Zombie Scuba Cert? Really?!?

[Basscat]

OK, I am old, and started SCUBA late, and know people that have been bent and stuff, so I take it pretty seriously. But PADI offering a Zombie certification? That just seems over the top stupid, and a grab for cash. Am I wrong?

 

[Dr. Lecter]

It's less of a cash grab than, say, PADI Boat Diver certification. At least nobody's confused about whether the Zombie Diver cert has any educational value.

 

[Superlyte27]

I'm not a PADI instructor, but I think it's a cool idea. If it gets people in the water, and generates some income. So what? Take it or don't take it. Doesn't really affect me. But the latest craze is zombies. So what if they try to make some cash off of it.

 

[Griffo]

It's injecting a little bit of humour and fun into the sport, and may get some people motivated to get back into the water. I'd take it for sure, I just want a card that says i'm a Zombie Diver

 

[Basscat]

I guess, it's their (your) money, and they have to have passed open water diver. Guess I'd rather save my money for a trip to the Caribbean or someplace...

 

[TMHeimer]

Currently on page 7 of this forum there is a thread about it with 105 posts. A question that came up was what are the skills that are taught in the course (apparently there are some). When the thread went dormant the official list of skills had not been made public yet. I read somewhere there that the skills may be regarding rescue, so I was curious as to what they might be- different from those taught in Rescue course perhaps?

 

[Superlyte27]

Ever went out with a group of friends and got drunk at the bar? At then end of the weekend, what do you got? Maybe a headache, and some good memories. Ever went out with a group of friends and took a PADI Class? At the end of the weekend what do you got? Some good memories. Sometimes there's value in time spent with buddies, whether it's for a seemingly stupid class, or just to kill some time away from the house with people you like being around.

 

[boulderjohn]

Although I do not know exactly what is taught, I know students have to learn and demonstrate scuba skills in order to finish the dive. I believe there is some kind of an obstacle course course demanding skills, but I could be wrong.

By the way, it is a distinctive specialty, which means that the only money PADI gets if a student passes the class is the processing fee for the certification card. If the student takes the class and decides not to get the card, PADI doesn't get a dime. It's hard to call that a cash grab.

 

[tplyons]

They're running it at Dutch Springs on Saturday... I'm tempted to jump in and see what all the hubbub is about.

 

[Allison Finch]

I didn't want to jump into yet another rant I may make over how PADI has dumbed down open water cert so much that you HAVE to take expensive and NUMEROUS extra courses to even be a slightly proficient diver, but........ I hate that training that was always part of Basic courses (before PADI) became extras you had to pay for.

Zombie diver? Doesn't surprise me a bit. I might consider one of their courses when they write up a "scratch your butt" certification. At least that may come in handy!