Who "Fails" Open Water Scuba Certification and why

[Barnaby'sDad]

One final thought--does everyone realize that 10-year olds can be certified by almost all agencies? That means that the course materiais are written at the 5th grade level. That means that the required skills can be and are mastered by 10-year olds. If you have a high failure rate teaching primarily adults a course that can be mastered by a 10-year old, I would say you are a piss-poor instructor.

The point that myself and others are getting at is that a percentage of adults give up on something the moment they meet resistance. Period. Ex. They feel discomfort with the mask removal drill, they hit a psychological brick wall, and they’ve essentially tapped out.

What percentage of students that are told that they require remedial training either decline to do so on the spot (didn’t budget enough time for extra training days) or simply never get back in touch in a timely manner to complete remedial training? I know the latter isn’t an infrequent thing from talking with instructors.

Your position...while I get it...doesn’t account for the lazy adult that decided that the activity in question requires more effort than they’re willing to expend.

From talking with instructors...those are the bulk of people that failed to complete the OW course...people that were unwilling to put in the effort to get past one hurdle or another...whether it was a mental barrier (mask removal at depth) or a capability barrier (not a swimmer or a weak swimmer).

 

[Colliam7]

If you have a high failure rate teaching primarily adults a course that can be mastered by a 10-year old, I would say you are a piss-poor instructor.

I tend to agree with John on this one, specifically with the 'high failure rate' caveat. The goal of scuba instruction is student success. We work to help the student achieve success. And, most competent adults should be able to succeed. Frankly, the OW performance standards across agencies are very 'success-oriented'.

Now diving is not for everyone, and some individuals find that out when they start training. We don't 'fail' them, they realize that diving is not their cup of tea and withdraw. I had a student one time who was actually good in the water, but could not bring herself to do a deep water entry from the pool deck. I told her she needed to be able to do that, I told her that a giant stride was much easier than some of the skills she had already successfully performed, I gave her plenty of time, and positive coaching, to help her. She just couldn't / wouldn't do it do it, and she withdrew, while her husband - in the same class - went on and finished. She was a good person, a good, at least attentive, student, she just could not overcome her fear. I told her I thought she did the right thing - at THAT time. She was not lazy, she tried, but she just could not overcome the psychological barrier. I would rather that she made that decision on the pool deck, than on a dive boat 20 miles off the coast, in 100 feet of water. And, in reality, diving is supposed to be fun. If the fear factor is so intense, that every dive is going be represent a time of anxiety, why do it? There is nothing to be ashamed of in saying, 'Diving is just not something that I enjoy doing. I do not feel comfortable under the water because I am constantly worrying about my mask coming off, or sharks swimming near me.' My youngest daughter was excellent in her Confined Water training, she truly mastered the skills. But, she elected not to complete OW because she was afraid of sharks. I think it is an irrational fear, but it is a real fear for her.

In contrast, I recently 'failed' a 14 y.o. student, because I did not believe he would be safe in the water (he was taking scuba because his mother had signed him up, he would perform adequately when she was at the pool, but was a disaster when she wasn't). He made it easy for me - he failed the written exam, twice. I told the shop owner that, even if he finally did eventually pass the written, I would not certify him, because I did not want my name on his C-card, as I considered him to be unsafe - my professional judgement. The shop owner was not happy with me, he ultimately got another instructor in the shop to work with the young man and certified him. His professional judgement. I am just happy that his name, and not mine, is on that diver's C-card.

 

[Rickk]

Non instructor here.

What has surprised me in this thread is the number of stories about students who sign up for an OW course and cannot swim and are uncomfortable on the surface let alone underwater.

I know that swimming skills are not all that important in diving but I would think that a high degree of comfort in the water would be something everyone who wants to be a diver has.

Do people think that becoming a diver will help them get over their fear of the water?

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

I know that swimming skills are not all that important in diving but I would think that a high degree of comfort in the water would be something everyone who wants to be a diver has.

Do people think that becoming a diver will help them get over their fear of the water?

Yes. 100%.

I know someone that could not effectively swim. Not for physical inability, but more because any time this person would put her face in the water (masked or not) she would have a panic attack.

In an effort to conquer her fears, she enlisted her best friend to take a trip down to Key Largo and take an OW course with Rainbow Reef.

The instructor was patient, took extra time without taking short cuts, while the student and her best friend took time on their own practicing simple skills in the hotel pool that many of us take for granted (e.g. the snorkel swim).

She passed.

Fast forward three years and she has over 100 logged dives, and is looking forward to taking the rescue course.

