What do you see happening with the sport of diving?

[RJP]

Since 1965, computing power has increased by approximately nine orders of magnitude.

If we had invested in scuba technology with the same all-consuming passion for the last fifty years, ...

The demand for - and utility of - computers is probably nine hundred orders of magnitude higher than that for scuba gear.

 

[drrich2]

Z-gear:

I imagine it's also frustrating when you see some females post offended that a line of gear for women features pink coloration, as if this is a deplorable stereotype as to female tastes, then in 'the real world' you see some other women preferentially sporting pink gear because it's 'feminine' and they 'want to look different.' Perhaps those women don't post on Scuba Board so much?

I wonder to what extent consciously basing a purchase decision on fashion is frowned upon in our proudly utilitarian sport? I still remember some years back a female poster asked about dive computers in a thread while also mentioning she'd probably end up getting the 'cutest' or 'prettiest' (can't recall the exact adjective), and said 'I'm a girl.' While that happened on this forum, it's not a sentiment I see much. And while I try to avoid excessive attributions to gender, I can hardly imagine a man saying the same thing (minus the 'I'm a girl' part).

Richard.

 

[Wookie]

Z-gear:

I imagine it's also frustrating when you see some females post offended that a line of gear for women features pink coloration, as if this is a deplorable stereotype as to female tastes, then in 'the real world' you see some other women preferentially sporting pink gear because it's 'feminine' and they 'want to look different.' Perhaps those women don't post on Scuba Board so much?

I wonder to what extent consciously basing a purchase decision on fashion is frowned upon in our proudly utilitarian sport? I still remember some years back a female poster asked about dive computers in a thread while also mentioning she'd probably end up getting the 'cutest' or 'prettiest' (can't recall the exact adjective), and said 'I'm a girl.' While that happened on this forum, it's not a sentiment I see much. And while I try to avoid excessive attributions to gender, I can hardly imagine a man saying the same thing (minus the 'I'm a girl' part).

Richard.

Really? You don't think that choosing basic black is not a fashion decision? I absolutely think it is.

 

[archer1960]

If you look at the numbers, participation has declined for pretty much every single outdoor sport or activity with the exception of organized team sports. IMO, that's mainly because of the sheer number of different activities that people have these days; they're just spread thinner than they used to be. Free diving, rock climbing, BASE jumping, etc have all taken adventurous people away from SCUBA and spread them among other activities.

 

[widget]

Its simple look at something that is working and use some of those principles to create a new direction to solve the problem. Work with what is given and don't look at what you are lacking. Take the free Dive Industry, we know it is experiencing good growth. Why? Because it is cheaper, because it is more practical to do, because it is less dangerous.
You can see where this is going and the answer it is non of the above. The true reason you aspire to get into an activity is because you are attracted to it because you have an Image of your self doing this activity. You want to do it, because something you have seen has captured your attention and it is appealing to you.

What you have seen has enabled you to picture yourself in that sport or activity. Achieving a mental image of something you want to do sets things in motion. In other words it gives one motivation to go towards that area. Find out more info, or check out videos to get more inspired. Then after they can't wait any more they will go for it, even if they have to save for it.

Where there is a will there is a way.

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear

Yah, I hear you but if one thinks back to when I started diving, in 1974 in SA anyway, we didn't even have TV, and I dont mean "we" as a household, I mean "we" as a nation,.. believe it or not, the country had no TV... and yet, there was still enough folk around interested enough to support a number of dive clubs for training and some small retailer's for equipment, in reality it could be argued the retailers did pretty well because there wasn't much choice of colour or models, they carried equipment which JUST did the job at hand and fashion was secondary, stock holding was simple, you could have any colour as long as it was Black and they had maybe two models of each required product. The clubs fees contributed towards free cylinder fills and the cost of a boat diving trips, you may have been required to chip in a few bucks here and there, but going diving regularly was relatively cheap.

Of course, all this has largely changed, and now folk can watch any number of dive shows on TV, there are many magazines promoting diving and the image thereof, theres even forums like this, yet the industry continues to under perform and loses market to competitor activities.

