Ben_ca:
SBS,
Great points on Adversity and Diversity.... Toobad there isn't a rating/ranking structure to quantify skil levels like tennis
That's an interest concept. For those on the board who don't know, tennis uses a numerical rating, I think it goes from from 1 to 9 if I remember correctly; 1-2 is a beginner, 2 -3 someone who has some strokes but significant weakness 3-4 someone who is intermediate, has all the strokes but no threatening weapons; 5-6 advanced level, someone with strong strokes and at least one major weapon ( a massive serve, a deadly forehand) 7-8 is championship level, 9 is top 100 world player. When you go to a club, the head pro, for a fee, plays with you for an hour and then assigns you a number --- you the use that number at the club to enter tournaments or leagues appropriate for your level (example, a 3.5-4.0 league). This prevents people from being partnered with people beyond their skill level. In my college days, I was a 5 -5.5 player. This is similar to a golf handicap.
The same could be true of diving, where an instructor does several dives with you and judges your equiment and dive preparation, buoyancy skills, trim, etc and assigns you a number, from 1 (inexperienced klutz) to 10 (instructor/DM level). Then, when you are approached to buddy with someone, you will know some outside estimate of their skill/experience level. A dive operator would know what you could do, just flash a card with a rating and a date (on 11/18/05 instructor so and so rated me a 7.5 diver). AND it gives PADI (and others --- no bashing here) one more service to charge for! And one more stat for under our AVATAR to lie about! In fact, wink wink, they might make such a rating a yearly requirement!
