Scuba a dying sport?

[Teamcasa]

SCUBA isn't dying, but we aren't retaining nearly as many folks as we should. We're tossing them out there so poorly prepared that they don't feel safe, so they don't continue diving.

Facts to support that?
I doubt that of those divers certified in the last decade or two quit diving due to poor training but more of lack of interest, more pressing financial considerations and other family considerations.
To say that the majority of divers quit due to poor training without facts or the data to support that comment just reflects your narrow view of the training available today, nothing more.

Scuba suffers from the same fate as other leisure time activities. Nothing more.
Google Trends: leisure time

 

[don Francisco]

Extrapolating age to whether we are keeping or losing participants is a non-sequiter, since we don't have corresponding data for the ages at which folks take up diving. At a glance, given the anecdotal evidence, it would seem that far from losing divers, we're attracting them young and keeping them for many years. (not that this is necessarily true).

It should also be noted that the 50-59 age group (post war boomers) is the largest demographic, followed by the 30-39 age group (next generation). The participation on the survey here on Scubaboard seems to mirror the general population, so where's the surprise. Considering that the aging boomers are the largest demographic, I'd assume that if diving appeals to these folks, that would be considered good news, not cause for gloom.

We could debate the meaning of statistical data forever, but in the final analysis I think Mark Twain had it right.

As a practical matter, since the dive industry can't change peoples living circumstances, it could best serve itself by trying to attract newbies at any and all ages. Then making sure that they get good enjoyment out of their dive experiences, so they'll be likely to continue diving as long as possible.

 

[TSandM]

I often wonder if it is really to the advantage of the LDS to keep divers involved in the sport.

I'm about as active a diver as you can come up with locally, but I don't do much for my LDS. I get fills there, which is not a money maker. I buy little stuff like bolt snaps and consumables like zipper lube. I get my regs serviced once a year, and get my tanks viz'd. I don't buy much, because I don't NEED to buy much, and when I do buy something, it may well be a product or brand that my LDS doesn't carry. About the only part of the dive industry that I'm much good for is the travel part, and I'm not great for that.

NEW divers are the backbone of the LDS system. And I honestly don't know how well they are doing at attracting them.

 

[Andy077]

I've worked as an instructor in the ski industry for over a decade, we're having the same problems, I watch us pricing ourselves out of our clientele, families with kids. I nearly soiled myself Sunday night when I checked the lift ticket rate for a Saturday at K-mart in Vermont. $82!!! Tack gear, travel and lodging onto that, and we're going to have a really slow winter.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I often wonder if it is really to the advantage of the LDS to keep divers involved in the sport.

I'm about as active a diver as you can come up with locally, but I don't do much for my LDS. I get fills there, which is not a money maker. I buy little stuff like bolt snaps and consumables like zipper lube. I get my regs serviced once a year, and get my tanks viz'd. I don't buy much, because I don't NEED to buy much, and when I do buy something, it may well be a product or brand that my LDS doesn't carry. About the only part of the dive industry that I'm much good for is the travel part, and I'm not great for that.

NEW divers are the backbone of the LDS system. And I honestly don't know how well they are doing at attracting them.

I agree with you that the older "been there done that already have the cards and the stuff" divers do not bring an LDS much in terms of training or business directly.

On the other hand, if they dive actively they can be very effective at promoting one local dive shop over another and at bringing in new business for the shop.

In my case I learned to dive in high school and college, got married had kids, etc and over the years bought a sets of gear and training for two ex-wives and my son. I also had an influence on two brothers getting into diving plus whatever significant others they fully or partially funded in diving related endeavors. You'd also have to add a few co-workers along the way so the true number of purchases related to my diving are larger than just my purchases and the shops I liked got the lion's share of that business. It still continues today as I will tend to steer new divers I meet toward shops I feel do a better job, are friendlier, etc.

It also works the other way as there have been a couple shops over the years that I advise people to avoid like the plauge due to compency issues, half truths or unethical practices that those shops have demonstrated in the past.

 

[don Francisco]

I often wonder if it is really to the advantage of the LDS to keep divers involved in the sport.

I'm about as active a diver as you can come up with locally, but I don't do much for my LDS. I get fills there, which is not a money maker. I buy little stuff like bolt snaps and consumables like zipper lube. I get my regs serviced once a year, and get my tanks viz'd. I don't buy much, because I don't NEED to buy much, and when I do buy something, it may well be a product or brand that my LDS doesn't carry. About the only part of the dive industry that I'm much good for is the travel part, and I'm not great for that.

NEW divers are the backbone of the LDS system. And I honestly don't know how well they are doing at attracting them.

