Cheap PADI OW Certification
- Thread starter horn34
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I'm under the same impression after reading the standards - I can't find anywhere where it restricts confined water dives, it does specifically call out the open water ones though.
It's a lot in two days - especially with most folks complaining how short on skills new OW divers are - can't have it both ways.
I don't have the standards in front of me...but how? I seem to recall that each cw session starts with gear assembly and ends with disassemble.
I'm not saying that Instructors don't do cw sessions without getting out of the water, heck many do a 10 min float between dives for ow but they are still breaking standards.
You are correct, and the schedule above is a good one. However, I don't agree that the 5 confined water can be bundled into fewer sessions and still be following standards. When doing full OW also have to consider the water skills portion - so 4 - 5 days is ideal for a Full OW.
As far as the $150 price, I was too lazy to look it up so I was going off the top of my head.
It's also correct as I've mentioned elsewhere, we do not make money on courses. They serve as loss leaders as said above with hopes that we have another diver that comes back and brings some friends and becomes a regular visitor. This is one of several other reasons that we will only do OW referrals or OW w/e-learning as a general rule. There are of course exceptions.
Not exactly. The CW sessions are separated into five sections (i.e. CW1 CW2 etc) and standards state that by the end of CW training students must have assembled and disassembled gear five times. So it's easy to conflate the two and remember it as "assemble and disassemble for each CW session." But they are two independent standards.
The CW sessions can be combined into a single session, provided you complete all the skills in CW1 before starting CW2, same with CW2 to CW3, etc etc.
I usually have my students do their first assemble/disassemble in the classroom, turning that part of the classroom (i.e. when we talk about gear) into a "hands-on" session.
I wouldn't be happy doing a full OW course in less than 4 days, as there's only so much a student can realistically be expected to absorb and retain in one day. This is particularly evident with a mixed ability group where you've got to pitch the right pace.
From October to May our students do their OW in drysuits and there's no way I'm cramming CW and drysuit orientation into less than two days, regardless of standards.
From October to May our students do their OW in drysuits and there's no way I'm cramming CW and drysuit orientation into less than two days, regardless of standards.
Efka76
Contributor
My OWD course took 5 days. I can not imagine how it is possible to read all materials, watch videos, do CW sessions, do proper Q&A session with instructor during shorter period of time. Also, instructor was working with me and my wife only. I am really happy that I had such a good OWD course.
Whether or not it is wise, or suitable for everyone, it is within PADI standards to conduct Confined Water dives in the morning and then the Open Water dives in the afternoon. If doing so, then only two OW dives can be scheduled on that day, and not the maximum of 3 per day. (Also, a pure fun dive with no skills counts towards the student dives/day total.)
There are some other sequencing guidelines to watch so that one isn't doing OW skills before learning them in the pool. If rolling right from a CW dive to an OW dive, the student does need to first exit the water and remove their gear after the CW portion. I can see this working more easily than you might think for a resort with a pool just a few steps from the shop, and a shore dive just a few more steps from the pool.
For the 5 gear assemblies in Confined Water, 3 need to be done by the end of Mod #3, and 5 need to be done by the end of Mod #5 - otherwise scheduling is flexible. Pool time is at such a premium that I often do the 5th assembly back at the shop rather than on the pool deck. First two assemblies are also often done at the shop before heading over to the pool, then #3 is done before getting in the water for the first time. I learned early on that #2 should immediately follow #1 to lock in the learning, rather than hoping they remember it all at some future date/time. When #3 is done an hour or two after #1 due to my pool situation, it really works out well. (yes, I would prefer to do assemblies at the pool, but renting an extra hour or more of pure deck time is not in the cards)
PADI does NOT get 100% of eLearning price. There is a variable revenue share with the shop or the independent instructor based on the association the student set when purchasing the course. I think an independent needs to first purchase the learning pass at their wholesale cost, and then sell at the retail to earn their share. If any PADI shop or member is not getting that $$ from PADI, you need to find out what you are doing wrong, and/or where the money has been going. Of course for an operation doing a lot of referrals, that revenue share was probably earlier in the chain of instruction and the Open Water dives need to stand alone on their financials.
There are some other sequencing guidelines to watch so that one isn't doing OW skills before learning them in the pool. If rolling right from a CW dive to an OW dive, the student does need to first exit the water and remove their gear after the CW portion. I can see this working more easily than you might think for a resort with a pool just a few steps from the shop, and a shore dive just a few more steps from the pool.
For the 5 gear assemblies in Confined Water, 3 need to be done by the end of Mod #3, and 5 need to be done by the end of Mod #5 - otherwise scheduling is flexible. Pool time is at such a premium that I often do the 5th assembly back at the shop rather than on the pool deck. First two assemblies are also often done at the shop before heading over to the pool, then #3 is done before getting in the water for the first time. I learned early on that #2 should immediately follow #1 to lock in the learning, rather than hoping they remember it all at some future date/time. When #3 is done an hour or two after #1 due to my pool situation, it really works out well. (yes, I would prefer to do assemblies at the pool, but renting an extra hour or more of pure deck time is not in the cards)
PADI does NOT get 100% of eLearning price. There is a variable revenue share with the shop or the independent instructor based on the association the student set when purchasing the course. I think an independent needs to first purchase the learning pass at their wholesale cost, and then sell at the retail to earn their share. If any PADI shop or member is not getting that $$ from PADI, you need to find out what you are doing wrong, and/or where the money has been going. Of course for an operation doing a lot of referrals, that revenue share was probably earlier in the chain of instruction and the Open Water dives need to stand alone on their financials.
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