Posted by John H. Moore on July 09, 2002 at 09:09:31:
In Reply to: Why We Don't Teach Beach Diving (full version) posted by Ken Kurtis on July 08, 2002 at 22:19:14:
Beach diving is not the "end-all-be-all measure of the competency of a diver", but it is one of a number of necessary skills for diving in California. It's not like beach diving here is the same as in, say, Fiji. You have to actually have some clue about what to do ... instead of just skipping on in. And far too often we see people at the beach who don't have that clue.
Yes, sometimes I see instructors taking classes out in conditions where I'm thinking, "what an idiot, these people are never going to dive again" -- because they're just getting beat up. So certainly instructors should use some real discretion in choosing the surf conditions they use. But they should at least get the students started on learning about surf entries.
(And for the not-weak students, if the surf is too big, then dump the dive gear and just go play in the surf zone in wetsuits... you can learn a lot that way.)
As to "de-certify all the instructors in Kansas, Chicago, Denver, New York, and all the other places where beach diving is simply NOT an option": yes, instruction there is a good thing; but, no, they are not adequately preparing divers for surf entries in places like California. You meet some of those divers who are smart enough to realize that they need to learn about surf once they get here, but sadly some just plow on in... and some of them end up in the newspaper. (And some do just fine.)
(By the way, Ken, Chicago has both beaches and surf -- generally smaller than here, but sometimes substantial.)
Ken, honest question: is your customer demographic so different that your customers really don't beach dive -- or even dive much in the U.S.?
I _do_ get your point about the tension between getting people to continue past the certification and training them about surf... I just think that beach diving is a normal component of diving in California and students should get some exposure to not-huge surf...
John