The Tec - Rec Split: Who Did It?

[Mike Boswell]

I guess I wasn't paying attention, but at some point, someone decided to divide Scuba diving into Technical and Recreational. It seems to me that this move must have been hugely controversial and must have been driven by some pretty powerful forces within the industry. I am interested in when and how this happened, and who did it, and why. I was hoping some of the more experienced divers could shed some light on this.

 

[Doc]

... must have been driven by some pretty powerful forces within the industry....

Lawyers and Marketing guys.

Yup, they are the most powerful people in the industry,

 

[Blackwood]

I don't know if dividing was the intent, or rather whether the misapplication of the term recreational was to empower a cabal with which to mutually support eachother in court.

Thal has an anecdote about the origins of the term 'technical diving.' I can't say I remember the deets.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

According to a couple of web sites I found ...

The history of technical diving started out in the late 1970s and was the result of a growing number of recreational divers who felt hampered by the conservative limits imposed on them by the mainstream diving community. Dischanted by this a small tight knit group of divers formed and are now generally recognised as the pioneers of tech diving. These men and women pushed the diving frontier to the next level of development in cave, wreck and deep diving. Deep diving techniques, modified decompression models (inc. deep stops) for the mixed gases used, the ways of dealing with potentially lethal situations at extreme depths and overcoming them. Many more became tried and tested and by the end of the 1980s tech diving had become a very exclusive form of diving. Experienced tech diving mavericks where quietly developing the techniques, methodologies and strategies for deep, confining and often outwardly hostile depths.

Technical Diving for Divers

Diving Lore | Technical Diving

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Mod63]

Actually, Michael Menduno is credited with coining the term "Technical Diving" in 1991.

 

[Walter]

I think you're right. I first heard the silly term in the early 90s.

 

[Blackwood]

I think you're right. I first heard the silly term in the early 90s.

Pre then, was "recreational diving" widely understood as "less than xxx feet and less than ndl"? Or did it actually mean diving for recreation?

 

[Mod63]

Pre then, was "recreational diving" widely understood as "less than xxx feet and less than ndl"? Or did it actually mean diving for recreation?

Depends where you are living. Diving to 50m and doing 30mins of deco was not considered anything out of the ordinary in the early 80s where I come from. I still consider any dive that can be done on my trusty Deco200o table as "recreational".

 

[Mike Boswell]

Pre then, was "recreational diving" widely understood as "less than xxx feet and less than ndl"? Or did it actually mean diving for recreation?

Pre then, I was taught Navy tables, I don't remember there being any depth limits, and I never heard of tech OR rec diving.

It's not only that some divers decided to go deeper, etc., it's also that rec decided to impose certain limits.

 

[InTheDrink]

From my basic understanding, the main difference seems to be technical divers like to wear black. Which is a wonderful marketing opportunity indeed.

Tech diving seems to be an elitist term that caters for some people's insecurities IMO. I'm an absolute novice but as I progress to more skilled diving I'm getting great pleasure at reading people's preconceptions when they learn I'm only PADI AOW. Amazing what people presume by virtue of a card.

Even in my very limited experience I'm come across people with less than 50 dives that I'd be happier diving with than some of those with 500. And anyone who take glee in declaring their techiness must be viewed with suspicion.

I've yet to hear a good or agreed definition of technical diving - which essentially makes the term meaningless.

J