I'm the only one diving from that class.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

My OW class was just my daughter and myself. While my daughter completed the course and dove twice in Grand Cayman, she didn't much care for it and most likely will never dive again. I however have fallen in love with it and since OW have added AOW, Nitrox, PPB and Equipment courses. I now have 24 dives and will have around 50 by the end of the year. I own all of my own gear and have plans to finish out my list of "must haves" (pony bottle, steel tanks, nitrox analyzer and dry suit) next year. As my family teases, "you're totally addicted to this scuba stuff!"

So for my course, which is certainly not representative, that's 50%.

 

[jbisjim]

.....a 93% attrition rate for new OW cards....

I think that a bit low even. but a pertage point here or there does not change the fact that the drop out rate is high.
Ask your DM or Instructor. how many students a year return to do more diving or a class? It is, oh, so few. In the last few years of being a dm it is only a handful.

 

[abysmaldiver]

Unfortunately, I think this situation can be be blamed on the instructor and or dive shop. If the initial experience of diving, either confined water class or ow check outs, is not the best experience the student ever had they will not become "hooked". The way alot of instruction is being held these days is to get the students in and out and gobon to your next job. If you make it an extrodinary expericnce the students will have the same love for the sport as you do. There will still be a drop out rate but not near as high. Another thing that can help is that if someone owns their own gear that will encourage them to stick with it. Not that I am condoning the fact that most lds pressure people into purchasing an entire set of gear but it helps. One last thing that is very important is if you can keep that student in the water after ow checkouts, that is several more dives during their first year, the chances for them sticking with it are far more greater. This is all speculation though.

 

[jpsexton]

I was talking to a LDS owner about divers dropping out of the sport. He claimed that only 7% of newly certified divers EVER went diving again.

I've heard that before also but when I read it I just can't understand it. How can you make such a commitment going thru OW class and then just quit. :shakehead

 

[webhead]

I think you're also missing another big part of the training that can make a difference - the dive boat. While not all training for scuba requires a dive boat, here in Fla, ever class I took or gave had a boat dive or two.

And after the way some boats treated their "guests", I can understand why some never dive again. I know I've stopped using some boats because if anyone is going to yell at my students, it should be me.

But if a student is under stress and the boat is chaos, people and gear all over the place and racing to be 1st off with the captain yelling to drop or move or whatever, they might see this as how the sport is and change their mind about doing it again.

There are some really good dive boats out there and they generally have a following for that reason but there are bad boats too. And it takes just one bad experience at something for you to sit back and re-evaluate things.