Who "Fails" Open Water Scuba Certification and why

[Barnaby'sDad]

In my 4 seasons of assisting there weren't many who "failed". I can off hand think of one guy who literally couldn't finish one pool lap without panicking and sinking. Another was a girl who just struggled with everything, and a third who depended on a buddy for help all the time (we told the buddy to not do this of course). In observing the swim test many times, I would have nixed a few students, but as it says, you can even do the dog paddle and pass. I won't get into my old rant about swim tests and what they should be about.
But you have to define "failed". More than once we had students join our group from a previous course due to this reason or that. One guy I was assigned to help had a problem with everything imaginable and of course also didn't like our instructor. He probably had all those problems in the course he didn't finish. Do we count these people as "failed"? They did fail to complete the original course they signed up for.

That sounds about right. From talking with a few instructors, a lack of comfort in the water to begin with (weak swimmer) seemed to be the most consistent reason for students not passing the course/getting the OW cert.

If you’re not comfortable paddling around on the surface, I’m not sure how people expect their comfort level to improve when they’re submerged. Add to that things like mask removal at depth. Not exactly a pleasant drill even if you are comfortable in the water.

 

[FinnMom]

We teach thru clubs, so we don’t need to make money or even break even. We can provide extra classes, extra dives, whatever it takes if help and practice can make a difference. For us, those who fail the basic course either stop trying or then they have a new medical problem, i.e. med. issues that didn’t exist or were not known when the class started. Some quit because they just aren’t having fun anymore and don’t want to work on their weakness(es) so they can pass certification.

 

[jwcfbd]

Had a guy fail in my class because on our second open water he couldn't do the drills. We were in the ocean with reduced visibility and he just couldn't get them done.

 

[Bowers]

Ive never had a student fail, but i’ve had several students do extra pool or checkout dives to get them where we both felt comfortable with their abilities. Some ops may require a student to redue the while class for sake of limited openings in their schedule. I run a small op that i can afford to do one on one extra lessons until they get it.

 

[rhwestfall]

Let's keep in mind, a crappy instructor can be the reason for a bad diver. Also, OW certification is a bottom floor to a bunch of learning and self improvement. Who was what they are now (or claim to be) when they get their card?

 

[Zeke XA3]

I think i have just over 100 PADI OW certs so not too many to draw from.

But i failed my first 2 OW students due to not being able to swim more than 8 feet (took a while to recover my confidence from that).

Ive probably issued a dozen Scuba Diver certs instead of open water, 2 i can definitely recall due to client being unable to do the full remove and replace mask underwater. Another due to just not being comfortable enough in the water to be able to attempt Dive 3/4 skills.

And too many to count have ended up being 5 training dives or have have had extra time 1:1 after all other students have been returned to vessel to complete a skill. Some notable ones being CESA, hover and unable to swim without holding onto the reg in their mouth.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

I think i have just over 100 PADI OW certs so not too many to draw from.

But i failed my first 2 OW students due to not being able to swim more than 8 feet (took a while to recover my confidence from that).

Ive probably issued a dozen Scuba Diver certs instead of open water, 2 i can definitely recall due to client being unable to do the full remove and replace mask underwater. Another due to just not being comfortable enough in the water to be able to attempt Dive 3/4 skills.

And too many to count have ended up being 5 training dives or have have had extra time 1:1 after all other students have been returned to vessel to complete a skill. Some notable ones being CESA, hover and unable to swim without holding onto the reg in their mouth.

So of the 100 OW certs you have given, you have had to not sign off on two, downgrade 12, and do numerous remedial trainings..... That's not a very good instructor success rate. Maybe you need some tips?

 

[Angelo Farina]

So of the 100 OW certs you have given, you have had to not sign off on two, downgrade 12, and do numerous remedial trainings..... That's not a very good instructor success rate. Maybe you need some tips?

As said, when I started the success rate was 20% or less.
The instructors were truly excellent.
Simply there was zero toleramce for errors, lack of self control, improper breathing, etc.
The failure rate depends mostly on the instructor's tolerance to errors than on his capability of providing good training.
It must also be said that at the time the exam was done by a foreign examiner who was not knowing either students and instructors.
In practice he was evaluating also the team of instructors, not only the students...

 

[Jcp2]

Here we are worrying about what constitutes a valid open water diving certification when we forget that most of us have to travel a bit to get to any diving opportunity. Have you looked at the quality of your fellow drivers lately? I think it’s gotten worse with cell phones. I can hardly answer my texts without somebody honking at me.

 

[Miyaru]

Last weekend some students didn't pass the requirements for OW3 and OW4. I wouldn't say failed the course (yet), but they require additional training. Although the previous OW2 dive was flawless, these issues showed during OW3:

• unable to clear a mask at depth, followed by an ascent to the surface (ascent controlled by instructor)
• poor buoyancy control
• unable to stay off the bottom, resulting in limited visibility followed by stress requiring instructor intervention
• no adequate response to hand signals

During debriefing the students indicated that "it just wasn't their day". That might be, but the sea doesn't care about that. Mess up too much, and you become a statistic. On every dive you have to pass the minimum requirements.
The rain and low temperature didn't really contribute to the fun factor, so that might have played a role as well.