Posted by Jim Hoffmann on October 16, 2000 at 16:51:18:
In Reply to: PADI sells out, yet again... posted by MHK on October 16, 2000 at 12:09:04:
MHK,PADI sold out a long time ago, and the diving industries recession in the 90's has made it worse.
I have some real issues with PADI training Standards(no hourly requirements for entry level classes, 3 day entry level programs, cert. 10 year olds,on-line academic cert. just to name a few)but having PADI set-up Tech programs is really a bad idea(given PADI's track record).
What I don't see is how PADI is going to make money selling Tech programs. There are only a few divers qualified to do the type of diving you and JW do ( and do it safely). Tech diving is not for everybody it takes years of diving and hundreds of dives to get to the comfort level needed to make real TECH dives.
If PADI's plan is to mass market TECH and make everyone a "TECH DIVER" then that is a real problem for the diving community(and a boom for the Lawyers).
The Tech agencies do a fairly good job at what they do (GUE, IANTD, NACD, CDS-NSS)PADI and NAUI should keep their noses out of it.
JIm Hoffmann
NAUI 5888
PADI 6301
Scuba Toys
PS,On page 106 in the new Dive Training is an ad "Become a PADI Instructor or Technical Diving Instructor " (has the boom for the lawyers already started)?