A good diver is always learning...
I regularly see this phrase in the email signatures of instructors, and there's no doubt divers who pursue additional training tend to be more comfortable in the water and more invested in our sport. I've often wondered: is there a relationship between what Open Water materials an instructor uses and continuing education certifications?
Tables versus Computers
As it turns out: there is a significant difference. Here are my findings:
Increase / Decrease in Con-Ed certs
Teaching the Dive Computer option
62% increase in con-ed certs from 2010 - 2011
37% increase in core certs (AOW and Rescue)
92% increase in specialty certs
Teaching Dive Tables
21% decrease in con-ed certs from 2010 - 2011
6.5% decrease in core con-ed certs (AOW and Rescue)
23% decrease in specialty certs
Ratio of OW to Con-Ed Certs
Teaching the Dive Computer option
For every 10 OW students, 5 con-ed classes were sold (AOW or Rescue).
For every 10 OW students, 5 specialty classes were sold.
Teaching Dive Tables
For every 10 OW students, 3 con-ed classes were sold (AOW or Rescue).
For every 10 OW students, 4 specialty classes were sold.
Of course there are a lot of factors that influence a student's decision to sign up for more training:
- An instructor who makes learning fun
- An overall desire for self-improvement, etc.
- A love of diving in general
That said, the data suggest when our introductory class is less-complicated, students are more inclined to stick with diving - investing additional time and money in our sport. The cost difference between the table crewpak and the computer package is only $2-$3. This small investment upfront can translate into big rewards for a dive business and its customers in the long term.
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| PADI Open Water crewpak - dive computer option |
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2 comments:
Interesting correlation. Now, are the divers doing a better job at planning their dives after the OW course? It always seemed to me that the first thing divers started to ignore was dive planning because they felt the tables were difficult (and were often told the tables were difficult by their instructors).
Also, are the shops using the computer-based OW course selling more gear (dive computers and other gear)?
Hi Jon. Great questions.
I'm not sure if the stores are selling more computers. If anyone reading this would like to share their experience, leave a comment below or email me at megan.denny at padi dot com.
As to what students are doing in regards to dive planning, I have a feeling that whether students learn tables or with the dive computer, in the end, they use computer only.
Why do I think this?
How many times have you encountered a divemaster candidate who remembered how to use the tables? For me? Never.
I asked around here at PADI and very few instructors around here ever had a DM candidate that could whip out the table and plan a dive. For this reason, I assume that most divers don't use the tables after open water.
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