Why do we need scuba diving certifications?

Let’s think about skiing and scuba diving. Both come with a certain level of risk, both involve specialized equipment, and both have fairly standardized training structures. And, of course, both are technically water sports, right?

If, in the case of skiing, I can buy a ski pass, rent my equipment, and be up the mountain in 30 minutes without anyone asking me anything, the first question you’ll usually get when you contact a dive center is: “What is your certification level?” followed, most likely, by “When was the last time you dived?”

That’s what we’re talking about today.

Safety

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It probably won’t come as a surprise that most of the reasons are related to safety. But while both skiing and diving involve some risk, there are significant differences.

Let’s start with the most obvious one: diving happens in a completely foreign and, let’s face it, inhospitable environment. If you have a skiing accident or simply get tired, you can just stop, and surprisingly you can still breathe. If, for example, you lose your regulator underwater, you effectively only have the air in your lungs to react. So the safety margin is much smaller, which is why it is so important to learn simple, standardized procedures to respond correctly.

But that’s not all. With skiing, the risks are fairly obvious: falls, avalanches, and so on. In diving, in addition to the visible and obvious risks — such as running out of gas — there are also less visible ones related to human physiology and the changes that happen when we breathe underwater. A classic example is decompression illness. A large part of diving courses is dedicated to avoiding, or rather minimizing, the risk of decompression illness.

Last but not least, along with less obvious risks, the solutions are sometimes counterintuitive. For example, what do you do if you run out of gas? Well, first we learn how not to run out of gas, but if it were to happen anyway, the first option is not to swim as quickly as possible to the surface; it is to use our buddy’s alternate second stage (aka octopus).

Standardization

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Another reason we have a certification system is standardization. Without a set of internationally accepted standards, it would be impossible for a dive center in say Australia, for example, to trust someone who once took a course in Romania.

By using a certification system, people in Australia will know that you have met the minimum requirements for certification, so (at least theoretically, and we’ll talk more about that in another post) you have the necessary skills to take care of yourself.

As we explain more thoroughly in the article where we compare PADI, SSI and SDI, most dive training agencies have similar programs and minimum requirements. That’s because they’re part of RSTC, a global organization that regulates those minimum standards. The fact tha two agencies are part of RSTC means, among other things that they recognize each others’ certifications. What does that mean for you? Easy: an SDI certification you gain with us in Romania will be automatically accepted by a PADI dive center in Japan. Useful huh?

Legal requirements

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There also are legal requirements to consider. We left that for the end not only because it’s boring, but because it is also a very gray area. There is no scuba police out there, and you won’t see divers with flashing lights asking you for your certification card underwater.

There are some countries where certifications are legally required to dive. There are also countries like Romania, where, at least at the time we wrote this article, there is no civil authority regulating diving. To clarify exactly where we stand, landlocked countries such as Malawi and Uganda still have civil regulations for diving. I do hope that, as the Romanian diving community grows, that will change for the better.

Does it work?

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Well, mostly.

Although it is far from a perfect system, I am absolutely convinced that the current certification system has saved countless lives. Certifications make our sport much safer, more accessible, and simpler.

Why do I say it is not perfect? The training standards bodies tend to maintain a standard that, in my view, is too relaxed for an industry that is supposed to self-regulate at a global level. I’m talking about both the standards themselves (for instance I don’t think that 8 students to an instructor is a safe ratio) as well as the way agencies enforce them. There are very few cases I know of where instructors who violate standards have been sanctioned.

Summing up

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I hope it is clear that scuba diving certifications are not a whim. In fact, the analogy with skiing, as you may have realized already, was not the best. A much more accurate comparison would be with skydiving, another sport in which certification is mandatory. And for good reason.

At Blue Pulse, we don’t just follow the standards of one of the strictest agencies (SDI/TDI). We are even stricter in many cases. For example, our maximum number of students per instructor is two, and we do not believe that being able to thread water is enough to join a class. Can’t swim? No problem — we can recommend excellent swim teachers that can help you. And in the unlikely case that you ever get trip on the deck of a liveaboard fall into the water, we’ll all be more at ease knowing you can calmly swim back to the boat.

If reading this made you take your next course with us, awesome - take a look at our our courses. If you’re almost convinced, but still have a few questions, even better! Book a free introductory call and we’ll clarify anything you’re wondering.