Why is Scuba Diving a Transitional Sport?

[markmud]

Hello All,

Sam Miller 111 wrote a post in the thread Percentage of divers who go beyond openwater?.

Bob DBF followed that thread with What is your highest certification?

In synopsis format, Sam mentioned Skin Diver magazine and their 5 surveys over a 25 year period. Those surveys seem to prove that scuba diving is a transitional avocation. The average term was 2.9 years.

2.9 years is where I started having issues with the sport and specifically dive operators.

Three years ago I was very close to being a scuba diving drop-out. My wife was farther along in the drop-out cycle than I was. I still had hope.

Why is scuba diving a transitional sport?

Is 2.9 years the average for most avocations?

How did you find your niche in scuba?

thanks,
markm

 

[EastEndDiver]

I've been diving for over 4 decades so have a lot of people I know .It was a much smaller group of divers back then there was much longer training I guess more of a commitment was put forth by most ,everyone sort of knew everyone in a general geographic location not as if that has anything to do with dropout rates.

I don't know why people drop out after such a short time I can see people dropping out for injuries or illness but that is usually over a longer time span.

 

[PfcAJ]

Hello All,

Sam Miller 111 wrote a post in the thread Percentage of divers who go beyond openwater?.

Bob DBF followed that thread with What is your highest certification?

In synopsis format, Sam mentioned Skin Diver magazine and their 5 surveys over a 25 year period. Those surveys seem to prove that scuba diving is a transitional avocation. The average term was 2.9 years.

2.9 years is where I started having issues with the sport and specifically dive operators.

Three years ago I was very close to being a scuba diving drop-out. My wife was farther along in the drop-out cycle than I was. I still had hope.

Why is scuba diving a transitional sport?

Is 2.9 years the average for most avocations?

How did you find your niche in scuba?

thanks,
markm

I grew up around the water, so getting scuba certified was a pretty natural progression. I was diving pretty regularly, but it wasn’t an “all in” activity like it is now.

One day I asked the manager at my local dive shop “what’s next?” and he suggested a cavern class.

That’s where I found that cave diving was really what interested me, and I’ve been all about it ever since.

 

[Jiminy]

What happened with the operators?

 

[lowviz]

How did you find your niche in scuba?

I didn't vote yet as none of the choices apply to me. I started diving as something for my son. He moved on and I stopped for a while but missed being underwater. Now I dive where I want to and when I want to. All local diving.

It simply becomes one of your skills and abilities, it doesn't have to be something you feel you need to be a slave to or defend to others. Just a sport, one of your 'things'.

I love to 'see what is down there' in all sorts of local places. I can, and do.

 

[rongoodman]

I've been at it for 12 years, I'm 72 now. I did the cave, trimix, and rebreather thing a few years ago, but now I'm back to warm(ish) water liveaboard trips. I don't see myself stopping any time soon and on every trip I appreciate the skills I picked up in the cave classes.

 

[Scott]

Going on year 36.
While I don't live in a diving mecca location, there are plenty of good diving locations near by and great diving is only a flight away.
Finding opportunities to keep the flame lit is pretty easy. Caves a couple hours away, deep about 6 hours, salty water and wrecks a days drive.

Why is it transitional? I think for most it's a bucket list. They get certified for a trip, go on a couple more over the next couple of years and then find someplace else to go or something else to do. IMHO

 

[Compressor]

It's commitment to something you want to get good at. The answer cannot be summarized in a few sentences but is multifactorial. Among some of the factors here are a few:

1. Did you have a good mentor? The instructor should instill in you the drive to want to excel not just do the skills required by some standard.
2. Did one get their own equipment soon after class?
3. Did they learn diving in hospitable water conditions or did the OW session occur with water temp so cold the students just wants to finish?
4. What was primary motivation for taking up scuba?
5. Did the student have good buddies or someone to continue diving after course completion?
6. Was a body of water around for the dive.
7. .....

This is just a start.

I'm sure other will make greater contributions than what I have mentioned above.

For me, I started in 1984. While some years had sparse diving (variety of academic reasons), I don't think I ever missed a year without diving.

 

[stepfen]

I don't think SB is the place to seek answers to such questions. People in here are active divers. Ranging from very old down to very new including people who are about to drop out (for whatever reason). However once somebody stops diving I don't think he/she will find much interest in SB.

 

[Divectionist]

I got certified during a holiday at age 14 and in the 14 years since, I was largely confined to a few dives with rented equipment on holidays to tropical destinations because I lived in landlocked Europe with no desire to do the local dives.

This changed when I moved to a part of the world where I could see the ocean from my bed and pay a little fee to join a dive boat to decent sites, or cash in a few work frequent flyer miles for a free trip to the GBR for a weekend.

So for me, getting certified was a matter of 'holiday experience'. Diving then was a matter for doing it whenever I was near tropical dive sites, because I could and wanted to. Then, since I live where I can do the type of diving that interests me (not in a murky lake), I purchased exactly the gear I wanted and go for local boat dives every other weekend or so, and shore dives when I find a buddy.

In terms of certs, I then did the AOWD purely to be allowed to dive all sites when going with dive operators, and Nitrox because I am convinced that it is the better gas for all rec depth diving. I considered doing Rescue, but then I always rather spend the time doing joy dives.