Posted by MHK on October 16, 2000 at 12:09:04:
Forgive me if this is old news to some, but it has just been brought to my attention that PADI allows a diver to enter the Divemaster program with 20 dives... It's hard for me to keep up with PADI's continued slide downwards in favor of market share so if this isn't new news than I'm sorry..
They won't sell you the C-card until you hit 60 dives, but the notion of entering a DM program with only 20 dives under a divers belt is the height of absurdity.. And they wonder why we make fun of them??? I know Jim Hoffman caught some flak last week for suggesting PADI wasn't up to speed.. Jim was right then and I'm right now!!
PADI has sold out and this needs to stop particularly if they really do intend to serioulsy enter the tech market.. The need to demonstrate that they understand that not everyone is capable of doing all things underwater.. This notion of selling C-cards up the food chain is freightening..
See http://www.padi.com/courses/pro/divemaster.stm
Next time I say the certifying agencies are watered down and dumbed down and I'm asked for proof please refer to this post.. This is ridiculous..
Later