why are there very few young divers?
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Doomnova
Contributor
I started when I was 25 but that was after working pretty damn hard the year before while living at home before I moved to the coast. Bought my own gear and took 5 or 6 classes. Now university sucks my money away but since I onw my own stuff I'm out usually every other weekend or more, but in canada the start up costs are pretty painful for the gear you need. The cost a single drysuit here would be enough to buy a good basic level tropical kit...
Perhaps you have difficulty with reading. It's nothing to be ashamed about; be proud of the things you do well, and pay no attention to the ragamuffins who seem to think everyone who got off the little yellow busses was fair game.
The most important part of the whippersnapper post was the last part, the issue of demographics. I did say some rather critical things about compulsive texters, but just about everyone over 30 with a three digit IQ is aware of the problem.
The rest was essentially agreement with a previous poster.
I just want you to know how much you hurt me with you cavalier dismissive reductionist ill-informed badly considered comment. Just for that I'm going to point out that the comma you inserted after 'between' could have been saved, put aside and used in your next post in a place where it would have felt more comfortable.
Triker
Registered
I'm 27 and was certified this past July (2013). Twenty three dives so far and for southern Indiana I don't think that is too bad. I agree the barriers for those in my age group would be the pressures of starting a family, finances, and demanding careers. I also think the misconception, at least for those in my area, is that you must travel to exotic locations to dive. I've had a blast diving in quarries, lakes, and strip pits that are local or a few hours away (Mermet, Haigh, etc.). Even the couple of times I've dove and had one-foot visibility have still been fun and I've learned something. Non-divers with whom I have spoken seem shocked that you can dive anywhere around here.
I do think the most important part of bringing new folks to the sport of diving is just that: Get out and dive! For those that do not dive, we can only hope they will see or speak with a diver and it will pique their interest. If they take it and run with it, then great. If not, then that is their choice. Having an encouraging instructor also helps. What cemented my desire to learn to dive was meeting my potential instructor and having a short chat.
I do think the most important part of bringing new folks to the sport of diving is just that: Get out and dive! For those that do not dive, we can only hope they will see or speak with a diver and it will pique their interest. If they take it and run with it, then great. If not, then that is their choice. Having an encouraging instructor also helps. What cemented my desire to learn to dive was meeting my potential instructor and having a short chat.
Have you seen the movie Phone Booth? After Colin Farrell dismisses the pizza guy and the phone rings. The sniper, played by Kiefer Sutherland, says "Isn't in funny? You hear a phone ring and it could be anybody, but a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn't it?" Farrell says, "What?". Sutherland responds "I hope you realize how you've hurt my feelings". After reading what you wrote, you totally reminded me of that bold part.
GUERRILLA
Registered
Hi:
There are a lot of young divers in Deerfield Beach, Florida and Jupiter, Florida. Also, there are a lot of young divers down in the Florida Keys!
Video: The Dream Is Always The Same on Vimeo
There are a lot of young divers in Deerfield Beach, Florida and Jupiter, Florida. Also, there are a lot of young divers down in the Florida Keys!
Video: The Dream Is Always The Same on Vimeo
Yep, as I think we've seen in this thread, Triker in Indiana is the exception, and GUERILLA in Florida is the norm: In the comparatively limited places where there's excellent coastal diving, there are many young divers. But few young people in the vast heartland get excited at the prospect of diving quarries and lakes and have neither the time nor money for many tropical trips. Those determined few who get into it, like Triker, are probably on SB!
dive_turkey
Contributor
Just to contribute to what most everyone else here has said. That's a tough time in life to be taking on highly devoted hobbies like scuba diving.
I was certified at the age of 12 (back in 1993) while staying with my grandparents in Puerto Rico, it was all I could think about and all I wanted to do. Then I went back to school away from reasonable dive sites and dive buddies. I dove again at 16 when I'd coincidentally run into some other teenagers (ages 16-19) that were all certified and headed to a dive two weeks later. Between the 4 of us, we were able to find a van that works, scroung up enough gear and borrow the rest. We drove an hour and a half to a crappy lake and took on 3 or 4 dives. Then I went back to my regular school year again with no more opportunities to continue diving.
Then college. First I was dirt poor, played on the hockey team, and spent the rest of my time chasing tail and earning C's. Later in college life I was an Army Reservist, worked full time, was the VP of my fraternity, and was majoring in architecture (and finally putting up some good grades). No time to dive, no friends to dive with, no dive sites within a 10 hour drive.
Then enters the start of a career. I was at least two states seperated from any good water, and again had no friends to dive with.
Now, finally, at the age of 32, I have the means to dive. While there are still not many great dive sites near by, I finally have an LDS, two dive buddies, one here and one in Belgium, and my wife is taking her basic in the spring. It's still a challenge amongst a busy schedule, tight budget, and competing interests.
In summary, I think there are kids in their 20's who are diving. However, those first ten years of learning how to be an adult make it really tough to get involved in a sport that requires so much devotion, attention, time, and even luck just to participate.
I'd say scuba diving is a lot like sailing. Without the proper access and skilled company, it's just not feasable to be that active in the sport.
