Active diver re-certification

[caribean-ted]

I would like to do this kind of skills review from time to time. But what I would resent is a dive club conditioning my continued membership on doing it annually, in a pool. I guess these kinds of rigid rules are why I am not attracted to joining clubs of any kind.

Agreed. Too many rules spoil the reason we dive. Its freedom baby ya!!
Go over your safety procedures, remember and practice what you learned. Ask questions and learn as we go. We know how to dive, its when we get too comfortable **** happens. Need to remember to enjoy the dive and stay alert. Enjoy the dive!!

 

[gypsyjim]

Like so many others drawn to this sport I don't do well with rigid rules that don't make sense.

Demonstrating basic skills before we dive together I do not see as an imposition, but demanding that I take an entire class even if I have current experience has crossed a line that would draw a response from me that only requires one finger, and that finger is not my thumb.

On the other hand I firmly believe that retraining if one has no truly recent experience is a GOOD thing!

I had a pretty serious accident myself in the 80's, assuming both that diving was a lot like riding a bike, and that new gear, that I "understood", but had never actually dived with would be an easy adjustment. Heck, just 10 minutes in a pool with the new gear before jumping in the ocean with my first BCD would have helped me avoid what could have been far worse than the educating scare it was.

 

[drrich2]

I am really surprised at the amount of anger coming out here about being asked to review basic skills.

If I understood correctly, it wasn't a matter of being 'asked.' It was a matter of, if one joined the club in question, being mandated/dictated to do this.

I don't think anybody had a problem with being asked. Being told, on the other hand, well now, that's a very different thing...

Richard.

 

[TSandM]

Think about it this way -- if you dive with a member of this club, you know you are diving with someone who has reviewed all their basic skills and emergency procedures within the last year. Isn't that worth something?

I've spent almost nine years on this board, reading one story after another about incompetent dive buddies, and unreliable dive buddies, and erratic dive buddies. It seems to me that this rule is an attempt to reduce that problem.

Obviously, my temperament fits with this kind of rule. I dive in a community where all certifications expire and everyone drills and we all debrief dives. As a result, I don't know what incompetent, unreliable or erratic buddies ARE, except when I dive with our students who are complete beginners. So many diving problems would be absolutely avoidable if everyone had to confront how good -- or not -- they are, on a regular basis.

I think this club rocks on the recert rule. I still don't know enough about the trip thing to make a judgment.

 

[drrich2]

Think about it this way -- if you dive with a member of this club, you know you are diving with someone who has reviewed all their basic skills and emergency procedures within the last year. Isn't that worth something?

Something, yes. The involved loss of my personal liberty, no. Anytime you 'allow' people free will & liberty to exercise it, some will do so in ways that lead to worse outcomes than if some wise, paternalistic figure did it for them. There comes a time when I have to decide which I value more; personal choice, or a projected improvement on some outcome measure. Not everyone will make the same call.

I dive in a community where all certifications expire and everyone drills and we all debrief dives.

And a lot of people wouldn't seek to involve themselves with an agency that only provided expiring certifications, or to do all those drills and formal debriefings you refer to. Some do, of course.

From other threads, I believe you often engage in diving a good deal more 'challenging' than the typical warm water coral reef 'aquarium conditions' or quarry diving that's the mainstay of many recreational divers. As I recall you enjoy cave diving, and diving Puget Sound. You also dive master if memory serves.

So your community of divers is probably a good deal different from a lot of dive clubs.

Now, if the dive club referred to in the original post hosts trips to unusually demanding locations, such as perhaps Galapagos live-aboard diving, some of the California shore diving (I'm thinking of what I've read about Monastery Beach), deep, cold and fairly dark northern waters with current issues, north Atlantic shore diving, etc..., that is a different kettle of fish.

If their idea of club trips is Key Largo, Cozumel and the west coast of Bonaire, like I tend to assume it probably is, we're back to the question 'Do you really want one more busy body in life ordering you around?'

If they offer (not mandate) supervised mentoring skill practice & refresh, on the other thank, I don't think there'd be any opposition to that.

Richard.

 

[AfterDark]

If I understood correctly, it wasn't a matter of being 'asked.' It was a matter of, if one joined the club in question, being mandated/dictated to do this.

I don't think anybody had a problem with being asked. Being told, on the other hand, well now, that's a very different thing...

Richard.

Nobody is being told to do anything. If you join the club you agree to the review. Knowing that, I would not join the club. I'm not a big fan of rules concerning dive clubs or much of anything else, there are enough rules in diving, clubs should be fun, basic rules of civility should be enough.

I was willing to do a check out dive with the president of a dive club I belong to. One dive to see if you know your stuff seems fair to me. A review course would be too much. Review what? This stuff is second nature to me and one dive will prove that.

 

[victor]

Agree with TSandM, Ok if it's free and part of a social gathering. Not a bad idea to get the gear wet at the start of a dive season, or if you can dive all year round an opportunity to meet the new members etc.
If they want you to pay and are only doing it to subsidise some oter activities or to be "Big Brother" then go some where else.

 

[TSandM]

A $10 fee doesn't seem outrageous, given what it costs to rent pool time.

 

[ScubaSteve1962]

I am really surprised at the amount of anger coming out here about being asked to review basic skills. Now, if we're talking the whole OW pool work (which is nine hours in the water with our shop, and I think would be hard to do much faster) that's a bit much. But what is wrong with going methodically through the 20 skills, some of which I would be willing to bet NOBODY has had to use since OW?

Through a strange combination of circumstances, I will be diving as a third buddy for a GUE Cave 1 class in December. I passed this class in 2008, and went on to Full Cave. There is no benefit to me in terms of access or cards, to spend five days working my butt off and having somebody critique everything I do -- except that I don't think you can ever be too good at cave diving, and I know I haven't had to use many of the emergency procedures we were taught, because I dive carefully and don't get myself into trouble. Will those skills be sharp when and if I need them? I don't know, so I'm looking forward to having to review all of them.

It surprises me how many people seem to think that's an imposition.

It is the whole OW skills set, including swim and float test with an instructor. also in your case after 6 years, that's not a bad idea. But that's not every year.v

---------- Post added April 24th, 2014 at 09:44 AM ----------

A $10 fee doesn't seem outrageous, given what it costs to rent pool time.

I guess I'm lucky to live in an area, where pool time is cheap a readily available. that's why it's hard for me to understand how people from my area stay out of the water for so long. We have even been able to use our public indoor pools.

 

[nimoh]

It is the whole OW skills set, including swim and float test with an instructor. also in your case after 6 years, that's not a bad idea. But that's not every year.v

for a few participating in this thread (including me), the cost would be the issue. I don't have a problem with demonstrating the OW skills, even all of them. Since the skills would (or should) not need to be demonstrated by the instructor, that would cut the time down a bit. It is also less likely that the divers would be struggling with the skills, which cuts down the time again. I'm guessing that the 9 hours commonly taken in OW certification could be cut down to 3 hours or so with 1 instructor and 6 or so divers (although only a guess).

So, I am also guessing that you wouldn't be paying for the whole OW course all over again, but are you paying for the instructors time? More specifically, what would it cost you both for membership in this club, and the annual skills checkout?

I currently pay $25/year for membership in my club, and club pool sessions are $10/session (about an hour). These sessions are not required, and even if someone does go, they are not required to demonstrate skills. Most participants do practice skills, but not all of the OW skills.