When I told my customer that completing the open water course would take a minimum of 3 to 4 days, he started to whine. "But that's sooooo long, can't you make it any shorter?" Really? If I were paying for a course, I would want to maximize the amount of in-water and classroom time. I would want the most for my money, not the least. As an instructor, I try to discourage students from rushing through something as serious scuba training. Sadly, these days my point of view sounds idealistic. Here are some reasons you should look for longer (not shorter) open water courses, and ways to get the most out of your in-class time.
1. Divers Learn Through Repetition
Student divers learn underwater skills, such as mask clearing, through repetition. Each basic skill should be practiced to the point that it becomes engrained in the student's muscle memory. If skills are not reviewed until they are automatic, a diver will probably not be able to preform a complicated skill in a stressful situation or after the passage of time. The shorter open water course, the less time students will have to practice and repeat skills to the point of mastery.
2. My Brain Is Full
Divers need time to absorb information. Students who attempt to watch the instructional DVD, read the entire student manual, take the quizzes, and complete all the pool and open water dives in a few days are unlikely to retain all the course information. The open water course involves quite a bit of memorization (such as the pre-dive equipment checks and proper descent procedures) as well as mastering complicated topics such as depth-pressure relationships and dive planning with the recreational dive tables. Students who try to cram the huge amount of information presented in the open water course into as little time as possible are likely to become exhausted and overwhelmed, and not learn as much!
3. Consider Your Options Before Choosing a Course Format
Most training organizations offer the open water course in a variety of formats to accommodate even the busiest of schedules. Instead of trying to cram the entire open water course into three vacation days or a weekend back home, consider options such as online theory courses and referral courses which allow divers to complete some portions of the course without a specific deadline. Many local dive shops offer theory and pool courses at night over several weeks, followed by a weekend of open water check-out dives. While these courses take more time, they have the advantage of spreading out the information and making it more approachable.
4. Do your Homework
What is the best way to complete the open water course efficiently and still have plenty of time to practice? Show up to class prepared. As an instructor, I frequently spend valuable pool time helping students memorize the steps of the pre-dive safety check and the 5-point descent, techniques outlined in both the student manual and DVDs. Students who learn the information in the student manual, complete the study questions, and familiarize themselves with the basic diving skills presented in the manual show up to class more prepared to succeed than those who don't.
A diver recently told me that a dive shop in his home town is giving open water courses (theory, pool classes, and open water dives) in 2 days, because people just want to "get it over with" as quickly as possible. As a conscientious instructor, I fail to see how it is possible to teach the course in such little time. If a student is not willing to commit the minimum amount of time and energy necessary to a complete a proper open water course, he should enroll in a diving experience course instead. Take responsibility for your diving education. Show up to class prepared and invest time and energy in learning to be a safe diver. A scuba certification should be earned through hard work and practice, not sold to students by instructors who do the bare minimum required for certification.
Speak Up! Do you think short open water courses are okay?
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Comments
Couldn’t agree more! Some dive shops in the area are beginning to teach the open water course in ONE DAY! That seems risky …
When people ask me about diving courses, I always tell them as well to take one that takes place 1-2 nights per week then followed by an open water weekend. For the exact same reasons you mention. Unfortunately the “quicky courses” are here to stay as the market for those type of courses is there and agencies know they will lose $$$ if they don’t offer them.
The same can be said about specialty courses, I took cavern diver all the way to full cave over eight days in Florida, and found the daily task loading overwhelming at times (despite my twenty years of recreational diving). If I were to do it again, I would split the course in two, taking a Summer between sessions to practice and perfect some important skills back home (among others reeling, which didn’t come to me naturally)
Geee, I wish all the people considering taking any diving course, specially the open water diver, would read this. And instructors too. I know the industry needs the “quick” course, that’s why there is PADI Scuba Diver course. I think the open water diver course should be taken slowly, as you said repeat, repeat, repeat. I can see the difference when I have a client that took the proper course or a client that took the fast course. Cannot compare the skills!!! They don’t even know how to assemble their equipment. Basically they spent money for the full course but learned about the same like taking Discovery scuba course.
Thanks for the great article again
Hi there
I agree, the more time spent completing the course the better the diver you turn out. Instructors turning students out just for the ” numbers” create divers barley capable of diving let alone handling any form of emergency. I have seen too many people doing 4 20 min dives and then sending students off . I believe most people need to spend at least 5 hours under water during training
Greed rules everything…instructors want to get paid more per hour….want more clients…5 hours underwater versus four 20 minute dives…same cost for course likely… 4 times hourly rate…. short one versus long one….
I don’t see the problem in shortening the course if the student is willing to put in the extra effort.
My husband and I wanted our cards in the minimum time so we could spend some time diving rather than parked in front of a video in a classroom. We certainly ended up putting in at least ten to twelve hours drilling one another on the materials in the book, but the extra work on our part allowed to to arrive at the pool and each subsequent dive ready to roll.
We only did four dives for our card (not counting pool dives) but each dive we were tested over and over even if we did a skill correctly the first time. I think it depends on many factors, quality of instructors, students, dive sites, etc.