What is this with 'padi'? Reactivate program????
- Thread starter wgw04024
- Start date
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No, it is just making it available. You (or the dive operator) decide if you are proficient or not.
I think we're all in 100% agreement that there are a lot of folks who's skills are lacking or "stale" as a result of a lengthy lapse in time from diving.......and they should take a refresher course.... No brainer.
This thread is not about inactive divers needing a refresher course. It's about PADI using the term "reactivate" which in my opinion appears on the surface (no pun intended) to be a deliberate and manipulative marketing tactic to deceive folks into believing that their certification card has somehow become inactive.
This thread is not about inactive divers needing a refresher course. It's about PADI using the term "reactivate" which in my opinion appears on the surface (no pun intended) to be a deliberate and manipulative marketing tactic to deceive folks into believing that their certification card has somehow become inactive.
Others believe the term refers only to one's skills having become inactive. The card is still valid.
SlugLife
Contributor
It is also deceptive. "What, my nitrox certification is not active anymore? It's expired?"
There are some certifications that do expire, for example, the certification for inspecting Scuba tanks only last 3 years.
It's ambiguous enough to not quite be outright fraud, but still deceptive.
rmssetc
Contributor
And what's wrong with that?
Why should a certification, which proclaims to the world that a diver understands and recalls various theoretical concepts and can apply those theories and can successfully perform various practical skills, be granted for life?
If you were certified many years ago (for some definition of "many") and haven't been diving in many years (for some other definition of "many"), why shouldn't your certification be considered expired? Many certifications (MD, DM, private pilot, commercial driver, etc) don't last forever...why should a diving certification?
I'm not saying that one should have to start at zero and redo all their courses, but perhaps being classified as a certified diver should include a requirement to show recent diving experience (for some definition of "recent"), or demonstration of skills proficiency (which might require a refresher session if the candidate doesn't show mastery of the skills).
The various timelines should probably be dependent on the level of certification, ie., OW has fewer and less demanding skills than say, being certified to use a rebreather, so the allowed period between dives might be longer (maybe making the current "suggestion" of a refresher after 1 (2?) years between dives a requirement).
Before someone asks, yes, I would support similar demonstration of proficiency in order to retain a driver's license as well.
If I haven't been diving in about a year, I'll do a pool refresher course. Locally, they are about $50, unless I want the instructor to complete the PADI paperwork for the "reactivation". Same water, same skills, same instruction.
Probably called Reactivate to insinuate that it has been deactivated, and trick you into paying for the full course all over again.
rmssetc
Contributor
Yes, I know about the marketing tool.
I guess I should have clarified that I wasn't asking my rhetorical question about whether certification should expire from the POV of an agency trying to make a sale, but from the perspective of diver safety, reef preservation, etc.
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