Open water cert in a pool?

[JeffG]

I'm hoping the other shop was doomed because you had to already be certified to dive there unless you wanted to snuba.

They were doomed because that had to pay to heat the pool. Which put the diving to be to expensive for something that someone would do once in a lifetime. And the moment you take away the heat, all the www wouldn't do it.

If I wanted to dive in a pool, I would just go to the Kinsmen center on Saturday night.

 

[JohnW]

Actually our CD mentioned last night during the IDC that PADI does make exceptions in rare circumstances regarding standards. The Exception is issued only to individual instructors and not Shops or resorts. Maybe there is something here. Maybe any instructors here could elaborate.

 

[String]

PADI Waivers can be granted but its rare. Yes they are to the instructor not the shop/facility and are valid for 1 year and need to be renewed if needed.

Traditionally these were for places where local guidelines forbid certain performance criteria being met. Example when AOW used to have a mandatory night dive it meant in greece you couldnt in theory do AOW as night was illegal so waivers were issued. Eventually common sense let to a change in the standards eliminating that need.
IIRC there is/was a waiver out about padi manuals needed by every student for Egypt as it was very hard to get the manuals in through customers for some reason. I believe its expired now.

I dont think any of this system applies to deciding whether a body of water counts as open water or not - if it was or wasnt it would apply to everyone not just individuals.

 

[Diving Doc]

So even the nemo33 in Belgum could not be used to Qualify an OW diver.

PADI have actually created a special qualification especially for this site. I cant remember exactly what its call but something like open water aquarium diver. It is sort of a cross between OW and SCuba diver cert.

Tghe distinction between ow and confined water, in some instances can be very grey. When does a quarry stop being confined water and start being ow for instance.

PADI's definition of confined water is an area of water that offers pool like conditions in respect of depth etc

 

[String]

Using the sea for confined isnt that uncommon in tropical resorts but ive never heard of the opposite being true, allowed or sensible.

 

[Diving Doc]

Actually our CD mentioned last night during the IDC that PADI does make exceptions in rare circumstances regarding standards. The Exception is issued only to individual instructors and not Shops or resorts. Maybe there is something here. Maybe any instructors here could elaborate.

It is called a waiver and is only granted to individual instructors on a unique basis under exceptional circumstances. I do not think that this situation would apply.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Don't some students do their Open Water cert. dives in quarries? Haven't I seen that mentioned here before? Is a quarry really open water in the true sense?

Just a question.

 

[captain]

In 1970 I got YMCA certified which then was about equal to AOW today in a pool with no open water dives.

 

[H2Andy]

Don't some students do their Open Water cert. dives in quarries? Haven't I seen that mentioned here before? Is a quarry really open water in the true sense?

Just a question.

yeah, exactly

or a sinkhole here in Florida (Blue Grotto, Devil's Den, etc.)

 

[EastEndDiver]

So with all this reasoning those that get certified in a quarry are they really certified?