JamesBon92007:
Back when we were diving with the dinosaurs probably the vast majority of scuba divers were free divers first. That doesn't seem to be the case any more.
I would totally believe that many today have never free dived first, nor even done snorkeling on the surface.
Bob DBF:
I supprised you didn't add I swimming as well.
Some great points, and I would agree. And, one reasonable interpretation of those facts might be that the demographics, and interests, of individuals who choose to pursue scuba diving certification is, and has been, changing. And, the structure and content of training, across agencies, has changed and evolved to meet those changing needs, and MUST continue to do so. .
More people pursuing scuba certification now come to it without an extensive watermanship background. That is not 'good' or 'bad', it is just reality. I grew up in a coastal city, we went to the beach frequently, and learning to swim was considered de rigueur among the families we socialized with - in fact you were considered to be somehow 'deficient' if you did not know how to swim. Swimming was a primary summer recreational activity, in part because there was little else for kids to do in the summer (other than find new and unique ways to get into trouble). That is no longer the case, there are plenty of other recreational activities available, and LOTS of young people never learn to swim. When I was a university freshman, we had to pass a swimming test at the beginning of our first semester. That requirement disappeared long ago. And, young people can still get an undergraduate degree,
without learning how to swim (so, yes, the requirements for a baccalaureate degree have been watered down).
Divers wonder (? lament) why more people are not taking up diving, why the average age of divers is increasing, etc. Some of the answers are reasonably straightforward. There are more (and more) competing activities, parents who didn't learn to swim as young people subsequently don't encourage their children to learn to swim, etc. (And, there is no Sea Hunt to stimulate interest in diving. Hmm, if we only could create a show about vampires that were scuba divers . . .) But, fortunately, at least some people, who may not have learned to swim, certainly not learned to free dive as a youth, become interested in learning to dive. And, they finally have the financial wherewithal to do that, and to perhaps even buy some equipment. And, many / most of them aren't interested in becoming scuba divers, they simply want to get certified to dive, as a social activity, as a episodic recreational endeavor. And, they are busy, and they have limited blocks of time available to pursue that certification. The good news - they may have multiple, short blocks of time, so they can divide their training into manageable 'chunks'. But, they have little interest in a long 'apprenticeship' to learn to become a scuba diver. They want quicker, cheaper, better (which may mean faster and easier). And, for the most part, they have no particular desire to dive 'alone or with a buddy or two in some remote place'. They want to go to Cozumel, or the Caymans, or whatever resort where diving is a focus but not the exclusive activity. That is the marketplace that training agencies, and instructors (and resorts, and charter operators, etc) work in. Now, we can say that these people should not be allowed to take the easy way out, that training agencies are diluting / cheapening the quality of training, etc., etc. But, it is more accurate to say that training agencies are adapting their business models to the reality of the marketplace. People complain about PADI's 'business model'. In fact, that model has been reasonably successful because PADI, AND other successful agencies, have been willing to adapt to the marketplace, instead of 'barking at the moon' and 'cursing the rain'. Instead of one longer, comprehensive training program, they offer more, shorter options for learning, which makes it easier for people to take that first step - a step they probably wouldn't ever take to begin with, if training took longer. As an Instructor, I believe I can have a reasonable influence on at least some people, to help them understand the difference between pursuing scuba certification and becoming a scuba diver. But, I have to have some point of contact with them first, in order for that to happen. So, I have no problem using shorter, less comprehensive OW courses to achieve that.
As a diver I really don't want to have to glue and sew my own wetsuits, I don't want to have to use chunks of neoprene to help me make 'one size fits all' fins fit me. And, the fact that there is a commercial marketplace of sufficient size to justify companies continuing to produce newer, better (albeit, in some cases, glitzier) gear allows me to have the opportunity to buy commercially manufactured wetsuits, and fins that fit me, and masks that don't leak, etc.
There are lots of things in scuba training that have gone by the wayside. We don't do the 'doff and don', the 'blow and go', etc., and we don't teach / practice buddy breathing, like we used to. I personally think those drills are challenging, and even 'fun'. But, there really is little relevance of those skills to scuba diving today, there are some risks associated with them, and the benefits simply do not come anywhere near justifying the risks. The absence of those skills does not reflect 'dilution' of training as much as a societal change in the concept of individual responsibility. It is a brave new world out there.