 

[boulderjohn]

Non instructor here.

What has surprised me in this thread is the number of stories about students who sign up for an OW course and cannot swim and are uncomfortable on the surface let alone underwater.

I know that swimming skills are not all that important in diving but I would think that a high degree of comfort in the water would be something everyone who wants to be a diver has.

Do people think that becoming a diver will help them get over their fear of the water?

Three stories

1. A couple in their late 50s were assigned to me for a rush job to get through the academics and pool sessions before a family trip to Hawai'i. Everyone else in the family was certified, and they were pressured to join the group. (They would finish the certification there.) The husband was doing pretty well, but the wife was having a lot of trouble and taking a lot of time to get through the skills. We were running out of time, and she finally said she would give up so that her husband could get done, which is what happened. The husband told her he was proud of her for trying, especially since she had never in her life had her head completely under water before the class.

2. A woman in her late 30's was doing reasonably well on the first day of pool sessions--no reason to worry. After the class, she told me she was taking the class to get over her fear of water, and that surprised me because she had passed the swimming requirement with ease. She explained that the year before she had been on a rafting trip, and when the raft went over a small dam of some sort, it flipped, and she was caught with a life jacket on but being pushed down in the waterfall. She struggled with all she had, but she could not get to the surface. She finally realized that she was going to die, and she gave up. That turned out to be the right thing to do, because as soon as she stopped trying to fight the waterfall, it spit her out. That same thing had happened to all the rafters who had lived--but some didn't live. The next day we started class with a giant stride. When it was her turn, she stood on the side of the pool and waited and waited and waited and then looked at me and said, "I can't do it." That was the end of her class.

3. A father and daughter took the class together. They had gone on snorkeling vacations annually for years, and the daughter had begged for scuba lessons. The father agreed to do them when she turned 15. During the academic portion of the class, she was enthusiastic and clearly very well prepared. She couldn't wait to get in the pool. During the first confined water session, in the shallow end of the pool, both did extremely well. The second session is when you go to the deep end, and she was again excited--she had been waiting for years for this. And then...then...she panicked. When she saw the deep end of the pool, she froze in fear. She could not bring herself to go down. She was absolutely distraught. I tried everything I could think of. Finally, I got the father through the confined water sessions, and they decided she would try again later--maybe next year.

 

[TMHeimer]

Non instructor here.

What has surprised me in this thread is the number of stories about students who sign up for an OW course and cannot swim and are uncomfortable on the surface let alone underwater.

I know that swimming skills are not all that important in diving but I would think that a high degree of comfort in the water would be something everyone who wants to be a diver has.

Do people think that becoming a diver will help them get over their fear of the water?

Years ago I read on SB of an instructor saying a student signed up for exactly that reason-- to overcome her fear of water.
In my 4 years assisting OW courses that's the one thing that I still can't wrap my head around-- people taking scuba who really can't swim, are uncomfortable in water, or have had very little or no experience doing ANYTHING in water over their head.
First time I saw a student doing the "bicycle kick" while descending in the pool I actually thought he/she was either performing some sort of really advanced kick or was just screwing around. Who takes scuba who can't kick right!!!???

 

[Jcp2]

First time I saw a student doing the "bicycle kick" while descending in the pool I actually thought he/she was either performing some sort of really advanced kick or was just screwing around. Who takes scuba who can't kick right!!!???

A lot of people, apparently.

 

[boulderjohn]

Who takes scuba who can't kick right!!!???

I think most adult swimmers never learned to kick correctly. Most adult swimmers don't really swim for recreation--they go out in the water and bob around awhile. Go to a beach and see how many people you see in the water swimming. Only a tiny percentage of people go out and truly swim.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I am reading the list of the people that withdrew out of fear, and wonder how many would've passed and found out that they enjoyed it a lot if they just got a kick in the butt to overcome their fear?

I ask this because I was talking to a couple of cave divers a couple of weekends ago, and one of them had to be literally dragged into the ear by the instructor because her fear overcame her training when the flow hit her face. Once she got into the cave and saw that it was actually quite pleasant she continued on and passed cave 1.

Of course I am not saying this is appropriate for every situation, just I wonder if a bit more firmness to overcome the fear might help.

 

[Scott]

Do people think that becoming a diver will help them get over their fear of the water?

Yes and I have had a few that actually overcame their fear and turned out to be pretty good divers.
Then there were those that despite my willingness to work with them, and their best efforts to overcome said fear, decided it was not for them.