Compiled and
edited by Jeffrey Bozanic
While many persons
remain active in diving throughout the year, many do not. Generally
the active divers maintain competency with their skills. However, those
persons who opt not to dive regularly, or who do not have the opportunity
to dive regularly because of their geographic location or by virtue
of some other reason may have their skill levels degrade significantly.
This is one of the prime reasons that diver requalification has been
discussed as vigorously as it has been this past year.
The extreme examples
of infrequent diving activity are the persons who, once certified, only
dive during their vacations. This may occur annually, or even less frequently.
Our members in the resort diving areas see the highest percentage of
these sporadic divers. While there are many possible approaches to mitigate
the possible consequences of such infrequent activity, this month's
Forum revolved about the suggestion made by Bret Gilliam (NAUI 3234L),
Director of Diving Operation and Aquatic Activity for Ocean Quest International,
a dive/cruise operation.
He posed the
question of allowing instructors and dive operators to immediately appropriate
certification cards of persons whose diving skills had degraded to the
point that they were hazards to both themselves and their buddies. No
definition for "obviously incompetent or unable" divers was
proposed, nor did he recommend that this was the best manner in which
to approach the problem. His thought was that this is one possible manner
in which we might be able to increase the quality of the divers in resort
settings, a problem he deals with daily in his diving operations.
While relatively
few responses are included in this column, the membership was unanimously
opposed to this concept. The issue of due process was of concern, as
was the potential problem with arbitrary revocation of certification
cards. Many members compared this type of activity with those likely
to be found in "police states," where individual rights are
repressed.
The most common
alternative given was to take the name of the diver's instructor, reporting
that to the Branch Manager or Headquarters. Then, if an instructor's
name appeared an inordinate number of times he/she could be contacted
regarding the quality of instruction. However, this recommendation disregards
the time lag between instruction and the diving activity, where information
that the diver may have been taught has been forgotten due to no fault
of the instructor involved.
The problem of
sporadic divers with degrading skill levels is an issue which will not
disappear in the coming years, and will need further discussion before
an acceptable solution is attained. Your input to this issue in the
form of responses to this column, participation in roundtables with
industry leaders at conferences like ICUE and DEMA, and suggestions
made to headquarters staff and the Board of Directors will assist this
process.
QUESTION: "SHOULD
AN INSTRUCTOR/DIVE OPERATOR BE PERMITTED TO CONFISCATE A C-CARD ON THE
SPOT FOR OBVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT/UNABLE DIVERS? WHY/WHY NOT?"
A. I personally
do not think an instructor can pull a person's certification card. The
individual paid for training which led to his being issued a certification
card by an instructor who, by so doing, indicated that in his opinion
the individual had met all necessary requirements set forth by the issuing
agency. If the person is a poor diver it should be documented to the
ethics committee of the certifying agency for action against the instructor.
--James
R. Stewart, NAUI A-88; La Jolla, CA(Diving Officer for Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, and the National Science Foundation. Has extensive
research diving and instruction experience worldwide. Member, NAUI Board
of Advisors, Recipient of the Leonard Greenstone Award, NOGI Award,
and other awards. Has written diving safety guidelines for a wide variety
of governmental and private institutions.)
A. NO!! This
might go over in Russia, but it is definitely not for the United States.
It would be like giving your driving instructor from high school the
ability to take your drivers license away for speeding. Our responsibility
as instructors is to train SCUBA divers and issue certification cards
if all requirements and met AND the student has the proper attitude
to be a safe diver. Although it is difficult to withhold a certification
card from a student who you know will abuse the privilege of certification,
it is not impossible. This is the time to do it, not after they receive
their card.
A good student could develop bad habits after certification. If they
were properly trained this is less likely. If a diver continues to show
dangerous diving practices after certification I believe NAUI should
be able to "pull their card" but only in the same manner an
instructor can loose his/her instructor card. This would be accomplished
through an ethic committee and jury of his/her peers. But, then again,
when was the last time you heard of a NAUI Instructor getting their
card pulled? Lord knows there are a few bad apples in that barrel.
--Hank
Tonnemacher, NAUI 4286; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands(President of
Seven Seas Limited, a diving instructional and underwater videography
company. As a Professional Educator has taught both privately and managed
a number of resort diving operations. Has taught all levels up to and
including ITCs. Past Dive Officer for Hydrolab, an underwater scientific
habitat which was based at West Indies Laboratory.)
