Is certification necessary for shallow water diving?

[CuzzA]

Here in the US, you’d possibly have issues getting tanks filled or tank rentals if you don’t have an OW cert. Some shops might not check, but where I am, they want to see that card.

I think you missed the part about the friend saying, "Why should I spend $1k for certification when I can just use your stuff." Getting fills is moot if they are provided by someone who is certified.

 

[ScubaSquatch]

@tursiops Yes I totally get that, but does someone need to go through training and pay someone to tell them, “Don’t hold your breath.”?

As an instructor, I can tell you that you'd be amazed how often, and how many times I have to remind people NOT to hold their breath.

 

[thbcthomas]

@34109411 That is my point. Is him paying $1,000 going to make him a great educated diver? Here, read this book and here are the questions that will be on the test you take. Now he is some great educated diver because the teacher gave him the answers? People on here are talking like certification is some intense course where you learn so much. How many people actually fail their certification? My guess is very few. My gripe is the lack of good training for certification.

 

[rick00001967]

I am not here to say it is not necessary to get certified, but I would like to have a discussion and hear other people’s opinions. Do you believe that from a safety stand point, it is necessary to get certified if you plan to stay in the 40 foot range? I know, “No shop will rent or sell you gear!”

My oldest son was certified at age 14, and the shop allowed me to be in the pool with him to observe. Needless to say I not was super thrilled at the extent of his training. No real work on buoyancy, just kneel on the bottom and clear your mask, remove your primary and grab your octo, take your buddies octo for out of air practice, etc… At that point I knew I was not comfortable with him doing deepish dives. I did take him to a pool we had access to, and we worked on his buoyancy, and after a minute his buoyancy was better than mine. Because I was not comfortable with his training, we have stuck to Blue Heron bridge and Lauderdale by the sea. In those very easy dives, he did great. Also the book work was not very through, mostly at home computer stuff. Dive tables were briefly looked over, and as we were looking over them with the instructor, I realized how little I remembered about them after my certification 20 years prior. The instructor did say something along the line of “Just get a computer and you won’t need to know the tables.” This shop is no longer open today. I feel as if I wasted money on his certification.

Part of the reason I ask is because I have friends that have shown interest in diving. I have allowed them to use my back up gear and we swam around in a pool. They did great, no problems at all. One friend and I went to a small private lake and swam around. He asked me, “Why should I spend $1,000 on certification when you have all the gear I need? Plus the computer tells me everything I need to know.”

Sorry for the late night ramblings, I am on some pain medications.

someone deciding to go diving without a certification is one thing. you lending your gear to them so they can go diving without a certification is another.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

With the exception of "don't hold your breath" there is very little actual scuba instruction in the OW certification. Mostly, it's what to do if 5hit goes pear-shaped.
Certainly, we should be teaching buoyancy, finning, etc. but I've found most OW students are there for those first few dives and that's it. I would say out of every ten students I only have one or two that catch the bug and want more knowledge and skills.
As much as I'd like everyone I work with to develop proper diving skills, I am, for the most part, happy to teach them how not to die and how not to kill someone or something else.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

How many people actually fail their certification? My guess is very few.

You might be surprised. I remember one student who just couldn't grasp that his mask was supposed to fit over his nose. We sent him home to watch videos.
I think most people fail due to anxiety. I always feel like those are my failures, too.

 

[JMarc]

Certification is not needed. Knowledge and skills that the process is supposed to teach are.

You have some strange opinion: on the one hand, you think professionals whose job is to teach those are doing a very bad job, on the other hand, you think that "don't hold you breath" is all that there is to teach. You can add coaching to what the instructor will provide if you think they missed something, but nobody can supplement what you could miss if your friend just go diving with you.

That's more than 4 years now that I'm a widower. I still have moments of hardness wondering what I could have done, what I should have done to prevent the death of my wife, second guessing what everybody, included my rational self, is telling me. That's what you have to fear more than legal liability: knowing without second guessing needed that had you done differently, your friend would still be alive. **I** would not take that risk.

 

[34109411]

I think you missed the part about the friend saying, "Why should I spend $1k for certification when I can just use your stuff." Getting fills is moot if they are provided by someone who is certified.

being certified is one thing, being fully knowledgeable to teach someone else is another thing.

 

[CuzzA]

being certified is one thing, being fully knowledgeable to teach someone else is another thing.

 

[AJ]

Since people die without training ing, I'd say yes.

In fact they die also after training and sometimes even during training. Training and certification in itself mean nothing. The most important aspect of training is understanding and mitigation of risks if you ask me. The card is just to get fills.