DMarelli
Registered
Good discussion folks and lots of good ideas. SEI Diving does require AOW or SEI Diving OW plus 10 dives or any other agency OW plus 15 dives to take a nitrox course, so we would not be able to put the nitrox certification on our cards currently because they represent distinct certifications. I do know that some places do check for certification cards. I have not had the experience of being ruend away from dives such as the Spiegel Grove or Duane for not having an AOW card, but I would look favorably on a dive operator who did scrutinize experience or training for certain dives.
As an additional topic, and this is my personal opinion and NOT an official statement from SEI Diving, the recreational agencies in the U.S. are afraid that the government may someday oversee recreational diver training as it does in many other countries. Our diving industry needs to police itself a little better if it does not want government oversight. It should be all about fun in the recreational diving realm but we can't give up safety in order to put warm bodies in the classroom and on the dive trips. I know that I am preaching to the choir but we in the U.S. and, in particular, Florida have to find some way to decrease our recreational diving fatalities.
As an additional topic, and this is my personal opinion and NOT an official statement from SEI Diving, the recreational agencies in the U.S. are afraid that the government may someday oversee recreational diver training as it does in many other countries. Our diving industry needs to police itself a little better if it does not want government oversight. It should be all about fun in the recreational diving realm but we can't give up safety in order to put warm bodies in the classroom and on the dive trips. I know that I am preaching to the choir but we in the U.S. and, in particular, Florida have to find some way to decrease our recreational diving fatalities.
