DATELINE :- 8th July 2000
TEN'S TOO YOUNG
Stoney raises minimum diving age
Stoney Cove, Leicestershire's inland diving venue, has announced that it will no longer permit children below the age of 12 to dive in its waters.
The move goes directly against a recent decision by PADI to lower its age limit for trainee divers from 12 to 10 - a move since copied by another American training organsiation, SSI (Scuba Schools International, which recently tiptoed into British sports diving with a low-key marketing operation).
"From our observations of young people and our assessment of the potential hazards associated with the underwater environment here, we have concluded that Stoney Cove is not suitable for very young divers," said Stoney Cove Director Martin Woodward, who added that the decision was based on having watched "closely the developments in diving that are introducing children from age ten to open water scuba diving".
Woodward's comments, though carefully linked with Stoney in particular, will be viewed approvingly by those who believe that most ten-year-olds are not mature enough to understand and prepare for the potential dangers associated with diving.
Ten-year-old Abigail Bird, of Uxbridge in Middlesex, recently completed open water dives at Stoney to qualify as a PADI Junior Open Water Diver. But her parents, Kevin and Bronwen, have acknowledged that "scuba diving is not for everyone, and especially not for every 10-year-old".
They put their daughter's diving confidence down to a strong swimming ability, but acknowledged that the theories of diving physiology - and so an understanding of the potential dangers of diving - were difficult for her to take in. "Even so we think she'll be safe diving under our care on the family holiday we're taking in Sharm El Sheikh [Egypt] this summer," Kevin told Diver.
Both Kevin and Bronwen are qualified as PADI Advanced Divers, although PADI recommends that Junior Open Water Divers such as Abigail can be accompanied by a less experienced adult Open Water Diver or, of course, an instructor.
The British Sub-Aqua Club has maintained its requirement of age 12 as a starting point for sports scuba training.