New to diving, PADI the way to go or not?

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Location
Leicestershire, UK
# of dives
Hi there


I am a 21 year old guy living in Leicestershire in the UK, having always wanted to go diving I booked a try dive with my girlfriend. We both loved it and are really keen to go on to do an open water or similar qualification.

We are all set to go with the dive centre we did the try dive with but on speaking to a friend of my girlfriend she is very concerned that PADI has a 'pay and pass' mentality, her friend has even gone as far as to say that "most places will make you do a test dive if you have a PADI certificate because its not always a guarantee that you are a good diver"

This has scared me somewhat as I am all too aware of the dangers of diving living down the road from stoney cove where seem to hear of fairly frequent injuries or even deaths. I am reluctant to sign up and do a course that will not equip me and would put either my own or my girlfriends lives in danger.

The dive school I am looking at has a 5 star Instructor Development Centre does this mean anything to me?

They describe themselves as:

We are a PADI 5* Training Centre, issuing over 2,200 PADI certifications. Recently we were in the top 5 certifying PADI Dive Centres in the UK. See the latest course dates.

We are one of the largest and longest established independent Dive Clubs in the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire area with over 1300 members joining since 1999. We have had members join from as far apart as Devon, Scotland, Ireland and Holland!!! See our media page.

Their website is www[dot]divemasterscuba.co.uk

Please advise....

Phil
 
Phil, if you read a lot of the threads here, you'll realize that a lot of people think the basic training from ANY of the major agencies has been watered down to where it's pretty minimal. But the PADI open water curriculum should, if taught responsibly, fit you to do basic open water diving. It is much more about the instructor, and how diligent he is (and, honestly, how much he knows) than it is the agency. And a lot of it is the diver. I got a pretty sloppy initial education, but I knew I wasn't very good when I got certified, so I kept training and finally found some very good mentorship and instruction, and eventually became a pretty decent diver.

Having a big dive club associated with the shop is an advantage, because it will help you get hooked up with more experienced people to get some tips from, after you are certified.

And BTW, I have a PADI OW cert, and nobody has ever asked for a checkout dive because of that. Some places ask for checkout dives as a matter of course, but it isn't agency-specific.
 
Hi Phil,

I'd say that more than the organisation you are looking at going with the most important thing you need to decide is the kind of structure you want to learn in.

Your 2 main choices really are with either PADI or BSAC.

PADI in my opinion is the more 'commercial' option to diving. In you go, book your courses, get them done and then its up to you to continue your relationship with the local dive shop. This is by no means a negative as lots of people prefer this kind of option.

BSAC on the other hand tend to go for a more club like structure. Most people shop around within the local clubs, find one with the set-up, structure and people they like and then join that. Most have club nights, regular pool sessions, and really they say you get out of it as much as you put in.

My girlfriend and I took the PADI option when we learn't and found it to be fine. We had no problems at all. We booked our OW and AOW as a package and it all went swimmingly :) So much so we're just back from a 3month divemaster internship abroad.

Now that we're home though, we're most likely to be joining a BSAC club, as we both like the idea, now we know a bit more about it all, of joining a club.

Finally though, the most important thing should be the instructor. If you trust him/her and his skills then go with him/her. At the end of the day it's them that will carve out the divers that you will become.
 
This has scared me somewhat as I am all too aware of the dangers of diving living down the road from stoney cove where seem to hear of fairly frequent injuries or even deaths. I am reluctant to sign up and do a course that will not equip me and would put either my own or my girlfriends lives in danger.
This is part of the issue; where you'll be diving. PADI emphasizes that with your OW certification, you're qualified to dive in conditions as good or better than what you trained in. So, if you do your open water checkout dives in a flooded gravel quarry, or in a calm, warm water tropical location like the Caribbean, and then you go home, head out & hop in coastal ocean waters with big waves & surge, substantial currents, poor visibility and colder water than you're used to...well, you get the idea.

If you want to dive in local waters with sub-par conditions, you'll need to train to do that, whether in your OW course or afterward. That sort of thing is one place a 'dive club' approach might help.

Richard.
 
I've taken courses by several agencies and and they have all been good. In my experience, Scuba instructors are very generous with their time, and are always willing to help their students. It will be up to you to make the most of the learning opportunities.

IMHO, the most important thing any diver can do is to keep learning. At the end of your OW course you will be minimally qualified to dive, but there is a whole lot more to learn, and you can learn a lot of that here on SB.
 
You live in Leicester?

Get across to Stoney Cove...and talk to the guys there. (Training/School link) It's the main (busiest) inland scuba diving site in the UK and they have a good team there. You could also try Go Dive in Derby.

I actually learnt to dive with Mark (the founder of Go Dive) many years ago. I've done a lot since then...and never, with the benefit of hindsight and greater experience, had any doubts that my OW course was anything but excellent. I did my Divemaster course at Stoney Cove....another truly excellent dive course.

Agency doesn't matter. The quality, dedication and professionalism of the individual instructor is everything.

Your girlfriend's friend has given you some duff information about the reputation of PADI and the requirement for check-out dives. I have taught scuba for PADI, SSI and BSAC...and all of those courses allow me to create good divers.

The club structure of BSAC can enable good long-term development, because you would be exposed to regular diving and have mentors on hand. However, many of the PADI schools in the UK also now have diving clubs...and they can be equally as active and beneficial.

I believe that the Leicester BSAC club has a good reputation within the organisation, although I have never personally dived with them. Their site is HERE.
 
In my opinion, a good entry level class is hard to find. Most of the ones I've seen I would not recommend. That is not limited to PADI classes. I recommend reading the first post in this thread and using what you learn to find an excellent class.
 
What everyone else already said. :)
 
One other item to consider is to go in with the attitude that the instructor is working for you. Not the shop, not the agency, you. You are hiring someone to train you to dive. You should determine how long the class lasts to a large degree. It is not standards, shop schedule, or what everyone else does. You should be completely comfortable with your skills and knowledge at the end of the class when you go to do your OW checkouts. If you have doubts insist on more time. If properly prepared in pool and class, even low vis, cold conditions should not be a factor. THe instructor should have prepared you in how to react with the conditions, your buddy, and the class as a whole. If at any time you feel rushed or need to go over something that should be your call. I tell all my students that I work for them and if at any time they need to ask for help or extra time to do so.
 
Just to reply to one point your girlfriend said.

I did several hundred dives in about 20 different places around the world before I went professional. During that time I just had your basic PADI certification. I never had anyone make me do a test dive because of the source of my certification, and I never heard of it, either. I have still never heard of it being done, even though as a regular participant on ScubaBoard for a number of years I would think I would have run across it if it were true.

There are some places that do require initial test dives, but they require it of everyone, not just PADI certified divers. Bonaire and the Galapagos Islands are two that come to mind from my own experience.

Whoever fed your girlfriend that misinformation is someone to whom you should not be listening.
 

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