Open water versus Rec 1

Having gotten the latest newsletter, I went to look at the differences between these two classes, and I'm stumped.

Rec 1 is what I thought the UTD OW class was, and I believe it's what the one UTD OW student here took. It seems to have only a long hose setup and an appropriate buoyancy compensator as gear requirements, and it involves a reasonable amount of pool and OW time.

The OW class seems to have the same gear requirements and goals, but is only three days long and only requires THREE hours of pool time, and four OW dives. I find it difficult to believe that one can teach students to the standard which I think UTD envisions in that short a class. I know that Peter and I, who teach under PADI, use much more pool time than that, and we can't do it.

I'm confused as to why UTD now has two entry-level certification classes. Has anyone taught the three-day OW class? Did you feel that the time format gave you enough to work with to teach your students to a level of competence you were happy with?

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Seckendorf on September 20, 2010 at 3:48pm

HI Lynne,

All good questions. These are both entry level classes that give a student an open water certification. The Open Water class is fashioned after the current industry norm of minimum one pool session and four dives. As always, this is just a minimum, we are free to use a longer or multiple pool sessions, more dives, etc. But the standards state the minimums as just that, minimums. The class also includes the academic component of the online program, followed by lectures to discuss and review all of it, plus dry runs for all skills prior to seeing any water. It ends up being a four to five day class when all is said and done.

Rec 1 is the longer, more complex open water class, involving more pool, more dives, a return to the pool for a tune up in the middle, then two final experience dives. This class is generally taught over three or four weekends and is for the student who wants a richer open water certification experience. You can look at Rec 1 as Open Water plus Essentials of Rec.

The classes differ in the skills taught. Open Water does not include back kicks, helicopter turns, valve shutdowns, or SMB deploys. It does include all the same ascent planning and buoyancy work that you would expect from a UTD class. We encourage the Open Water students to get some experience then return for Essentials of Rec, so you can look at this the same way we do a building block education with Tech 1 and Tech 2 - small steps, some time between to practice, then a return for a more advanced class.

Several of our instructors have been teaching this class with great success and you will see more of it as we bring on instructors who are in the Open Water category.

Best,

Jeff

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Flaherty on September 20, 2010 at 9:56pm

Thank you very much for the answer, Jeff.

I have to confess that I'm disappointed, personally. I think most of us would agree that the current industry standard class turns out divers who are woefully underprepared for anything but the most benign diving. Modeling a class after what's done elsewhere seems to me to be problematic; as I said, Peter and I, who have better training (including some UTD training) can't produce students that really have their act together in the four open water dive format, even though we make much more extensive use of pool time.

It's the standard industry explanation that the diver isn't expected to be competent at the end of the class, but is expected to go on to take more training. If that's what you intend, it seems to me that there ought to be a caveat on the class description saying that it isn't really supposed to stand alone.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Harris on September 21, 2010 at 2:40am

I've taught it, and I'd say woefully underprepared would be inaccurate. I think it could be done in 3 long days though I made it 4 to be a bit more relaxed. At entry level those I've spoken to just want the card, having explained the benefits of team diving the response is a bit glassy eyed as I'm sure you've seen many times (you go underwater and breathe right, what's the big deal?). OW is a good entry to UTD without the initial outlay required to go the whole way. I've been asked for a lot more discover type classes really which I obviously can't provide. At least with OW we don't have to alienate those divers who are not 200% sure they want to learn to dive our way.

With a heavy focus on team and all skills done hovering in trim, that 3 hours confined is pretty much 3 hours of continual buoyancy practise. The emphasis on a team can make a good buddy out of an inexperienced diver.

I think we can produce divers that really know they're just at the beginning, know what they need to work on and what they're aiming for. They see the skills we strive for and try to mimic that. Further training is then just a natural progression. I found that after the course the student is competent to plan an execute dives safely with in water skills I'm happy with and would make a decent buddy to any DIR diver. With the other option (for this particular student) being to charge through a factory and then be spat out the other end I'm very happy with the result.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Seckendorf on September 21, 2010 at 5:53am

Lynne,

Please remember that although students pay for training, they earn certification. Issuing a card that tells a student their instructor believes they are safe and competent to perform recreational dives is at the discretion of that instructor, and our standards are very specific about that.

