Should they require swimming for OW certificate?

[noobascooba]

I am not a good swimmer- I passed my open water swim on my back, I couldn't have done it on my front. I couldn't tread water, so I just floated for 10 mins on my back..

If the swim test had been harder I would likely have failed and would have been denied the ability to take up a new hobby I really enjoy.

HOWEVER, diving is making me more comfortable in the water. This comfort has given me the confidence to become a better swimmer. I am practicing my swimming partly because I want to but also because I think anything that makes me more confident in water and more able to cope in the event of things going wrong (e.g. BC malfunction, big waves, OOA on the surface) is going to make me a safer diver.

I agree with Walter about snorkeling being nothing like swimming really- even as someone unable to swim on my front, I could snorkel on my front because I didn't have to worry about breathing or coordinating my arms and legs.

 

[TeddyDiver]

Although I agree about the swimming ability, the "public opinion" here made me wonder if the statistics show any significant proof to us. So what's the real % in dive accidents caused by "poor swimming" ability? Anyway I wouldn't count any of the resent red sea victims as one...or should we be able to swim 10NM against a current?

 

[Gary D.]

Personally, I think the decisions are based primarily on marketing considerations and I don't think the people making the decisions really know very much about diving or dive instruction.

I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t a total marketing move.

I’ll bet there would only be about 10% of the divers today if they still instructed like they did in the 60’s. Basically there were two levels without all the specialty classes available today because they were all in the original classes.

A tough swim test, pool harassment, diving laws, dive tables and about 90% of the specialty classes were all rolled into one. But as marketing goes they didn’t see making that much $$ in the future, either for the agency or the industory.

Gary D.

 

[fisherdvm]

I’ll bet there would only be about 10% of the divers today if they still instructed like they did in the 60’s. Basically there were two levels without all the specialty classes available today because they were all in the original classes. A tough swim test, pool harassment, diving laws, dive tables and about 90% of the specialty classes were all rolled into one. But as marketing goes they didn’t see making that much $$ in the future, either for the agency or the industory. Gary D.

My guess is, less than 10% would have completed it. I think the pendulum has swung too far to the left ... We need to get back to the middle somehow.

Too bad DAN did not publish the certifying agency with their accident report. They do have to be non-political.

 

[pir8]

You might want to clip and paste a little bit better. You made the quote sounds like it came from me.

As a physician, I would not be stupid enough to tell a woman to dive if she is pregnant.

Can you imagine the effect of 1 little nitrogen bubble to the developing brain of a 1/4 inch fetus??

I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to understand that many DCS hits can be handled by an adult and resolve with time, but one little one can cause permanent defect in a fetus.

Please edit your post, and change fisher to Gary.

Sorry didn't mean to , I am not the best at this posting stuff. But now my edit button on that post is gone and I don't know how to bring it back

 

[Aussie_pro]

Glad to see the results of this poll so far. I'm a firm believer that a person should be able to swim with reasonable proficiency to dive. I don't care what stroke they use or if it takes them a while to make enough forward progress, as long as they can do so without drowning and without getting compleely out of breath.

Agreed! I to am a firm believer in the 'must be able to swim' deal. A friend of mine wanted to go surfing with me one day and I said sure. Her next question 'do I have to know how to swim?' I was almost floored. About two months later a few my regular dive buddies and I were planning a weekend of diving and two of them were thinking of doing their AOW course. The same girl over heard our plans and asked if she could come diving. I tolder her she had to get certified first, and told her we only do shore diving (we're students, not enough $ for boat diving ) and some times the swims are a little long. Again, her reply 'Do I have to know how to swim?' I looked at her and the rest of my friends and said I'm not dragging you there or back. The next day she enrolled in swimming lessons. Two classes in she dropped out and hasn't asked if she could join any of us with water sports again.
Earlier this year the same girl decided to take up the same kind of conversation with our LDS. She completed the swim with much difficulty and during her OW section almoust drowned. She has since given up on diving and is considering a career change from MArine Biologist to something with a little less water. My friend wasn't comfortable in water and should have taken the hint when she started swimming lessons before spending $ and dropping out of a dive class. Even if she did get certified I know she would never go diving.
If you can complete the swim, fine by me! Don't care how, as long as you can do it and are comfortable enough in water with less than ideal conditions (not pool, more ocean like!)!!!
AP

 

[anzac65]

I haven't really understood what this thread is about 'cos I'm a bit dim but I think that if the distance from the top of the water to the bottom of the water is more than the distance from the top of your neck to the bottom of your feet, then being able to swim would be well handy....

 

[Hockeynut]

OK so the majority says you have to be able to swim, How many of you are supporters of scuba diving matt and his scubility card??? Just wondering.

 

[MikeFerrara]

Would you agree then, that focusing on fundamental swim/skindiving/freediving skills (and the development thereof) would make for a smoother transition into scuba, perhaps resulting in better divers? ....and maybe the entry swim requirements should reflect this as well?

Great swimmers don't always have an easy time becoming divers because it isn't the same. I do think that before taking up diving one should feel at home in the water and be somewhat proficient at moving from one place to the other. Exactly how that would translate into a swim test I'm not sure. I don't really think I have a problem with the 200 yard swim and the ten minute treading water. I would probably add some sort of time limit on the swim and put some sort of mastery statement into the standards. In other words barely being able to complete the swim wouldn't be good enough.

How many instances can we find of divers panicing in OW trying to do a mask R&R? Right here on this board I'll bet you can find hundreds and almost all instructors have been through it with a student. Some of these people are just afraid of the water. They can't handle getting their face wet or a little water in their nose or whatever. I think that's dangerous.

 

[Gary D.]

OK so the majority says you have to be able to swim, How many of you are supporters of scuba diving matt and his scubility card??? Just wondering.

Totally different issue and I am a big supporter of Diving with Disabilities. It is much different than some non-swimmer just going diving.

Gary D.