A. No way. This
would be like a police officer confiscating your drivers license for
an alleged traffic violation. The obvious objective is to prevent an
accident if incompetent or unsafe activities are observed. On a boat
trip, for example, the divemaster simply suspends a divers activities
if they are demonstrating unsafe diving practices. If he or she makes
a big deal out of it, make it clear what the rules are. If they cannot
abide by them, they are not welcomed back. A list of "offenders"
could be kept.
On the other hand, if a diver finds him/herself on a trip or in a situation
where the conditions are more advanced than the diver was trained in,
he may appear to be "incompetent". How many instructors will
be able to discern this? What criteria should be used? Would getting
caught in a current and becoming tired, and possibly requiring assistance
qualify for revocation of certification? How about falling down in the
surf? I can see the instructors rushing down to the shoreline ready
to pull the divers card!!
We must remember that there are very few actual laws controlling diving.
While we should certainly be concerned with obviously incompetent or
unable divers, confiscating their C-card is not the solution. Perhaps
it lies in continuing education or "requalification". Incidentally,
would an instructor trainer be able to confiscate an instructor's C-Card?
--John
Heine, NAUI 5924; Moss Landing, CA(Diving Safety Officer at the Moss
Landing Marine Laboratories of the California State University. Course-director
for 3 ITC's. Past Mid-Pacific Branch manager. Serves as Secretary of
the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, and is a contributing editor
of Sources. Holds a masters degree in marine biology.)
A. I do not believe
this would be a feasible practice for the rank and file divers. However,
NAUI officials (Branch Managers for example) should have the ability
to temporarily suspend an Instructor's teaching privileges for unsafe
practices pending due process.
--Ronald
J. Ryan, NAUI 7205L; Two Harbors, Catalina Island, CA(Supervisor, Catalina
Hyperbaric Chamber. Past employee in the commercial diving industry,
where his duties included mixing special gasses for diving.)
A. There are
two reasons instructors should not be able to confiscate certification
cards. The first is that it is unconstitutional and the diving community
does not need to join in the police state/intimidation mentality that
already permeates our society. Secondly divers are generally in the
sport for recreation and should not have to be looking over their shoulders
for some bored, neurotic instructor who wants to impress his friends
and impose his/her standards on the rest of the diving community by
confiscating certification cards. As an alternative may I suggest that
the name of the diver's instructor be obtained and the instructor's
certification card revoked, as they have failed in their duties to train
the diver properly.
--Don
Canestro, NAUI 5877; Santa Barbara, CA(Research diver at the University
of California, Santa Barbara. Has taught extensively in university settings.)
A. NO! If instructors
start behaving like cops then the divers will begin behaving like criminals
and then one of the good guys just might get shot. Seriously, we need
to make sure we put only the qualified students in possession of "C"
cards. As instructors we need to be able to say "no, you need more
training" before we just give out cards. Quality instruction should
come before dollars!
--John
N. Sayer, NAUI #11122; Fullerton, CA(Staff at North Orange County Regional
Occupational Program. Teaches Openwater I to ITCs.)
A. This is a
controversial question with a wide range of ramifications. As dive leaders
we are trained to teach safe diving. But, what would be defined as obviously
incompetent/unable? Would entering through surf with mask on forehead
and fins around wrist be considered incompetent, even if the diver successfully
makes the entry. And if a diver is proven incompetent/unable doesn't
that reflect something about their training? If so, should instructors
be liable their students' incompetence? Should the instructor have their
teaching privileges revoked? What if this person refuses to hand over
their C-card, should we physically confiscate the card?
To me it makes much more sense to have a renewable C-card, for everyone,
even lifetime members. NAUI can be the owner of the card and can revoke
the card holders privilege if that individual is found incompetent/unable
by a peer review board. This shouldn't allow the incompetent diver's
instructor to get off "scott-free". If too many of any particular
instructor's students are found incompetent maybe NAUI should take action
against this instructor.
--James
Weston, NAUI ????; Santa Cruz?, CA(Private Professional Instructor,
had taught for Fort Ord, dive stores and universities.)
A. Turning the
question around for illustration purposes, should divers be able to
confiscate the C-cards of obviously incompetent instructors or dive
operators? Unfortunately, situations will arise when either response
might be justified, however unrealistic.
