How to categorize beginner, intermediate, advance diver?

[mossym]

What is an "experienced" or "advanced" diver? Depends on the diving environment, obviously. For warm, tropical water (the only kind I know), here is my proposed examination for the Advanced Tropical Recreational Diver (ATRD) certification:

Prerequisites:

Rescue Diver Certification
Nitrox Certification
at least 200 logged dives, of which:
at least 20 must have been within the last year
at least 10 must have at night
at least 10 must have been below 100 feet

Knowledge Development:

Pass the PADI Divemaster exams on:
Physics
Physiology
Equipment
Skills & Environment

In-Water Skills:

Perform satisfactorily:
all OWD skills
all hand signals
tired diver tow (100 yds.)
rescue of an unreponsive diver at depth, including water exit, CPR &
emergency O2
nitrox gas analysis
buddy breathing
air depletion exercise
exchange all gear (except weights) with a buddy at depth
** PADI peak performance buoyancy exercises
** PADI underwater navigation exercises
** swim underwater 100' without mask
** hover motionless (+/- 1 foot) in open water at 15' for 5 minutes
helicopter turn
frog kick
swimming backwards

skills marked ** must also be performed at night with light off

The ATRD card would have this printed on the back: "This certification was earned in warm, tropical water under standard recreational diving conditions; it is not valid for any other diving environment."

are you making up your own cert here?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

What is an "experienced" or "advanced" diver? Depends on the diving environment, obviously.

all the requirements, etc

A nit, perhaps, but why specify PADI classes? There are lots of great divers out there who've never taken a PADI class at all ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[lamont]

It's very difficult to quantify, as individual divers may excel at one aspect or another ... but it certainly has nothing to do with number of logged dives. I have logged over 1,200 dives, and have dive buddies with half (or less) of my experience who are better than I am at certain skills.

Some general rules of thumb that may (or not) be applied ...

Beginner - Still working on basic buoyancy skills ... has to keep finning in order to stay off the bottom. Swims in a "fins down" position (to varying degrees) ... typically kicking hard and breathing hard. Has no idea where they're going ... but they're going there pretty darn fast.

Intermediate - Has figured out the basics of buoyancy control ... and breathing control. Can hover without kicking. Has made the mental transition from "vertical" land-based creature to "horizontal" sea-based creature ... and has adjusted their trim accordingly. Is starting to figure out how to find their way around underwater and get back to the entry/exit point with some consistency. Has watched their air consumption rate drop dramatically ... and is starting to figure out that there's way more to diving than their instructor ever told them.

Advanced - Can hover and change depths at will simply by altering their breathing pattern. Has mastered several different fin kicks and applies them according to conditions and situation. Can plan and execute dives in a range of different conditions. Has developed good underwater navigation skills. Understands and applies "situational awareness" at all times during a dive. Can make a mid-water ascent and hold a safety stop without having to hold onto anything.

Those will do for a start ... I'm sure others will add to them ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I think for me "Advanced" would be someone that can deal with divesites with changing conditions and currents. I'm thinking deception pass or the diamond knot, which i still feel like i'm working up to. There's also a little bit of 'seasoning' which i think just takes a lot of dives. Being able to hold your cool when not everything is going according to plan. Being adaptable and being able to draw on experience. And i think you need bottom time at a lot of different dive sites as a prequisite for that.

 

[paolov]

I think for me "Advanced" would be someone that can deal with divesites with changing conditions and currents. I'm thinking deception pass or the diamond knot, which i still feel like i'm working up to. There's also a little bit of 'seasoning' which i think just takes a lot of dives. Being able to hold your cool when not everything is going according to plan. Being adaptable and being able to draw on experience. And i think you need bottom time at a lot of different dive sites as a prequisite for that.

Now that's what i call a Dive MAster

 

[OE2X]

100 already? damn, my goal was 100 for the year!!

Actually I'm pushing 150 but who's counting? Also my dives average over an hour each. Pug and I did a dive last week that lasted 2:20 and yesterday's two dives totaled nearly three hours.

 

[OE2X]

I think for me "Advanced" would be someone that can deal with divesites with changing conditions and currents. I'm thinking deception pass or the diamond knot, which i still feel like i'm working up to. There's also a little bit of 'seasoning' which i think just takes a lot of dives. Being able to hold your cool when not everything is going according to plan. Being adaptable and being able to draw on experience. And i think you need bottom time at a lot of different dive sites as a prequisite for that.

I think this is the beginning of the expert class. Yes I know there are people out there that are cave 3 certified that would say that's just the the tip of iceberg. Maybe they need to be in the "Super Expert" class.

 

[mossym]

Actually I'm pushing 150 but who's counting? Also my dives average over an hour each. Pug and I did a dive last week that lasted 2:20 and yesterday's two dives totaled nearly three hours.

2:20? what have you guys, gills?

i think i average about 45 mins a dive..but i dive with a lot of people who force me up before my tank is done..one guy i dive with we can hit the hour mark pretty steadily..course that's 45 ft deep from shore..

 

[mossym]

I think this is the beginning of the expert class. Yes I know there are people out there that are cave 3 certified that would say that's just the the tip of iceberg. Maybe they need to be in the "Super Expert" class.

yeah, they dive with a big S on the front of their drysuit..

 

[paolov]

yeah, they dive with a big S on the front of their drysuit..

let me see now, "S"

Seal

 

[Alex777]

are you making up your own cert here?

Well, more what I want than what I've got. Gonna have to keep practicing ...

<< why specify PADI classes? >>

It's not the classes at all - just a shorthand way of specifying the exercises (or degree of knowledge required).