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Scuba diving and finger joint problems 8-Feb-2007 At 1:34:52 AM PensionerPower

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On 7/02/2007 DJ Biggs wrote:
>I'm just saying that I disagree with there being such a monopoly on diver training

"Monopoly"? A monopoly is a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller. But there are probably almost a hundred recreational diver training agencies around the world, any any diver is free to choose from any in his/her area. In Australia, over the years, there have been FAUI, NAUI, NASDS, SSI, BSAC, and probably others that I've never heard of. But still, a majority of recreational divers, world wide, choose to train through PADI. This is not a "monopoly" - it is a large number of presumeably intelligent adults making a free decision about who to train with.

>....and its open water course being dumbed down excessively for
>the masses leaving people unable to plan and execute their own dives (without
>extra courses) for the sake of expansion ($).

Have you ever read the documented training standards for competing training agency's Open Water Diver courses? If you had, you'd know that they are very similar. There is no evidence whatever, that PADI or any other agency have "dumbed down" their Open Water courses. That's an insult that's easy to make - typically by folks with no instructional experience.

> watching people crash into coral fans just makes me cringe.

Me too. But a mandatory performance requirement of the PADI Open Water Diver course, is that the student demonstrates bouyancy control by performing the "fin pivot" and "hover" exercises, using the power inflator AND manual inflation, in the pool AND open water. So if a student is certified without those skills, that's the instructor's fault - not PADI's. Have you ever seen non-PADI divers with no bouyancy control? (I sure have) Does that mean that all those other agencies have "dumbed down" their courses also?

> "PADI, currently recognized as the largest single entity in the diving
>industry with retail sales in excess of $250 million." ....didn't dig too
>deep but its a fairly profitable organisation isn't it?

Yes. So?

>I'm just bitter because I didn't do padi :) and it was $23 dollars worth
>of "vintage" 1962 notes, sheesh who could afford fifty.

When I did my beginners course, the course notes were "roneo'd"! : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph

PP