We have students who can earn an open water cert in four days. And we have instructors who are amazing judges of students' abilities in the water. No one is signing off students who are not safe and prepared to make the dives at their level of training.

We make it clear in the open water class that this is a first step, and we have a clear path to more advanced training. But we also allow and encourage newly certified divers to get some experience at their level, to enjoy the ocean, and to have some fun on their way to that advanced training. Diving has to be about diving, not about endless training, and our students, as part of their open water class, are shown a path that encourages diving and offers training.

One of the reasons we started UTD Adventures was to provide an environment where newly certified divers can join some of their more experienced colleagues as we explore sites around the world. I hope you can join us on some of these trips so you can share your experiences with our newer divers.

Sincerely,

Jeff

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Flaherty on September 21, 2010 at 7:20am

Well, I totally empathize with the dilemma . . . It's almost impossible to sell a really GOOD open water class (which is extensive and costs accordingly) with the shop down the street offering theirs at $99, and the student not knowing the difference and often unsure if he really wants to learn to dive, anyway. (That was me!)

Having not seen the product of this class, I'll reserve judgment. And if retention into diving con ed is high with this approach through UTD, it could still have good results. I guess time will tell.

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Permalink Reply by Nick Ambrose on September 21, 2010 at 1:31pm

Just my small experience here, but.

- I have seen the results of rec1 with an "engaged" student, and they are simply amazing.
- I was initially concerned that Jamie would think the initial expense in money and time and gear was too steep to justify for an activity she wasn't certain how much she would like (thankfully she was convinced by Maciek's information and I think got awesome results)

If the Open Water class can act as a gateway to further UTD training for divers that decide to make that commitment, thats awesome.

if, the Open Water class can also make other divers safer and more educated (those that cannot, or are not ready to make that further commitment), then I think I would see it as a good thing.

I see it acting (hopefully) as more of a funnel than a blockade.

I think anecdotally anything significantly longer than rec1 is also not going to be effective unless maybe it was part of a college class.

For instance, from what I can see, the GUE OW class just looks like far "too much" and while it retains high standards, what use are those standards if virtually no one in reality will take the class ?

Isn't it better to be pragmatic, in the hope that more people will like diving and be encouraged to take more training (while trying to give a little something more than what is mostly done in other agencies OW classes ?)

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Flaherty on September 21, 2010 at 2:31pm

Oh, I think the Rec 1 class is a great compromise between the scantiness of mainstream agency OW classes and the massive entity and cost that is GUE OW (which I agree that nobody is likely to take, and to date, few have).

I'm just still dubious about the ability of a three day class to come anywhere near what my vision of UTD standards is. Selling it as a gateway may work, in that people who come to UTD for OW may already be more motivated. But it's also the reason that PADI gives for why their OW class is short and minimal -- people will go on to con ed. Unfortunately, all too many never do.

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Permalink Reply by Nick Ambrose on September 21, 2010 at 3:19pm

(Lynne said)

"But it's also the reason that PADI gives for why their OW class is short and minimal -- people will go on to con ed. Unfortunately, all too many never do."

Indeed, so I guess the question is does the OW class add enough over current OW classes even if further education is not taken. (Enough to increase safety and fun and "enough" to meet the UTD standards we have come to expect)

UTD obviously thinks thats the case, and I guess once we start to see more people go through that class, thee proof will be in the pudding.

Lynne Flaherty said:

Oh, I think the Rec 1 class is a great compromise between the scantiness of mainstream agency OW classes and the massive entity and cost that is GUE OW (which I agree that nobody is likely to take, and to date, few have).

I'm just still dubious about the ability of a three day class to come anywhere near what my vision of UTD standards is. Selling it as a gateway may work, in that people who come to UTD for OW may already be more motivated. But it's also the reason that PADI gives for why their OW class is short and minimal -- people will go on to con ed. Unfortunately, all too many never do.

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Permalink Reply by Lynne Flaherty on September 21, 2010 at 5:29pm

Well, if the UTD teaching techniques can produce a good cold water diver in three days (out of unselected material) then one of us will have to do the UTD IDC to find out how they do it!