With all due respect, that's a terrible outlook for you to have, and even worse if dealers feel that way. I hope that my long relationship with the LDS, or anyone I do business with, never boils down to "what have you done for me lately".

As a nurse, do you secretly hope that folks don't start taking better care of themselves and reducing their need for big ticket medical interventions? Of course not.

While the cash register won't ring big everytime I walk into the store, the small day to day purchases add up. Also because of the trust developed over a long pariod, the shop owner knows that he has a good shot, when I do finally make a big purchase either because of new technology, or because something finally wore out.

Beyond the actual dollars smart shop owners know that the best advertisement for their stores and scuba in general is a healthy, active dive community. People don't magically decide to dive, they see others doing it, or hear about great dive trips, or know divers. Prospective divers choose shops or instructors based on referrals. As part of the community, a shop's experienced diver clients are available for projects like the annual beach and harbor cleanup, which besides being good for our oceanfront, gets the shop lots of visibility.

Scuba, like bicycling, skiing, audio, and many other hobbies involves large outlays up front, followed by smaller continued spending. The dealer who focuses exclusively on the big ticket front end sales does so at his own peril.

 

[divestoclimb]

I learned to dive through a course at my university. I'm in my mid 20's now and probably 70% of my friends are interested in learning to dive, at least partially because they hear me talk about it. Cost is an issue for many of them, though, so we'll see what happens as we all get older.

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

Price is certainly an issue, and I think it would be great if a manufacturer broke onto the scene who could make a good quality but more reasonably priced product. Many industries have these guys, but it usually takes very smart management (and engineering) to do this and continue being profitable. Also end MAP pricing immediately, it is hurting competition. Also, make sure all servicing requirements are realistic (I've read a few articles about regulator inspections every year being excessive: but need to look into how reliable those are). Additionally, local dive shops need to continue integrating over to the internet (most have thankfully at least gotten a basic webpage) including placing their catalogue online with prices.

But ... I don't think this is the core issue, as much as a compounder of the problem. The problem is, scuba just isn't relevant, most people never think to try it. For example, my friend who I dive with loves it, but the only reason he ever tried was because I managed to convince him to take the OW course with me.

Scuba companies, and this is an area I think LDS's could really grow the sport and help their own business, need to somehow get the word out about scuba. Once someone tries breathing underwater, you might get them hooked. Those "try a dive" things in the pool are a good start: but you're still counting on people to come to you. I don't have a novel idea, but if there's some way you could go to some public place with a pool and let people try breathing underwater, it would help. Maybe try to arrange to have highschool gym classes go to the pool and try some basic diving. I don't know, it's more a macro idea rather than me having a specific plan, but somehow dive shops need to get to the people instead of people having to come to them.

 

[imasinker]

I will go with the cost factor why your likely not seeing many younger than 30 divers. I got this talk from my son and he best explained his reason to me why he won't start diving for a few years. All the bills and responsibility he has in his life right now, he doesnt have the time or money to get into diving unless I pay for it of course.

 

[tflaris]

Has anyone noticed over the years how the average age of divers seems to be older and older. I'm in my mid fifties and it seems on a typical busy week in Bonaire that the average age of a diver is similar to mine. On a recent trip to Wakatobi at least 90% of the guests were my age or older. I inquired at my local dive shop on this subject and the owner said most of his customers were 50 and up. Is this a trend anyone else has noticed? Will scuba go the way of "muscle cars"? I hope not - and if my observations are accurate - what a shame younger people are missing so much.

As a Dive Instructor I find that people want to learn to dive but do not stay active in the industry. On average a typical class of 8 people 60-70 are getting certified for a single trip or a single reason. "We are going to honeymoon in Jamaica and thought it would be cool to learn how to scuba......"

I am not stating that these divers don't continue to dive but tend to treat it like a vacation activity and never put in enough time to become proficient and comfortable underwater which in turn leads to a greater desire to dive.

Another trend is buying/owning gear. Most of my college age students have the desire but not the time or the money. Some have troubling even hooking together 2 weekends back to back to complete the class.

I have found that people that own gear are more likely to dive than those who don't. I not sure of the reason why other than it may be convenient for to to make a call and grab their gear and walk out the door or whether they had a greater desire initially and purchased gear in the first place because of this reason.

Also scuba is no longer an extreme sport or rather it is not being portrayed as an extreme sport. The availability of other extreme sports like skiing, snow boarding, rock climbing, ATV's, motorcycles, etc also appeal to people that may enjoy diving and with most people's schedule time is the enemy.

This is just my 2 cents. if you discover anything startling let me know.

Tony Flaris