Does ANYONE pass DIR Fundamentals??

[WYDT]

Any of you guys who did DIR Fund. class have ANYONE that passed? I've never heard of anyone passing... does it happen?? Does any one group (like cavedivers) do better than others??

I'd like to take the Tech1 class but you guys have all scared the bejesus out of me! I think I'm a pretty good Cave diver and have great buoyancy control but apparently everyone else does too.....

Is the fundamentals class set up to "make you fail" so you'll work on your skills to perfection?

I'm not saying this is a bad thing just kinda thinking out loud on this.....

 

[ckharlan66]

From what I understand it isn't a pass/fail class. It just shows you the skills and the level that you should strive for and it tells you how improve.

It seems to be set up to show you what you don't know so you can begin improving before you take the higher classes.

If I am wrong I am sure someone with direct experience will be along soon to correct me.

Chad

 

[O-ring]

...my regulator to my buddy during an S-drill! Nah, you can't pass it. Even if there was a card I doubt anybody would pass it...the skills are too hard and if you haven't been exposed to them before you look like a drunken monkey in the water.

I would guess that cave divers would have a better chance of doing well because they are more practiced in trim and low vis/taskloaded situations...the one guy in ours who was cave certified with another organization didn't do too horribly...

I would do the DIRF before tech1. Divernva and I dove with a guy who kept telling us DIRF was a waste of his time (he already had a Halcyon rig - I guess that's DIR to some?) and that he was going straight to tech 1. It was pretty funny when he jumped in the water with his single steel tank rig and 40cf stage bottle and looked like an intoxicated orangutan trying to maintain his buoyancy and trim. Some people just don't get it...

Anyway, the class is just to show you what GUE considers good, safe, well-defined buoyancy/trim/OW skills. It gives you a mark to shoot for and you will become a much better diver after taking it. I would almost look at it as tech 1 insurance. It is a small price to pay compared to finding out you need it down the line after failing tech 1. We are looking at maybe shooting for tech 1 as a group next year. Anyone know the pass rate for students that have taken DIRF before tech 1?

 

[Uncle Pug]

O-ring once bubbled...
Anyone know the pass rate for students that have taken DIRF before tech 1?

Bwaaahhahhahahahahahahahaha....

He he heheheheheh AAAHHHhhhhahahahahahahaha.... :haha:

Shoot O-ring.... snort... hahahahahaha.... :gjoker:


Here is a new skill to practice that will really insure that you pass tech 1:

:cluck:

Bwaaahhahhahahahahahahahaha....

 

[O-ring]

Now that's pretty disconcerting.... I didn't mean you would pass with DIRF, just that I can't imagine being able to pass without it. Has anyone without DIRF ever passed it? Is the percentage of passes higher with those who have taken DIRF? It seems like it would have to be..

 

[Uncle Pug]

O-ring once bubbled...
Now that's pretty disconcerting

Don't worry about *passing*... just get as much out of these classes as you can... you will pass when you are ready to pass.... and you really don't want to pass before then.

 

[O-ring]

Don't worry about *passing*... just get as much out of these classes as you can... you will pass when you are ready to pass.... and you really don't want to pass before then.

Sorry... it was a Pug moment.... snort...

A pug moment? hehe...are you feeling ok these days? Too much helium?

 

[jbd]

given that no one will perform well enough to "pass" the DIRF course because no one has the the full knowledge of where the bar is set going into the class. What would be interesting to see is how folks like Lost Yooper, Pa/NJ Diver, O-ring and the others would do after they have had time(say a year) to practice and then take the course again.

My prediction of the results would be that they would still see some deficiencies but they would probably be amazed at the difference between the two videos. They would all realize that they were very much closer to the bar.

I think all of these folks will have a big influence on those they dive with in the future.

The prize in DIRF is not in passing, its in learning where the bar is and how to get there.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Any course that is structured where "nobody passes" is fatally flawed. It needs redesign, repackaging, a total reassessment of its starting point, its prerequisites, its goals and its methods.
I have been a professional instructor since 1967, teaching everything from swimming to night landings on aircraft carriers in jets. These guys may be the greatest divers in the entire world, but their courses ain't.
Rick

 

[Uncle Pug]

Rick Murchison once bubbled...
These guys may be the greatest divers in the entire world, but their courses ain't.

...you haven't taken one of these classes so you can't make that kind of assessment... credibly.

Rick, classes that are designed as pass/fail often pass folks who really do not have a grasp of the subject... you know that...

Shoot, I don't know half the stuff I have certificates for... you probably don't either...

And at any rate, the DIRF isn't designed to confer a rating... it is merely a remedial skills class to help folks prepare for GUE Tech 1... you've read enough to know that too...