Nerdy Certification/Experience Question, but still curious...

[xcelratr]

OP, besides the fundamental concern of creating competent divers, the industry as a whole also has to live within the reality of the market.

On one hand, if dive certifications expired, that could be bad for business because people might continually put off dive trips because they haven't "gotten around" to getting their cert renewed. So dive shops, boats, equip mfgs, etc might suffer a loss of business because they would have to turn away potential divers (customers), and other would-be customers would never even bother to try to go diving since they know their cert is expired.

On the other hand, it could be good for business because a cert refresh is one more couse to sell, maybe with a freshening of equipment and a chance to sell the re-certed diver a spot on an upcoming trip.

What would be the net effect on the industry as a whole? Impossible to tell, but given typical consumer behavior, my bet is on the former more than the latter.

IMHO, the current "system" is probably the most practical of the alternatives. The cert is forever, but any savvy operator will have some system for evaluating divers that are new to them. Whether it's just a logbook and a few quick questions about experience, or a shallow check-out dive at the beginning of a trip, or whatever.

When it's all said and done, by far the greatest risk is to the diver themselves. If you don't keep your skills up and you get dead, you're the one that suffers the consequences. At least until the lawyers get involved.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

They would not only be refused an AOW class but I'd recommend a repeat of OW after a thourough eval on knowledge and skills in the pool on my dime. As for those who would just jump back in without even trying to get refreshed- the gene pool at times does need thinning.

 

[on_two_wheels]

I didn't dive for almsot a year. I didn't take a refresher but did go out with only a couple people, both extremely experienced with advanced training. I really didn't feel like I missed anything....was just as comfy in the water as last time I dove.

 

[captain]

I think a return to diving after a prolonged absence is dependant on prior experience and years previous to the break.
I had a 8 year absence after 30 years of extensive diving experience and it was essentially like I had never been gone.

 

[Quero]

double post

 

[Quero]

I had a dive student not too long ago who came back to diving after a 14 year absence. We did a pool skills review and a theory refresher, both of which went flawlessly. I believe that because this guy is an engineer and is technically-minded, the theory never really got old for him, and because he's a triathlete and a lifeguard trainer, his water skills were easy to brush up. I can imagine that others after a 14-year absence might need more attention before they were ready to get back into diving, perhaps even a complete OW course repetition, but this guy certainly didn't. We did two Discover Local Diving dives the next day, and he went home thrilled. (This was a tack-on-weekend-trip when he was in Bangkok on business.) He had such a great time that he came back for his AOW, which we did on a liveaboard, and had a great time again.

The thing is, as RJP alludes to in #6, we instructors are expected to assess our students' readiness for a course before we take them on for continuing education courses. That includes an evaluation both of their understanding of dive theory and their ability to perform satisfactorily in the water. If a prospective student needs some remedial work, it is up to us to make that clear and to package the dive course accordingly. How much remedial work is needed will vary according to the student. Sometimes we won't need to do much, as in the case of my guy who had been inactive for 14 years, but other times we need to go slower and fill in more gaps in order to create a good foundation for the continuing education course.

 

[SailNaked]

when was the last time you rode a bike? can you still do it? do you think after 5 or 10 years of not diving you can still clear your mask, find your regulator if you drop it, get neutral in the water? put your regulator on the right side of the tank?

How good is your memory? are you the kind of person that forgets how to drive a standard if you drive an automatic for a few years?

there is no flaw in the system there are plenty of safety police at all sorts of dive shops that will make you show them that you can still breath underwater before they do anything with you. and will require a Dm to dive with you (at your expense).

I am not saying that some people do not need a refresher after a period of time, but some do not, and it is not the period of time that makes the difference.

 

[jstamets]

As part of the Open Water, a diver should have been taught that after an extended period, you should get a refresher. A safe diver knows their limits - something else that should have been taught. If you have doubts about diving after taking a hiatus then that is a really good sign that you might want to consider a checkout/refresher dive.
I don't need scuba police to make me a safer diver - if I have to rely on someone else to keep me safe, then I shouldn't be diving.

 

[Mike Boswell]

In our dive classes we were taught that a refresher course was strongly encouraged if you had not been diving for some time. I believe the time interval suggested was six months.

We dive as often as we can, but sometimes a month or two goes by without diving. Invariably, we feel like we are re-learning basic skills like setting up our gear and doing buddy checks. After a six month hiatus, you would IMO be very likely to have a few hiccups, particularly with your gear.

That said, I don't think divers should be required to get re-certified. That would be penalizing the sensible majority for the mistakes of the foolish minority.

It's not so much that you get wiser as you get older: It's more that unwise people don't get old.

 

[PatW]

If you have been on a long layoff, you should do a refresher course. It is good to review diving materials, check your gear and do an easy dive to make sure that all of the skills are still in place.

I have seen a number of operators who will not take people out who have not been diving relatively recently without a check out.

It just makes sense. For most people, everything comes back pretty quickly.

Now, I have heard of divers with advanced certifications who went out on difficult dives right after an extended layoff, who did suffer adverse results. I forget the details.