SDI vs PADI standards

[greg somers]

As an Diveleader myself I have done Naui and Padi and am further training with an SSI establishment. For thourough training you cannot go past naui as it is a non-for-profit organisation and the others are all profit making businesses. I had a similiar discussion with a master instructor and one of the most advanced divers in the southern hemisphere and his opinion was that the money is in the certification and that most organisations teach their clients only to a certain level and then tell them to go for further training. Not that that is a bad concept, but the stuff they are prescribing for further courses are taught at standard Naui o/w level. I do not agree with the Padi doctrine of avoiding overteaching. When I do my Padi instructor crossover I have been told not to teach all that I think is relevant but only what is proscribed and that takes away from the freedom of the instructor to teach to a higher standard where as Naui states that you cannot teach lower than their minimum standard but you are welcome to teach above the standard and the others do not allow that.
We get alot of overseas divers in N.Z. and some of them have had up to 100 dives but they struggle to do even the basics well. The standards definately need to be raised. Any system that does not teach thourough table awareness is putting their students at risk. Computers need to be customised to the individual and they are all set at different tolerances. They are a tool but cannot be relied upon in place of good instruction. Sure,teach their usage but give them the basics. As for tables the most accurate in my opinion are the SSI as they still take account of the Doppler scale where as the others have changed away from the scale somewhat. Well that's my opinion. The gasman

 

[luvdiving]

One question I have been asked many times by prospective students is, "where is an SDI certification going to be accepted?"
What's the scoop?

Thanks, Ken

 

[GetWet]

Does anybody use the PADI "Wheel" dive table? Is it still available?

 

[Mario S Caner]

Ken, I don't see why SDI certifications won't get honored just like any other agencies C-card. The best person to ask however is probably Brian Carney at TDI / SDI.

Get Wet, The PADI wheel is still available and taught. The cost is close to $50 US which make most people spend a few extra bucks and buy a computer instead.

 

[Iguana Don]

I believed I predicted this some time ago.

Sooner or later our U.S. C-Cards will not be valid anywhere but here. Does anyone see a problem here except me. Or am I just being paranoid?

France has already nullified the PADI C-Card, The UK is considering it. I Think it's time to wake up, we have not progressed in this area, we are going backwards. As I have said before we are sending undertrained people into the water. you say PADI certifies 70% of all divers, then 70% of all divers are undertrained to world standards. I know this is a radical statement, but take a look around and see what's happening.

ID

 

[Rick Murchison]

The only places who will even contemplate not honoring certain C-cards are those places that rerely see those C-cards from paying customers anyway.
Don't sweat it.
Rick

 

[DiverDave]

GetWet:

The PADI wheel is still around. It is required learning for the divemaster and instructor exams, and I'm pretty sure its part of of the multilevel specialty.

Open Water divers can be taught either the wheel or the standard table. As the wheel is so much more expensive nearly everywhere uses the table to keep course costs down.

 

[turnerjd]

Originally posted by Iguana Don

France has already nullified the PADI C-Card, The UK is considering it. I Think it's time to wake up, we have not progressed in this area, we are going backwards. As I have said before we are sending undertrained people into the water. you say PADI certifies 70% of all divers, then 70% of all divers are undertrained to world standards. I know this is a radical statement, but take a look around and see what's happening.

ID

The UK authorities have been thinking about this, however, the way round this at the moment for most dive operators is not accepting OW qualified divers in some places they insist on a minimum of AOW for any diving and some places are thinking about restricting to Rescue and above.

This is a bit similar to the big wreck debate we are having, they are trying a voluentary code of practice at the moment, to avoid any legislation.

Unfortunately, ID, with 70% of divers being 'underqualified PADI' it really means that the world standard is dropping. For people like me, this is more worrying, in that to do the sort of diving I do you will have to go out and strait off pay big money for OW, AOW, and possibly rescue, before you can go out and dive just for the fun of it. It will eventually lead to a reduction in the number of people doing deep dark cold european diving, and doing almost exclusively warm water holiday diving. As less poeple do this sort of diving, fewer places will stock suitable kit, and kit prices will rise slowly and surely.

Last w/end at the dive show it was noticible, that all the GOOD deals were on warm water equipment, there were no really good deals on good quality cold water diving gear that I could find. Is this the future of things?

Certainly PADI's certification numbers bear this out, they do 70% of the OW certs here, but this drops to 20-30% for AOW / Rescue, and then to 10% for higher levels. These people just aren't diving here, they are 'vacation divers', and take their dive custom elsewhere.

Such changes are life, but I do see the overall quality of diver theory knowledge, and rescue skills being eroded here. Rescue skills are the most important ones, BSAC introduce Rescue skills in their OW equivalent, and you have to perform them at all Q levels. Padi introduce them at Rescue level, you then have to do one senario for the DM course, and another for the IDC. This is only 3 assessed rescues! BSAC has 2 in its open water course, and every level up has at least 2. This is regular practice, which people don't get with the PADI system (unless you are continually rescuing people!).

Sad but true, mebe its time for a 'TIR' (Teach It Right) agency!

Jon T

 

[Aegir]

Jon i couldnt agree more. For what is labelled a relatively dangerous sport there should definately be rescue medic/skills included right from the beginning of peoples dive training. Especially since new divers are the ones most likely to have accidents. I believe it will change in time , but why not change it now? We will probably have to wait until a party of new divers drown somewhere before they decide to think ahead. It is crazy IMO. :yelling:

 

[turnerjd]

Aegir,

The leicester coroner, and their chief constable have been making noises quite vigorously due to the disproportionate number of PADI accidents at stoney cove. At the moment no-one is really listening to them, however, from what the HSE has being saying about diving over the last few years (remember they changes the rules so that recreational diver training is covered by the diveers at work commercial rules) would mead me to sugest they are well aware of the situation, but haven't got the political clout to do such an outright political move.

Jon T