GUE Age Requirements

[Dtaine]

Well, I was just searching the GUE site, reading through the requirements of the courses, etc, and I noticed that even the Rec 1 courses minimum age is 16. I hopped over to the Tech section and saw that Tech 1 was 18 and Tech 2 was 21.

Now, none of these age requirements will be much of a bother to me as I'm sure I'll be at least 21 before getting to Tech 2, if not older. I wasn't really surprised by the tech level requirements, because I think someone looking into technical diving has to have a genuine understanding of the risks, the science behind decompression, and other things, but I was surprised that the gateway to the Rec 1 course was 16.

I see 13 and 14 year old kids in climbing gyms who have mastered the rope-work and skills to an amazing level and would think many youth are/could be quite competent scuba divers. It would seem that many younger teens would benefit from GUE recreational courses, at least from all I've been hearing and I was wondering if anyone knew why the entry level was set at 16?

On another note, I would think it would be sensible for GUE trained divers to want their kids to benefit from the same training they did at one point, but if the age requirement is 16 people might start their kid's training with PADI or other groups that have lower age requirements. To me I would see this as causing a lot of people to start training with another agency before later turning to GUE Fundamentals, rather than starting with GUE and Rec 1.

I'm really just wondering what the DIR divers' thoughts are on this.

 

[jagfish]

More likely they are thinking about the academic requirements and maturity level/responsibility for other members...

 

[NudeDiver]

If I owned a dive cert agency, I would set the minimum age for getting a cert at 18. Of course if I owned a DMV, I'd set the min age for getting a license as 18 too. On the other hand, if I made the laws concerning alcohol consumption, I'd set the min age as 18. Well, I'd get rid of the age limit altogether, but I think you get the idea here.

There's lot of liability associated with children. I'd seek to avoid it at all costs. I wouldn't fault GUE here at all.

 

[TSandM]

There could be a lot of reasons, including insurance, but my guess is that they've decided the judgment required to dive to GUE standards most likely isn't there for younger children.

 

[b1gcountry]

I know PADI limits its OW cert to 16 and over. I think other agencies do as well. GUE may just be following an "accepted industry standard". Training a child to be a thinking diver may be kinda hard, and forcing them to be dependent on an adult parent isn't too in keeping with the GUE training mentality.

Tom

 

[jagfish]

I know PADI limits its OW cert to 16 and over. I think other agencies do as well. GUE may just be following an "accepted industry standard". Training a child to be a thinking diver may be kinda hard, and forcing them to be dependent on an adult parent isn't too in keeping with the GUE training mentality.
Tom

Actually, not true at all. PADI, NAUI and other major agencies start their Jr. OW cert from age 10 and they can change their cards to "adult" ones at age 15 (in NAUI system anyway)....

 

[Tigerman]

Actually, not true at all. PADI, NAUI and other major agencies start their Jr. OW cert from age 10 and they can change their cards to "adult" ones at age 15 (in NAUI system anyway)....

And thats probably other posters reason for "not making them dependent on adults"?
Jr. certs does have restrictions on the diving other than the "regular" certs does, dont they?
That is of course assuming kids actually FOLLOW them (which id be willing to bet money a lot of them are not)

 

[NudeDiver]

Exactly. It's a proven fact that, in most people, the areas of the brain involved in good judgment not fully developed until the early 20s. Given this, it certainly seems reasonable for dive cert agencies to not be willing to cert children. At least by 18, while they may still be making bad decisions, they're at the age at which society has determined that they are responsible for those bad decisions.

 

[b1gcountry]

Exactly. It's a proven fact that, in most people, the areas of the brain involved in good judgment not fully developed until the early 20s.

My wife seems to think it is later. In my own defense though, I did a lot LESS stupid things when I was 12.

Actually, not true at all. PADI, NAUI and other major agencies start their Jr. OW cert from age 10 and they can change their cards to "adult" ones at age 15 (in NAUI system anyway)....

In PADI it is 16. I was excluding the J-OW cert because that does require the children be supervised at all times by a parent/guardian. This wouldn't jive with the GUE Team philosophy from what I've experienced of it.

And thats probably other posters reason for "not making them dependent on adults"?
Jr. certs does have restrictions on the diving other than the "regular" certs does, dont they?
That is of course assuming kids actually FOLLOW them (which id be willing to bet money a lot of them are not)

I would imagine it's more up to the parent to know if THEY follow the rules. When I was 12-15, I sure didn't have the cash to sneak around and go diving. If I was lucky, I'd save up $10 and head to the arcade.

Tom

 

[Dtaine]

I would imagine it's more up to the parent to know if THEY follow the rules. When I was 12-15, I sure didn't have the cash to sneak around and go diving. If I was lucky, I'd save up $10 and head to the arcade.

ain't that the truth; I completely understand the reasons behind why 16 is the accepted standard, and it makes sense since GUE wouldn't want any certifications requiring parental supervision

At the same time people (usually) get better at sports the longer they've been involved and the more they've practiced, and the sports they're good at they've often been in since they were kids. I would imagine there are plenty of 14 and 15 year old kids who've been diving with parents for years who would be at the skill and maturity level to do well with GUE rec courses. That being said I'm sure there are 9 or 10 incompetent 14 and 15 year old kids for every one of the competent ones, a hassle I don't blame any organizations for trying to avoid.

Thanks for the input, I was really just curious as to people's thoughts.