Newbie!

[Oni]

I love this message board!

Anywho, I just signed up for basic training (I skipped the Discover course because, quite frankly, I love the water) and I was wondering if anyone had any....hints they could give me pre-class. Im 14 and my class is on the 24 of June!

Also, do I need to get recertified for my full adult cert when I am 15 (in November), its pretty close to now.

Thx.

~Stealth Oni

 

[detroit diver]

Study hard, like your life depends on it-'cause it does. Ask LOTS of questions in and out of the water until you're comfortable with what's been taught. Don't rush your skills just to get it over-it takes lots and lots of practice to get better.

And enjoy the time you have underwater-you'll love it!!

As for recertification, I'm not sure. My son is in the same situation on Monday-he turns 15 and currently has his junior cert. Any PADI instructors out there know the procedure???

 

[Mario S Caner]

Welcome to the boards Oni, you are certainly in great company here. Feel free to ask questions anytime you come up with any.

As far as general advise is concerned... just pay attention in class, your instructor will show you how to be a great diver. Continue your education, have fun and dive responsibly.

 

[DennisW]

Oni, Welcome to the dry dock. I would suggest that if you have to get re-certified after you reach a certain age, do it by taking some type of advanced class that interests you. Such a class may not be available from PADI, so I would suggest looking around. My Daughter and Son are 18 and 20 and have not yet been re-certified, although it is way past time.

Another thing you need to know that I am sure no one has told you. You should not dive a lot or dive deep until you are about 20 years old. Nothing to scare you, but it is known that nitrogen does get absorbed into the bones. Young bones that are still forming (and yours are) can absorb nitrogen, too. I would expect that softer bones would absorb more nitrogen. There have been no studies that I know about, but I would not let my kids dive below about 45 ft and only a couple of dive trips a year until they were adults. I didn't want them to be the guinea pigs for such a study. I remember one person from another SCUBA board that believes she has an extremely bad back due to lots of deep diving while she was young. Her parents owned a dive resort and she dove a lot. If my memory serves me correctly her bones are very porous, like having osteoperosis. I tell you this so you can look at the information and make good decisions, have fun diving, it's a blast.

Maybe this should be a question for the Dive Medicine section.

 

[Walter]

........but I believe most, if not all agencies, treat this issue similarly. You'll need to show you've been an active diver recently (aren't log books wonderful?) and you'll be able to get a Junior OW card upgraded to OW for the price of the card and perhaps a small handling charge.

WWW™

 

[Oni]

THX!