Diving is, and must remain, a self-policing activity. We have no option
but to rely on the good offices of independent instructors to ensure
that the minimum standards for certification are met. Each member must
then make a conscious effort to maintain and/or develop adequate skills
to continue to dive safely and encourage and assist others to do the
same. Recognizing the potential for "bad days", etc., it is
inappropriate to expect instructors to make sound decisions without
a full appreciation of the skills, capabilities, or background of any
diver in question. With the additional risk of abuse arising from interpersonal
conflicts, the idea of confiscation becomes totally inappropriate.
--Neal
Pollock, NAUI 7068; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (Diving Officer
for the University of British Columbia, and past President of the Canadian
Association for Underwater Science. Past candidate for the NAUI Canada
Board of Directors.)
A. Working at
a busy Caribbean dive resort, I find this question particularly important
as well as particularly difficult to answer. There are many divers who
no doubt should have their cards revoked as they have absolutely no
watermanship and diving skills as well as no basic knowledge or respect
of diving theory. In these cases I feel like I have my hands tied behind
my back and I just want to grab that card and cut it up. Unfortunately,
to choose a standard as to when a card could be revoked would be nearly
impossible. I have come to a sad realization that the majority of divers
lack greatly in some area of basic knowledge or skill. The largest single
problem being not knowing how to or simply not using the dive tables.
Some cannot remove and replace their mask on the surface without problems,
yet are confident that they can go unguided on a reef dive, while others
can dive circles around most but do not know the difference between
nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness, nor could they name a
single symptom of either. So where do you draw the line?
If we have the power to randomly revoke, I am afraid that those who
honestly want help may be afraid to ask as they would feel that since
I forgot they are going to take my card away. We do need some power
to retest, reteach, or revoke. I think that the key to this problem
comes back to the age old question of recertification which is an equally
difficult one to answer. I hope that some day soon we can reach a compromise
such as a short knowledge review exam and a one dive skill review session
rather than a mandatory course. If a diver cannot complete this successfully,
then a review course be required or their card revoked. This could be
a yearly requirement, or administered at any time at the discretion
of an instructor. In this way we can remain fair to all and find some
of the silent problem divers as well as the obvious bozos.
--Pamela
Teitel, NAUI 11583; Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (Assistant Manager
and Head of Instruction for Sand Dollar Dive and Photo. Has worked full
time in dive stores both in management and instruction for six years
on Bonaire, and for three years before that in New York. A PADI Master
Instructor who recently crossed over to NAUI.)
A. Today I received
a client who is certified as a NAUI diver. He is also an asthmatic and
a heavy smoker. He says he was certified by obtaining a medical release.
I think this would have been a wonderful opportunity to confiscate the
certification card. It then could have been sent to NAUI, allowing him
an opportunity to prove he is fit to dive in order to get the card back.
This may be the "Russian" way! But do we realize that the
good, old American way purports to gives these types of divers the right
to continue to put themselves, NAUI, their NAUI Instructors, and most
importantly the dive operators at risk?!
We need at least one good leftist opinion in this column. We are seeing
many instances of medical release abuse. These people should not be
allowed to continue their diving activities.
--Bill
Horn; Cozumel, Mexico(Owner of Aqua Safari, a NAUI Pro Facility. Has
spoken at IQs and other diving conferences. Is involved in many diving
safety activities on the island of Cozumel.)
A. After reading
Members' Forum in the July/August issue of Sources, I feel that some
of the comments made by the writers who replied were very harsh in suggesting
that the instructor be disciplined because of an incompetent former
student.
Three factors are essential to successfully train a student--adequate
course content and standards, a competent instructor, and a student
with the willingness and ability to absorb the knowledge and master
the necessary skills.
However, even if the student was correctly and successfully trained
by a capable instructor, according to the training agency's standards,
that does not guarantee that the student will continue to be an efficient,
safe diver. The instructor cannot force the student to dive regularly
dive or to advance their diving knowledge and education.
The instructor cannot be held responsible for the students' level of
proficiency ad infinitum. The question of instructors not teaching in
accordance with NAUI standards is a separate issue and should be treated
as such.
--Lynda Hamilton,
NAUI Z7002; St. Philip, Barbados(ACUC Instructor 137MA. Teaches privately,
active as a volunteer hyperbaric chamber tender treating diving accidents,
and committee member of the Barbados Branch of the British Sub-Aqua
Club.)
[NOTE: The views
expressed in this column are opinions held by the individual members
referenced, and are not those of NAUI or the editors of Sources.