I was certified at the age of 12 (back in 1993) while staying with my grandparents in Puerto Rico, it was all I could think about and all I wanted to do. Then I went back to school away from reasonable dive sites and dive buddies. I dove again at 16 when I'd coincidentally run into some other teenagers (ages 16-19) that were all certified and headed to a dive two weeks later. Between the 4 of us, we were able to find a van that works, scroung up enough gear and borrow the rest. We drove an hour and a half to a crappy lake and took on 3 or 4 dives. Then I went back to my regular school year again with no more opportunities to continue diving.
Then college. First I was dirt poor, played on the hockey team, and spent the rest of my time chasing tail and earning C's. Later in college life I was an Army Reservist, worked full time, was the VP of my fraternity, and was majoring in architecture (and finally putting up some good grades). No time to dive, no friends to dive with, no dive sites within a 10 hour drive.
Then enters the start of a career. I was at least two states seperated from any good water, and again had no friends to dive with.
Now, finally, at the age of 32, I have the means to dive. While there are still not many great dive sites near by, I finally have an LDS, two dive buddies, one here and one in Belgium, and my wife is taking her basic in the spring. It's still a challenge amongst a busy schedule, tight budget, and competing interests.
In summary, I think there are kids in their 20's who are diving. However, those first ten years of learning how to be an adult make it really tough to get involved in a sport that requires so much devotion, attention, time, and even luck just to participate.
I'd say scuba diving is a lot like sailing. Without the proper access and skilled company, it's just not feasable to be that active in the sport.
It's a tough issue to try to decode, to understand. Obviously people are different within and across generations. There is no doubt, though, that older generations spent a lot more time outside doing things on their own, with little or no parental involvement.
I was taught to swim underwater when I was a small toddler, less than three. I began snorkeling in the ocean at the Jersey Shore, and in the back bays where family lived when I was about 5 or 6. By the time I was 8 I was pretty good. My family had no problems with me getting on my bike and going to the bay or the ocean to snorkel with my little round mask, plastic flippers and snorkel all by myself. I was a very early solo diver, I suppose.
We spent part of the summer near a lovely old lake with visibility that was sometimes reached 2 feet, but was more normally less than a foot. Didn't matter to me. I'd swim out to an old wooden coffer dam left over from the main dam's construction. It was in 20 feet of water, but one broad plank came up within 5 feet of the surface. It took many repetitive dives to locate, but was a treasure trove of fishing lures. The main thing was that I was in the water, with the fish and turtles and frogs.
I started scuba with other people's borrowed equipment in my mid-teens. I didn't know any certified divers and the only dive shop I knew of was where I got my flippers, mask and fins: Richards Aqua Lung Center on Times Square in Manhattan. I went there on my own as well, when I was old enough, about 9 or 10. Subways are easy, and a fabulous adventure when you are 10.
I hated to be dependent, to rely on family or friends to bring me anywhere if I could do it myself. I know I was far from alone in having these kinds of sentiments. My friends and I delighted in disappearing for a couple of days every now and then in summer, despite the painful consequences. God, the fun we had!
I'm still that way at heart, prefer solo diving and refuse to allow tourist boat DMs to touch or 'check' my equipment, and love to go to places where there are no other people around. Maybe all the technology has made better persons in place of the wild little things we were. And maybe it has not. Nothing I did cost very much money. I made do, but I did things as I saw fit. I felt free, and I think I really was.
I was taught to swim underwater when I was a small toddler, less than three. I began snorkeling in the ocean at the Jersey Shore, and in the back bays where family lived when I was about 5 or 6. By the time I was 8 I was pretty good. My family had no problems with me getting on my bike and going to the bay or the ocean to snorkel with my little round mask, plastic flippers and snorkel all by myself. I was a very early solo diver, I suppose.
We spent part of the summer near a lovely old lake with visibility that was sometimes reached 2 feet, but was more normally less than a foot. Didn't matter to me. I'd swim out to an old wooden coffer dam left over from the main dam's construction. It was in 20 feet of water, but one broad plank came up within 5 feet of the surface. It took many repetitive dives to locate, but was a treasure trove of fishing lures. The main thing was that I was in the water, with the fish and turtles and frogs.
I started scuba with other people's borrowed equipment in my mid-teens. I didn't know any certified divers and the only dive shop I knew of was where I got my flippers, mask and fins: Richards Aqua Lung Center on Times Square in Manhattan. I went there on my own as well, when I was old enough, about 9 or 10. Subways are easy, and a fabulous adventure when you are 10.
I hated to be dependent, to rely on family or friends to bring me anywhere if I could do it myself. I know I was far from alone in having these kinds of sentiments. My friends and I delighted in disappearing for a couple of days every now and then in summer, despite the painful consequences. God, the fun we had!
I'm still that way at heart, prefer solo diving and refuse to allow tourist boat DMs to touch or 'check' my equipment, and love to go to places where there are no other people around. Maybe all the technology has made better persons in place of the wild little things we were. And maybe it has not. Nothing I did cost very much money. I made do, but I did things as I saw fit. I felt free, and I think I really was.
I started when I was 16 many moons ago, now I'm in my 50's and many of my buddies are under 30. I work at a university and am a member of the dive club; hence my younger buddies. There are quite a few young divers here and more are learning to dive. The club has three or four kits for members to use,the club fee is $50 per semester and there is a dive scheduled for almost every weekend. Keeps me young.
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