Discover Scuba counts towards certification

[MoneyGuy]

My daughter was told that if she takes a discover scuba dive it counts somehow toward her certification. She was told it makes up the first "level" of PADI certification. I've never heard of this before and when I got certified it was classroom work, lessons in the water and then tests on both theory and the maneuvers in the water.

Can what she was told be correct?

 

[RJP]

Can what she was told be correct?

It can be... depending on what she did in her DSD, and who conducted it.

Linking to the PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver Course
PADI Instructors may, at their discretion, introduce skills from the PADI Scuba Diver/Open Water Diver course Confined Water Dive One. Skills mastered during the Discover Scuba Diving program may be credited toward PADI Scuba Diver or Open Water Diver course requirements. Additionally, new divers completing the open water dive may be credited for completing Open Water Dive 1 in the PADI Scuba Diver and Open Water Diver Course.

This link to further training can be an important promotional tool for motivating new divers to continue their education. To credit skills, a Teaching status PADI Instructor must introduce the skills, evaluate participant mastery, and document the training. Use of the PADI Discover Scuba Diving Log or Open Water Diver Course Referral Record to document training is recommended.

PADI Assistant Instructors and Divemasters are not qualified to independently teach skills; thus Discover Scuba Diving experiences conducted by PADI Assistant Instructors and Divemasters are not eligible for credit.

 

[k ellis]

I took a discover scuba class before I was certified and was told the same thing. One thing I learned though was its up to the actual instructor as to whether they will accept the discover scuba or not from another LDS. I had my card they sent me as proof of discover scuba dive and yet my LDS told me that I had to take the full course because they could not verify 100 percent what I did or did not do in the discover scuba.

What it all boils down to is whether the instructor accepts it or not. I could have went back to Hawaii and took the certification course there but at almost 5 times what it cost localy it would not have been worth it in travel or class.

Ive been to some florida dive shops boasting of classes being 600 dollars or more but thats 385 dollars over priced compared to local dive shops.

The truth to your question is though simply ask the instructor you wish to use. If he says hell accept it then he will. If he says he wont then he wont

 

[spectrum]

MoneyGuy,

Like RJP outlines it can be.

However I would not bother to seek that credit. There is plenty to learn and I wouldn't defer one bit of instructor attention in lieu of a past Discover Dive.

The thing she gets from a Discover dive is that she already knows she can do it and that she likes it. Whatever she actually learns in a Discover experience is more diversity she has in her back pocket.

Pete

 

[knotical]

Although it can work in some circumstances, if your daughter joins a typical Open Water class, what should the instructor have her do during confined water dive One? Sit on the side of the pool and wait? More likely she'd rather join her classmates. And by the way, having already done those skills she might well be the star student while she's getting more practice and time underwater.

 

[friscuba]

While it technically qualifies as the first dive, I'd really only recommend crediting it towards the course if you're doing it with the same instructor. I suspect the orginal thought about the credit was so resorts could sell an intro, then if the person was interested in getting certified right away they're sort of a quarter of the way through the course already... it's incentive to do it right away. In my opinion it'd not be a real good idea to do an intro, then wait any extended period of time and try to complete the course without doing the dive one pool and open water skills again, especially with a new instructor, keeping the regular class sequence in place and fresh seems to be helpful.

 

[Johan Broere]

Well, all that was very polite. So first you think it "counts" as in you would get some kind of credit and then at the till you don't. Yes, like that it is a bad marketing sceme that makes you mad. Lesson learned. Shop somewhere else.

 

[String]

Its at the discretion of the instructor. If they did the DSD VERY recently (the same week or so) either with me or an instructor i know and trust who can brief me thoroughly on what they were like in the water i might accept it.

Otherwise no, too many variables on a DSD to risk missing the CW1/OW1.

If they did 1 dive several weeks ago or longer i cant see why anyone sane would accept it.

Time is your enemy trying anything new. In a DSD they'd likely have done 1 maybe 2 repetitions maximum and thats it. Leave that even a short time and its forgotten. CW1 is such a short lesson if they're half decent it does no harm at all to reinforce by doing it again. It makes it easier for the instructor AND student so why would you NOT want to do it?

Referrals can often be a nightmare for similar reasons - if the student left it a long time (ie months) before continuing they've usually forgotten a lot of the skills.

 

[Jim Baldwin]

I teach about 40 Discover Scuba Diving students each year. And yes the skills I teach can be credited. This is discussed in the video. It is not the first certification level. Just credit toward skills in confined water/open water training.

When these folks sign up for an OW class they may or may not be in class with students who have never been in the water. I make a habit of covering all the skills again. This may be a repeat for the DSD students but it just refreshes what they learned before.

And you are correct that it take three phases; classroom, pool and open water dives to fully complete your certification.

 

[D_B]

Well, all that was very polite. So first you think it "counts" as in you would get some kind of credit and then at the till you don't. Yes, like that it is a bad marketing sceme that makes you mad. Lesson learned. Shop somewhere else.

While it technically qualifies as the first dive, I'd really only recommend crediting it towards the course if you're doing it with the same instructor. I suspect the orginal thought about the credit was so resorts could sell an intro, then if the person was interested in getting certified right away they're sort of a quarter of the way through the course already... it's incentive to do it right away. In my opinion it'd not be a real good idea to do an intro, then wait any extended period of time and try to complete the course without doing the dive one pool and open water skills again, especially with a new instructor, keeping the regular class sequence in place and fresh seems to be helpful.

It's not a scheme for anything, I think that friscuba may have the reasonable explanation for it
Please re read the recommendations .. taking the full scuba course without getting credit for that discover scuba dive is no big deal, and as been said, there is enough to learn that doing that one more dive will be a benefit, not a pocket book drainer
(I had some pretty thorough instruction on my discover scuba class and I wouldn't have wanted to do any less dives or training than I did do to get my cert)