Average Dives per Year of Diving

[diverrex]

My understanding from a few industry sources is that there are not good stats since there is no central database of logged dives or an accurate way to count them. But also from industry sources the estimated average per year of all certified divers is only around 10-14. Basically a week of resort tropical divers with a smaller core of local divers doing 50 - 200 dives per year. The amount of regular 100+ dives per year divers is small overall but many of them are on SB.

I have always wondered how this number could be obtained, mostly in context of wanting the denominator to go with the known numerator of fatalities to have an accurate fatality rate. I've wondered if you could ever get dive shops to report number of fills and charter boats also. It would not account for two dives off one fill, fills done at home, etc but I suspect if everyone reported accurately it would be better than the info we have now. But I suspect many of the industry players don't want to release that info and many more either don't want the bother or don't want the intrusion into their business. So II suspect we will always be estimating.

 

[boulderjohn]

Look at the average ScubaBoard thread and see how many participants list their number of logged dives as "I just don't log dives." If they don't log their own dives for their own purposes, I am pretty sure they aren't going to do it to help someone trying to build a database. I am also pretty sure that if you ask one of those non-loggers how many dives they have done, you will get an estimate that you should probably divide by pi for something closer to reality.

 

[spectrum]

Given the dropout rate it may well be a negative number! The odd part is that the dropouts still call themselves divers!

 

[billt4sf]

thats what I get for making up my own statistics. But I only do that on 25% of my posts.

Including this one?

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Not sure this is a terribly useful piece of information because of how much depends on the type of dives conducted. The guy who shore dives 12 times a year for single tank dives on shallow reefs is not the same diver as the guy who plans and executes a long dive at a site in the 150'-240' range every month for a year.

 

[t4e]

Not sure this is a terribly useful piece of information because of how much depends on the type of dives conducted. The guy who shore dives 12 times a year for single tank dives on shallow reefs is not the same diver as the guy who plans and executes a long dive at a site in the 150'-240' range every month for a year.

i am willing to bet the OP only cares for "regular" diving not into the technical stuff

 

[chillyinCanada]

Why does the OP care at all? Is OP measuring *****?

 

[TSandM]

I was told a while back that PADI defines an "active diver" as someone who does more than nine dives a year. That should give you a little bit of an idea.

Most of the "divers" I know dive very little, if at all.

 

[mathauck0814]

I was told a while back that PADI defines an "active diver" as someone who does more than nine dives a year. That should give you a little bit of an idea.

Most of the "divers" I know dive very little, if at all.

Interesting, I wonder what that's derived from. Do you remember where that number came from or if there was a source at all at PADI?

 

[boulderjohn]

Interesting, I wonder what that's derived from. Do you remember where that number came from or if there was a source at all at PADI?

My understanding is that it is not based on statistics at all. It is simply what they mean when they use the term. It has no official status, and there are no consequences or benefits associated with it. Do a search for the phrase on the pro website The phrase is not defined in the instructor manual. You are free to form your own definition.