History of Diver Training

[Kingpatzer]

Haven't been diving long enough to speak from personal experience; but, I'd guess there's always been people trying to stir the pot about how training isn't tough enough.

What I do know is that I've gotten the benefit of decades of experience of people who've gone before me. That means what is not essential has been reduced and what's been put on my plate is significantly more useful simply by having been winnowed through the lens of experience.

Today I own dozens of books on various aspects of diving, decompression theory, dive medicine, safety protocols, and on and on which simply weren't available "back in the day." Just one example, the NOAA dive manual was not available 40 years ago.

And frankly, "training" does include the capability to learn on one's own. Education is not all formal. Indeed, most of the best education out there isn't formal. 40 years ago divers were relatively few and far between. I find it hard to imagine being able to have the breadth or depth of mentors in my life that I do where I "back in the day."

In short, while I wasn't around way back when, I do have every confidence that the training I've received is far superior to what was available back then if for no other reason than the materials and people I have available to me.

What was Scubaboard 10 years ago?

 

[Scott L]

I usually never enter these threads but the training debate is a double-sided one. If the basic open water class was 13 weeks long or thereabouts myself and many others would probaly not be diving today. Especially these days, no one completes an open water class without being bombarded with the various other progressive training class options avialable with most any training agency. With our relatively deeper and challenging local diving most LDS's rightfully so strongly urge AOW as the diver's next open water dives...

Once again, if I were forced to blow bubbles in a shallow water pool for weeks on end I probaly would have drifted toward another pursuit...

 

[Doubler]

In 1972 my Basic YMCA course was 6 weeks long, classroom on Tuesday (6-9) with pool on Thursday (6-9).
We learned all of the gas laws, had to compute air usage by Cylinder size and depth as part of our dive planning, used the Navy Dive tables and had to compute decompression. We were given written examinations that you had to pass to be certified.
First night of pool work was a swim test 500 yds as I recall, followed by a 25 yd underwater swim and 15 min float. Next two nights of pool work were taught using a Dual Hose regulator and horse collar BC - mask clearing, doff and don, Dual hose buddy breathing. Then we moved on to single hose - buddy breathing, CESA, working tables underwater. I believe my course was much more in depth then what is taught today. That could be that my instructors were all Navy Divers working part time. These guys were intense. You would be swimming along and they would turn off your air or pull your mask off, things that nowadays would probably be considered unsafe.
Most of us who trained 30 years or more ago would probably answer this survey the same way. As would the 20, 10 and 5 year ago crowd. The truth of the matter is some things are much better some things not so much. The training was different back then because Scuba was considered a 'Macho" sport and they wanted to keep it that way, weed out the "ladies" so to speak. As the sport matured an outreach started with the silliness of "Macho" pushed to the wayside and more and more people were invited in. The training changed, spreading it out and making it more inviting to the masses. If they would have kept the sport the way it was, with the training regime some shops had, it would eventually killed the sport. Less people =less money=no innovation=dead. So yeah the training has been watered down but it is directly responsible for getting people in the water. There are a lot of good instructors out there today like Walter and Jim, that care and take the time just like back in the 70's. There are also a lot of poor instructors out there that shut off your air and pull your mask off (Day 2) at the same time and when you come sputtering up to the surface tell you " Next time you fail this course"

 

[acwest]

I usally never enter these threads but the training debate is double-sided one. If the basic open water class was 13 weeks long or what have you myself and many others would probaly not be diving today. Especially these days, no one completes an open water class without being bombarded with the various other progressive training class options avialable with most any training agency.

Once again, if I were forced to blow bubbles in a shallow water pool for weeks on end I probaly would have drifted toward another pursuit...

I keep on hearing about how there are so many more divers now that we have short courses, but WHERE ARE THEY? There certainly are a lot of people taking courses now, but they don't seem to be actually diving. I know in this area we used to have huge diving events, good luck managing that now. There were a LOT of divers trained back in the days of the longer courses.

Do we have access to actual training numbers? I am curious how they actually compare. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any way to find out what type of retention rate there is, which would be a lot more useful...

 

[Thalassamania]

the NOAA dive manual was not available 40 years ago.

...What was Scubaboard 10 years ago?

The U.S. Navy Diving Manual and the University of Michigan Research Diver's Manual where both available 40 years ago. 10 years ago the ScubaBoard function was filled by GENIE.

... Once again, if I were forced to blow bubbles in a shallow water pool for weeks on end I probaly would have drifted toward another pursuit...

Do you really think that all 13 weeks are filled with forcing people to blow bubbles in a shallow water pool for weeks on end? Hardly the case. By the time you finished a semester long class you had the equivalent of OW, AOW, PPD, NITROX, RESCUE, ADV. RESCUE, BOAT DIVING, SURF DIVING, U/W NATURALIST, U/W PHOTOGRAPHY and a few others.

 

[Chugwhump]

Does a Basic/OW class today prepare the diver as well as the same class that was taught years ago?

In my opinion...
A resounding NO!

OK...now the qualifiers...
In my opinion...

We needed to be better divers 30+ years ago.

The gear was not as good, especially buoyancy.
The regs, pretty much the same, but the new stuff is more reliable, easier to have repaired/tuned and there are so many options.

Skills....
Nowadays they are laughable at the basic AOW level for most certifying agencies.

Knowledge:
DCS avoidance is about figured out for the most part at the recreational level.

SCUBA is far less expensive than it used to be.
Much more support and education now.
So much free information on any subject.
Thank the internet for that.

Things have changed both for the better, and for the worse...just like everything else in the world in the past 70 years.

Just my two pieces of copper that are mostly made if zinc.

Chug
Learned to dive from a former UDT Frogman.
He just about killed/drowned/destroyed me, and taught me well.

 

[Scott L]

I keep on hearing about how there are so many more divers now that we have short courses, but WHERE ARE THEY? There certainly are a lot of people taking courses now, but they don't seem to be actually diving. I know in this area we used to have huge diving events, good luck managing that now. There were a LOT of divers trained back in the days of the longer courses.

Do we have access to actual training numbers? I am curious how they actually compare. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any way to find out what type of retention rate there is, which would be a lot more useful...

Well, the economy is largely to blame for the decreased activity these days but I agree the sport seems to have lost it's popularity for reasons I am unprepared to answer...

 

[Scott L]

Learned to dive from a former UDT Frogman.
He just about killed/drowned/destroyed me, and taught me well.

So did I, in 1983, although it does not show...

 

[Cave Diver]

By the time you finished a semester long class you had the equivalent of OW, AOW, PPD, NITROX, RESCUE, ADV. RESCUE, BOAT DIVING, SURF DIVING, U/W NATURALIST, U/W PHOTOGRAPHY and a few others.

And that is probably the exact reason that the dive training has changed. Many people don't feel the need for all this information. Increased ease of travel has enabled people to jump on a cruise ship for 3-7 days and go to several tropical locations and do a couple of easy dives. They don't have to deal with the same harsh conditions and basic equipment that many of you who pioneered the sport dealt with.

Some of the most remote corners of the earth that used to be accessible by travel by donkey, backpacking through the rainforest and finding a local guide to paddle you up a river now have all inclusive resorts. Getting to one can be as easy as flying into an airport and being picked up in a limo.

As things progress, the wants and needs of people change.

 

[Thalassamania]

You call that progress? All its done for me is flood places I used to like to travel to by donkey, backpacking through the rainforest and finding a local guide to paddle me up a river with stupid, poorly trained, weakly skilled divemasters and tiki bars. Big progress.