In the end it is up to the instructor who signs off on your C-Card! The idea, beyond the old hard core training, is to compartmentalizes the training so that you're not going to learn everything in your OWC! Do the agencies have to be competitive? Yes! Will capitalism win out in the end? Yes!

The idea isn't that hard to understand, broaden the base and get more people involved in the activity of diving at a basic level! Not everyone will go much beyond that point, but some will that never would have if they hadn't have had an easy way to find out!

The beauty of this kind of system is it doesn't create systems that will not be recognized from one area to another.... Such as you were trained in Cozumel and can't get air in Laguna Beach! The training has to be universal and comprehensive for THE LEVEL that is being taught!

It has not proven out that the PADI system is a failure except to those that are so tied to the "Old School" that they see nothing else! The concept is once tried that SCUBA will get into the blood and compel that student to learn more and seek more experience and training! Without the bodies the industry will never support the activity or grow! It will be considered an Extreme activity and many capable divers will have never taken the plunge!

The important thing to emphasize is diving within your comfort, education, and experience zone! No one should be denied the SCUBA experience! From 8 to 108 you should be able to enjoy the underwater world at your own level! Just because you have a drivers license doesn't mean you can drive an 18 wheeler or even a car! You have to gain experience and confidence!

It is easy for those of us who were trained through fire to criticize those who aren't! It was our intent to dive come hell or high water and nothing would have stopped that! But my experience is not someone else's it is mine and I have come to recognize that some don't have that passion! I want people to see my world, to try it you'll like it, to get wet and take the plunge! To, yes support the industry and learn to appreciate the skills that make you a Master Diver! The more divers the more resorts, the more boats, the more equipment, and the more divers!

Where you take it is up to you! The entry level should be the bunny hill and there are things that you just don't need yet! The Cave industry did the same thing with Cavern and Cave! Some will never go beyond Cavern and don't need the Cave portion! So do we want to teach it all in basic? When I did it, it was in a University setting and class and lab were just standard operating procedure and as I said "Nothing was going to stop me"! That included 8ft waves, crawling over rocks, and jumping off the High-Dive with our gear on! Did it make me a better diver? YES! But it is not the only way to get to the desired goal!

So I chose not to criticize the agencies until I see the end results! If it is more divers that are safe divers then I will continue to support them! If the numbers of problems increase disproportional to the overall numbers then the industry will self adjust due to law suits and good old capitalism!

Until then I know what makes divers and that is diving! Nothing replaces experience and seeking knowledge because you want to, not because your made to!