How do so many folks have so many dives

[boulderjohn]

Last time I checked it wasn't even considered a sport. Maybe things have changed.

The definition of the word "sport" covers a very large ground. It has been used in many ways over many centuries.

What is "the sport of kings"? --Betting on horse races. The word has been associated with gambling for centuries.

What is the content of the magazine Sports Afield? --Hunting. A sportsman has been a hunter for centuries.

The International Olympic Committee recognizes both chess and bridge as sports.

The agency for which I teach technical diving, TDI, uses the term "sport diving" to define recreational diving that is not technical in nature.

The idea that an activity must contain an element of physical competition, which is what most people think of today when the term is used, is actually a fairly new limitation of the definition.

 

[Scubadude_LA]

Skill in the water is really the only thing that matters IMHO. Some inflate dive numbers up to them there are no scuba police checking log books. As long as people are honest about their self assessment and competence to do the next dive they are planning who really cares about the numbers?

Fun to mark milestones perhaps but as long as entry and exit numbers match, you are having fun and respectful of the environment I really don't think it matters in the scheme of things. I personally get more of a kick out of tallying bottom hours. These numbers really only mean that we have been lucky to participate in an amazing sport X number of times for Y number of hours!

Last time I checked Scuba was not considered a competitive sport:doh:

Totally agree!
Reading all of this is comical.
To the OP: I wouldn't get too caught up in the log blah blah. I've been asked in the past why my profile says "I just don't log dives".
Actually I do when there is something worth logging, that I need to refer back to:
- New conditions.
- New site with something worth logging, like compass info, hazards, etc.
- New gear combinations, suits, weighting.
- Cave or wreck profiles to progressively develop multi-level plans for a system or wreck.
- Technical dives profiles to record gas consumption, mixes, post dive physical sensations.

Each and every 80ft drift dive on Palancar reef or 60ft beach dives in Bonaire, not so much... What's to log?
The numbers are meaningless.

 

[mrdre]

I have an impression that the whole idea of "dive counting" and "dive logging" is just a neat marketing trick. It's much harder to convince somebody to dive in the same place to see the same things if not for building up dive counts. From the other side - more people dive, more money to fuel the industry. It's all good, besides counting dives being pretty much pointless.

I could see some reasoning counting and logging first 100 dives. Because it makes big difference if a person had 3 dives or 20 dives. It's a good measure. But for more than 100 dives it's how you dive, not how many times you dive. Regarding dive counts to me there are just 2 types of divers: with less than 100 dives and with more than 100 dives.

It would be silly, wouldn't it if chess players were evaluated by how many games they played? Of course, championship games are "counted" and "logged". Same with diving, unique and tech dives are worth logging, but not the "grab a tank and get wet" dives.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have an impression that the whole idea of "dive counting" and "dive logging" is just a neat marketing trick. It's much harder to convince somebody to dive in the same place to see the same things if not for building up dive counts. From the other side - more people dive, more money to fuel the industry. It's all good, besides counting dives being pretty much pointless.

I could see some reasoning counting and logging first 100 dives. Because it makes big difference if a person had 3 dives or 20 dives. It's a good measure. But for more than 100 dives it's how you dive, not how many times you dive. Regarding dive counts to me there are just 2 types of divers: with less than 100 dives and with more than 100 dives.

It would be silly, wouldn't it if chess players were evaluated by how many games they played? Of course, championship games are "counted" and "logged". Same with diving, unique and tech dives are worth logging, but not the "grab a tank and get wet" dives.

I think every "grab a tank and get wet" dive makes me ever so slightly a better diver or at least helps keep my skills from getting rusty. By logging, it's possible to tell not only how many dives one has done but how frequently they dive.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

I have an impression that the whole idea of "dive counting" and "dive logging" is just a neat marketing trick. It's much harder to convince somebody to dive in the same place to see the same things if not for building up dive counts. From the other side - more people dive, more money to fuel the industry. It's all good, besides counting dives being pretty much pointless.

I could see some reasoning counting and logging first 100 dives. Because it makes big difference if a person had 3 dives or 20 dives. It's a good measure. But for more than 100 dives it's how you dive, not how many times you dive. Regarding dive counts to me there are just 2 types of divers: with less than 100 dives and with more than 100 dives.