I think it largely boils down to interest, or lack thereof, back when we learned to dive, we did so because we wanted to, it was a tough course but we persevered, and most of us still dive today.
However, the market today has other attractions which are heavily promoted as a "lifestyle choices" think IPADS, Mobile Phones, Social Media etc or activities which have added benefits like improved health and touring, think Mountain biking which anyone can do everyday after work with the family / friends for zero cost and see tangible results, all of these activities are easy to get into and are a lot more social, scuba simply can not compete anymore, is it any wonder people are just not really that interested in diving anymore.?

 

[Lorenzoid]

A guy I work with said he has, like a lot of us in our 50s, been intrigued by scuba since he was a kid, and now that his kids are reaching their teens he wants to get his whole family certified: himself, wife, son (14) and daughter (13). He sees scuba as a family sport--something they can all do together in some tropical location. His other hobby is amateur car racing, and he trailers his car around the region to race on weekends, often bringing along his son. He says he sinks about $10k/yr into that hobby. So while the entry cost to scuba is an obstacle, I think he would do it if he really felt it would benefit the family. But he says both his kids seem fairly uninterested in scuba. They seem to be interested in rock climbing, among other things. I suspect if his kids are attracted to anything aquatic, it will be freediving. I agree with others who say scuba has the image of an old person's sport, involving too much gear and not enough challenge--too family-oriented.

I'm a little perplexed by the comments I see to the effect that scuba could evolve to be MORE family-oriented. At least from what I've seen in the Caribbean, scuba appears to be very family-oriented. No doubt this isn't a worldwide sample.

Personally, I would prefer it to remain a small niche sport. I don't like crowded dive sites, and I certainly don't like visiting places where the sites have been (literally) crushed under the weight of novice divers trampling through.

But then my interest in the sport is recreational, not economic.

The potential problem with scuba remaining a niche sport is if it falls in popularity below some critical threshold or point of no return. I don't think it's likely. But suppose the declining popularity results in so many dive shops and resorts closing that it becomes more difficult to go diving. People drop out of the sport, and then more shops close--a downward spiral.

By the way, I really liked your observation that scuba ought to boom in Asia. Maybe like many other things, recreational scuba has had its day in some parts of the world, and now it will have its day in other parts. Maybe tastes in, say, the US simply have moved on to technical diving, freediving, etc., and what's left will remain more or less a niche for the foreseeable future.

 

[drrich2]

Really? You don't think that choosing basic black is not a fashion decision? I absolutely think it is.

It can be, but a different kind of statement. Less effort to stick out. Pink is glaring, draws attention. I suspect most men wouldn't want to stick out because of a loudly colored gear piece. Imagine a hot yellow BCD with lime green tank. Bleh!!!

Richard.

 

[RJP]

And while I try to avoid excessive attributions to gender, I can hardly imagine a man saying the same thing (minus the 'I'm a girl' part).

It would be interesting to secretly assess the reactions of the "I don't care at all what my gear looks like" crowd if they were offered a girly-version of the same gear at $1 less than the standard version. If they really "didn't care at all" they would jump at even a $1 savings, since that would be the absolute rational decision for someone who really didn't care. Right?

---------- Post added June 16th, 2015 at 10:22 AM ----------

It can be, but a different kind of statement. Less effort to stick out. Pink is glaring, draws attention. I suspect most men wouldn't want to stick out because of a loudly colored gear piece. Imagine a hot yellow BCD with lime green tank. Bleh!!!

But recall, that Z-Gear's question goes back "do you care what your gear says about you?" If the answer is truly "no" then there is no statement being made, "different" or otherwise.

 

[Wookie]

It would be interesting to secretly assess the reactions of the "I don't care at all what my gear looks like" crowd if they were offered a girly-version of the same gear at $1 less than the standard version. If they really "didn't care at all" they would jump at even a $1 savings, since that would be the absolute rational decision for someone who really didn't care. Right?

I spend an awful lot of money on buying girly colored gear. For both me and Mel. It's my way of saying "I don't like black, blue, yellow or red".

 

[BenjaminF]

I would quite happily put down the cash for a lime green set of gear right now. The chances of somebody else taking it would be next to zero, and it would also make picking me out from the pictures much easier