I absolutely agree that it should be at the instructor level as to wether they agree to accept someone for OW training. Problem is, most are accepted as long as they got an ok from the Doc. I know of only one instructor who ever turned away someone because they felt they were not physically suited for diving (it was someone who was very obese in this case). In that situation, the instructor was also the shop owner who was known for being very paranoid about getting sued for liability. So much so that even though I had been diving for six years and had a DM cert from another agency, she would not let me take the cross-over course until I got a written ok from the doc because I had bad hearing.
I've dived with at least one person who's eustachian (sp?) tubes were so messed up from an operation it took her a long time for ascents/descents, only wanted to stay at one depth during the dive, yet she was still cleared by a doc as ok to dive!
Another problem is pressure from the store to accept them. I really believe that instructors should be able to keep more of the tuition, or at least split 50/50 with the store. I was appalled when I learned that most of the tuition for the OW class goes to the store, the instructor only gets $50! Sure, they keep more of it when the student goes on to AOW, Rescue, and so on, but in the real world there aren't nearly as many that do that as those who just take the OW. I think if the financial incentive was better, you would get better instructors and more of them. As it is now, most of them treat it like a hobby, they just do it for the fun of it, same with DM's. Some flexibility in the way the tuition is split, (e.g. give the DM a take) and even in the pricing would bring more competition and incentive. I would have probably stayed an active DM longer if there was at least some cash incentive. As it was, all I was getting was free air (but only for classes) and a hearty "thank you" from the students. That coupled with a personality clash with the instructor pretty much killed my enthusiasm. I know most DM's get a few more perks than I was, e.g. price breaks on gear, but even then I didn't think it was that great because I could get the same kind of price breaks, sometimes even better ones, during sales.
Also, the litigation-happy society we live in doesn't help the matter any. Instructors and stores are afraid of being sued for discrimination if they so much as even look cross-eyed at someone.
It's hard for me to picture a para or quadra-plegic towing a tired or injured diver, especially in a current situation. I know there's organizations that specialize in working with handicapped divers, but personally it's not something I would want to get involved with. More power to them if they can do it safely, but not with me.
I've dived with at least one person who's eustachian (sp?) tubes were so messed up from an operation it took her a long time for ascents/descents, only wanted to stay at one depth during the dive, yet she was still cleared by a doc as ok to dive!
Another problem is pressure from the store to accept them. I really believe that instructors should be able to keep more of the tuition, or at least split 50/50 with the store. I was appalled when I learned that most of the tuition for the OW class goes to the store, the instructor only gets $50! Sure, they keep more of it when the student goes on to AOW, Rescue, and so on, but in the real world there aren't nearly as many that do that as those who just take the OW. I think if the financial incentive was better, you would get better instructors and more of them. As it is now, most of them treat it like a hobby, they just do it for the fun of it, same with DM's. Some flexibility in the way the tuition is split, (e.g. give the DM a take) and even in the pricing would bring more competition and incentive. I would have probably stayed an active DM longer if there was at least some cash incentive. As it was, all I was getting was free air (but only for classes) and a hearty "thank you" from the students. That coupled with a personality clash with the instructor pretty much killed my enthusiasm. I know most DM's get a few more perks than I was, e.g. price breaks on gear, but even then I didn't think it was that great because I could get the same kind of price breaks, sometimes even better ones, during sales.
Also, the litigation-happy society we live in doesn't help the matter any. Instructors and stores are afraid of being sued for discrimination if they so much as even look cross-eyed at someone.
It's hard for me to picture a para or quadra-plegic towing a tired or injured diver, especially in a current situation. I know there's organizations that specialize in working with handicapped divers, but personally it's not something I would want to get involved with. More power to them if they can do it safely, but not with me.