It would be silly, wouldn't it if chess players were evaluated by how many games they played? Of course, championship games are "counted" and "logged". Same with diving, unique and tech dives are worth logging, but not the "grab a tank and get wet" dives.

How do you see the same thing on repeat dives? I've done the same sites multiple times, and although the landscape might be the same, the critters are constantly variable. An what the hell... even if I see the same shark again, it's still cool. I'll continue to "grab a tank and get wet" as often as circumstances allow. Honestly, if there was one good dive site within a reasonable distance from me here in Colorado, I'd dive it every week. Since there's not, I'll continue booking flights as often as possible.

 

[mrdre]

I think every "grab a tank and get wet" dive makes me ever so slightly a better diver or at least helps keep my skills from getting rusty. By logging, it's possible to tell not only how many dives one has done but how frequently they dive.

One could argue that. Just like driving every day to work doesn't get you closer to being Formula 1 racer or chilling in a swimming pool isn't getting you closer to being Olympic swimmer. On the contrary, one could develop bad habits which will become big problem later when the diver will decide to go cave for example. Only working on improving the skills makes a little better diver, IMHO.

 

[EFX]

WTF?! Wow, that sounds like an absolutely terrible course, and I should hope very far from the norm. I hope you switched dive centre and instructor after this experience?

So is it your contention that all courses in all nations are like that, or did you happen to have an unusual experience?

My niece is a NAUI certified diver. She was certified after one 2-hour pool session and one dive to a maximum depth of 10 feet. In my opinion, she had a very bad experience with one really bad NAUI instructor. OR should I assume, as you apparently would, that this was characteristic of all NAUI courses?

It was an unusual experience and the problem was isolated to this one instructor. I've taken other specialties with other instructors in the same dive shop and never had the same problem. Ironically, this instructor made a point that we should slow down, that in his experience students are too fast. Despite the short dive times he insisted we should log them as three separate dives.

 

[mrdre]

How do you see the same thing on repeat dives? I've done the same sites multiple times, and although the landscape might be the same, the critters are constantly variable. An what the hell... even if I see the same shark again, it's still cool. I'll continue to "grab a tank and get wet" as often as circumstances allow. Honestly, if there was one good dive site within a reasonable distance from me here in Colorado, I'd dive it every week. Since there's not, I'll continue booking flights as often as possible.

What about people who live near to the ocean and do have luxury to dive every day? Sure, diving is cool, even seeing the same critters is cool. But people who can dive every day start looking for something more soon. For some it's business, for some it's photography, for others boating and going places not many can go, spearfishing, tech diving, caves, etc.. Keeping diving the same place, every day gets boring after a while. You start looking for some goals to achieve. My point was that "number of dives" it's just a goal for some. I'm not criticizing it - whatever makes people happy. I'm just commenting on it.

 

[gypsyjim]

Myself, I find it a bit impressing to hear a high dive count when I have seen that diver in the water, and seen a skill level that supports that "count".

I have also seen quite the opposite, and what those "divers" don't seem to realize is that other divers are laughing at them behind their backs.

If dive count is important to you, that is none of my business, but when a diver is obviously fabricating a dive count they are only kidding themselves. They are impressing only themself.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

What about people who live near to the ocean and do have luxury to dive every day? Sure, diving is cool, even seeing the same critters is cool. But people who can dive every day start looking for something more soon. For some it's business, for some it's photography, for others boating and going places not many can go, spearfishing, tech diving, caves, etc.. Keeping diving the same place, every day gets boring after a while. You start looking for some goals to achieve. My point was that "number of dives" it's just a goal for some. I'm not criticizing it - whatever makes people happy. I'm just commenting on it.

I wasn't actually commenting on counts at all. Just the idea that you'd see the same things. There are sites in Mexico that I've dove repeatedly (ok, not hundreds of times, but at least a dozen) without seeing the same thing. On a drift dive (like Cozumel) you can drift 10 feet either direction and expect things to be different. Of course, I tend to dive very close to the reef. If you tend to do your drift higher, things will be different.