Hi all,
My daughter is interested in completing her Dive Master course. She is only 17. Is it possible to start Dive Master training provided she is 18 before the completion of the course?
There are some places that run Divemaster Internships - much longer, 2-4 month long curricula, which conclude in a divemaster rating.
Such long courses are the proper way to get to divemaster, as the 14-day course is far too bare-bones to teach one the skills. Most are unpaid internships (actually, you pay for the privilege) that combine very limited dive-related work, assisting, unlimited diving, extra training, and finally the official DM course part.
Most of the time, the internship can be started without meeting the official DM prerequisites. For instance, on Koh Tao, one can get a ~$1,000 DM internship with no time limit, unlimited diving for life, great instruction, etc. The official prerequisites (age, 60 dives, medical) are due before receiving the actual DM rating. I mention Koh Tao because it's got year-round diving (and cheap life), seeing how right now is probably not the easiest time of the year to dive in Canada.