How many dives before you cease to be a beginner ? [Poll]

[Fastmarc]

I put other as well.

Frequency is a big factor. For example, Someone who has the opportunity to dive frequently the whole year (say every 2 weeks) will likely hone their skills better than someone that only do a 5 days trip once a year even if they manage to net the same amount annually.

 

[CT-Rich]

I put other as well.

Frequency is a big factor. For example, Someone who has the opportunity to dive frequently the whole year (say every 2 weeks) will likely hone their skills better than someone that only do a 5 days trip once a year even if they manage to net the same amount annually.

I was thinking the same thing. A diver that does four dives a year will never become proficient. They may be very happy with those dives, and there is nothing wrong with it, but they may never get to the point where they are planning dives or taking a leadership role in their dives. I think this is where a lot of vacation divers land.

 

[nolatom]

36.

 

[Hoag]

According to the "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy", I think it is 42.

 

[scrane]

I find I do not stop looking down my nose at other divers until they have as many dives as I have.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I am curious to know if there is a well accepted minimum number of dives that an individual must do before he should, in theory at least, cease to be considered a "beginner" ?

As others have alluded to, a meaningful answer can only be given in the context of some underlying motivation for the question. In other words, to "cease to be considered a 'beginner'" for what purpose?

Let's imagine a best-case scenario where the certifying agency is considered to have high standards, the instructor also, and the student diver a prudent individual who is well motivated to learn and apply sound advice from all matter of reputable sources.

Well, if the context in which the question is being asked indeed revolves around terms like "certifying agency," "instructor" and "student," then I would have to agree with the wag who said that, at least according to PADI, it's apparently something like six dives. Really.

 

[kelemvor]

Wow! 10 pages in 3 days. What a topic.

IMO there's a large gulf between "not a beginner anymore" and "technical diver" or "expert" or whatever. I said 50 dives. I'd have voted 25 if it were an option. I think someone's no longer a beginner after 25ish. They aren't an expert, but neither are they a beginner... except for some divers who might have done all their dives with an instructor or other outliers. If you've gone out and done 25 dives outside of any kind of training or guidance then I think that you can't claim beginner anymore. That's the point some agencies say you're qualified to embark upon aow or other training..

I think there's a "regular diver" range, and perhaps some others in there before you get to technical level. If you even want to go tech. It's not like there is a normal progression that every diver must strive to be a tech diver or anything. Some divers do thousands of dives over many decades and never even take an intro to tech course.

 

[Storker]

Frequency is a big factor. For example, Someone who has the opportunity to dive frequently the whole year (say every 2 weeks) will likely hone their skills better than someone that only do a 5 days trip once a year even if they manage to net the same amount annually.

One single data point (or perhaps piece of anecdotal data) to support this: If I go more than 3-4 weeks between dives, I notice that I'm losing a bit of my comfort underwater. I'm just not as used to the situation anymore and have to spend more of my mental bandwidth on just handling the normal tasks of a dive. So I'd really prefer one single dive every month of the year over one annual two-week vacation with daily two-tank dives if I wanted to keep my skills.

 

[dberry]

Well, if the context in which the question is being asked indeed revolves around terms like "certifying agency," "instructor" and "student," then I would have to agree with the wag who said that, at least according to PADI, it's apparently something like six dives. Really.

I guess that makes me a wag... quite possibly the nicest thing anyone has called me this month

 

[kelemvor]

What's a wag in this context? Sounds like "wild arse guess" to me.. but that doesn't fit the context.