Stage Dive,OK?

[ianr33]

If a diver holds a full cave card is he diving within his certification level if he/she does a dive requiring a stage?

Put another way,are the Cave Stage Diver courses required or are they optional?

 

[daniel f aleman]

Stage is a specialty course taken after full cave, generally.

http://www.nsscds.org/training_new/trainingprograms.htm#Stage

 

[karstdvr]

I guess the question could be asked,if you didn't have a stage diving card could you use stages at the full cave level-yes. I think many people learn stage diving through doing first hand,but I once tagged along with a stage diving class and was surprised to see what was learned. It was more than how to rig a stage and gas planning,but covered conservation,traversing smaller passages,emergency situations etc.

 

[in_cavediver]

If a diver holds a full cave card is he diving within his certification level if he/she does a dive requiring a stage?

Put another way,are the Cave Stage Diver courses required or are they optional?

I personally consider stage, sidemount, dpv etc as specialty cave classes. They aren't required to participate in a specific activity but the class can be very rewarding and useful (unlike many rec specialties). This observation comes not from my direct expierence but from those I dive with who have taken the time to do a class.

 

[karstdvr]

I personally consider stage, sidemount, dpv etc as specialty cave classes. They aren't required to participate in a specific activity

In some places having DPV training is required to use a DPV in that cave system.

Sidemounting is a departure from many things that are done in back mount cave diving. Although nobody requires a card to do this form of diving,some type of instruction is needed either from formal instruction or mentoring. I pitty the poor sidemount diver who gets stuck in a small silty cave and hasn't addressed this problem.