In Response to "a Unified Dive Industry"

[MXGratefulDiver]

I get your point (sort of) but sport climbing isn't really about making a competitive sport out of it for the most part. It's about a potentially safer version of climbing that therefore broadens the market.

Sport climbing involves permanent (hopefully) bolted routes versus removable protection.

I think the climbing competition aspect of sport climbing is a very small part of sport climbing.

I agree with you in that there are probably ways to broaden the appeal and refine the market in diving as was done in climbing but it doesn't have to be about making a competition out of the "sport" of diving.

Out of curiosity ... how many fat or out of shape people are involved in sport climbing?

How many people only ever climb once or twice a year, when they're on vacation?

I think it's appealing to a whole different market segment that tends to take the activity more seriously than the typical sport diver does ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[OldNSalty]

Because you isn't eloquent enough

True...or to put it eloquently...um...hmmm...True that?

Oh-this is my 500th post...yea me...what, no reward...time to go diving again..

 

[cerich]

True...or to put it eloquently...um...hmmm...True that?

true dat

 

[OldNSalty]

true dat

Well said cerich, well said.

 

[Slonda828]

Imagine the deaths that would be racked up...

I disagree. Rock climbing is super hard, and people do not drop all the time doing that. Find me a person who thinks diving is harder or more dangerous than rock climbing. I'll put you on a 5.13 multi-pitch route and you can tell me how scary diving is. Fat people can't rock climb. I agree with Dale, old tourists may buy gear, but the hardcore people keep a sport going. That is why diving will never have the following of BMX, skateboarding, rock climbing, white water rafting, or any other athletic competitive sport. I say make it competitive. I would do my best to win whatever class I was qualified to occupy. I'd even (oh no!) probably buy more gear to do so. Lord knows I do not mind spending money on freediving gear.

 

[Slonda828]

You're definitely on the right path there! The problem is...no one is willing to do what needs to be done to determine what that vision should/could be. HINT: It cannot be CREATED a priori by the industry.

I would be willing to help do that, at least in my area. I would love to train divers to be physically fit, and to do my part to train them to do more difficult dives. I think that diving should be like climbing. You should be able to go to a dive shop, swim, get better technique, work out in a gym, go run, and then practice your sport. That's my favorite part about climbing is that you have to be in good shape to do it. Some 40 year old man cannot go out and buy 4,000 dollars worth of equipment and be on my playing field. You can call that elitist, but I like being good at difficult things. That's why I haven't bought any dive gear in like a year. It just is not that hard to be good at it (recreationally). If I had a reason to buy more gear (more difficult stuff say), then I would. I think once diving as a social community realizes that you need some "elitism" to make a sport grow, then maybe we will do something about it. We need to get away from the commercialized agency crap and learn to do things without babysitters. It's not like you can just go pay somebody 500 bucks and you have a card that (omni omni) declares that you are a climber. You have to actually earn it by getting bashed up and sweating your butt off.

Why the diatribe? Because I love diving. I do not want to see it turn into shuffleboard or golf. It is going to do that if it keeps being a sport for out of shape middle-aged men with a median income of around 70,000 per year. We can leave the LDS as a place for the neophyte and the tourist, and use the club or the group as a way to keep the more serious divers connected socially and intellectually.

I live two blocks from a dive charter. If anyone wants to actually do something about this at the micro level, then let's assemble a group. Let's do physical training together, maybe cycle to build endurance, become better divers, swim to increase our stamina, and pool our resources. It wouldn't even cost very much money. I am sure if we had 25 people, we could leverage our buying power and get a discount at a YMCA or gym. If everyone started something like that in their area, we could grow diving from the grass roots level. Then again, I am pretty granola...

 

[RJP]

I disagree. Rock climbing is super hard, and people do not drop all the time doing that. Find me a person who thinks diving is harder or more dangerous than rock climbing. I'll put you on a 5.13 multi-pitch route and you can tell me how scary diving is. Fat people can't rock climb. I agree with Dale, old tourists may buy gear, but the hardcore people keep a sport going. That is why diving will never have the following of BMX, skateboarding, rock climbing, white water rafting, or any other athletic competitive sport. I say make it competitive. I would do my best to win whatever class I was qualified to occupy. I'd even (oh no!) probably buy more gear to do so. Lord knows I do not mind spending money on freediving gear.

Guess we need to determine how to make it competetive before we can determine this, but if we want to make diving comepetive in a way that is going to be "attractive" to the masses it has to become "comparative" and I just have this fear that if it it doesn't become "extereme" per se, it will end up leaning towards "deeper, farther, faster, longer" all of which - for the most part - ain't "safer" in diving.

Unless you think people are gonna get all excited to see who can hold a deco stop for 25min +/- 1'...

 

[Slonda828]

Guess we need to determine how to make it competetive before we can determine this, but if we want to make diving comepetive in a way that is going to be "attractive" to the masses it has to become "comparative" and I just have this fear that if it it doesn't become "extereme" per se, it will end up leaning towards "deeper, farther, faster, longer" all of which - for the most part - ain't "safer" in diving.

Unless you think people are gonna get all excited to see who can hold a deco stop for 25min +/- 1'...

I hear ya man. We are a collection of smart people. I am sure we can figure out how to find some way to make diving competitive without turning it into "open circuit freediving." I just do not want to see our sport become an activity, which I feel it is.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I hear ya man. We are a collection of smart people. I am sure we can figure out how to find some way to make diving competitive without turning it into "open circuit freediving." I just do not want to see our sport become an activity, which I feel it is.

For most people, diving is more a form of tourism than a form of competition.

I think there will be little appeal to competitive diving. There have been some attempts at diving competitions in the past, and they got very little public notice.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Slonda828]

For most people, diving is more a form of tourism than a form of competition.

I think there will be little appeal to competitive diving. There have been some attempts at diving competitions in the past, and they got very little public notice.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So what's the solution then? I have always been told that you do not say "we cannot", you propose an alternative. How do you propose to keep diving from growing rather than shrinking? Alternately, do you propose that diving should get smaller, and if so why? Sorry for all the questions, but I am curious what some of the older, more seasoned people around here think.