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The new divers that diving needs to attract may be the most nervous ones. Jane Falconer questions whether holiday tasters are really the best way to tempt them in |
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I've just been to a new hairdresser. She doesn't know me yet, so I was forced to make the obligatory chit-chat:
Tracey (snipping merrily): "So what are you doing this weekend?"
Me: "Oh, I'm probably going off diving."
Tracey: "Scuba diving? I've tried that, but I didn't like it!"
Me (incredulous): "Why not!"
Tracey: "I was on holiday in Kenya, and the hotel was offering try-dives in the pool. I've always enjoyed snorkelling and I fancied scuba diving, so I was keen to have a go. But when I tried, I just didn't like the feel of it. It was all very quick and I didn't really know what I was doing.
"Water got into the goggles and I couldn't move properly with the flippers. I felt panicked that I wasn't in control. I've decided that diving isn't for me."
I hear such stories far too often when I mention diving. I sometimes feel that holiday "dive-tasters" put off as many potential divers as they introduce to the sport.
Resort dive centres may be losing themselves business as well as losing future divers. The experience they provide seems designed to put off the very group of people they are trying to recruit, those who might never think about diving until they are on holiday.
I worked as an instructor on Australia's east coast, where there seemed to be an unwritten rule that part of the travel experience was to dive on the Barrier Reef. I found myself doing dive-tasters and courses with people who might never have considered diving in different circumstances.
One nightmare student confessed sheepishly, as we were about to get into the pool for Confined Water 1, that she hated water and couldn't stand getting her face wet. I winced inwardly, but suggested that we "see how it goes".
Amazingly, she was fine in the end. She was an extreme case, but unfortunately the nervous group forms a substantial proportion of the people who decide to try diving for the first time on holiday.
If their dive-taster is bad, they will never go on to do a qualifying course. What causes the problems in a try-dive is no different to what causes problems in the Open Water or any other training course - unfamiliar equipment, new sensations and new skills.
What's different is that a training course gives the student time and opportunity to get over initial fears. A dive-taster is often more rushed.
A typical resort experience might be a session in a pool which could last as little as five minutes. Prospective divers may get little briefing or chance to become familiar with the equipment, and there is no mention of basic skills such as regulator or mask-clearing.
At the more dangerous end of the scale, the prospective diver might even be undertaking a dive in open water. My Mum's experience is a classic example.
Having constantly been told how wonderful diving is, she decided to give it a go while on holiday in Bali. After a brief pool session, it was straight into a 10m open-water dive. My Mum is confident in water and enjoyed it, but mentioned that she felt very worried when the instructor left her clinging to a rock while he dealt with something else. Not knowing how to control her buoyancy, she felt herself floating up and could do nothing but try to hold tight until he got back!
No wonder participants may feel stressed and out of control. Everything is new, they don't know how it works and they fear that if something goes wrong they won't know what to do about it.
Add to this any underlying nervousness about water or breathing under water, and it's little surprise that so many people decide that diving isn't for them.
The "get Ôem in, get Ôem out as quick as possible" attitude that prevails at many holiday destinations can do more harm than good.
Conversely, a good initial experience can convert a hydrophobic into a keen trainee. At the UK dive centre where I now teach, the experience is very different. Prospective divers have 1:1 or 1:2 attention for up to an hour and are able to get used to the unfamiliarity gradually and overcome any fears.
If they look comfortable, a few basic skills might be introduced to give them a taste for what is covered in Open Water. The confident ones get a go in the deeper end of the pool and the nervous ones can take their time in the shallow end.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to try before you buy but there is something wrong if it puts you off altogether.
Resorts and holiday destinations need to appreciate that dive-tasters are taking many people well outside of what's comfortable and that they need time and knowledge to overcome their fears.
The prospective divers at my local centre are no different to those people who try on holiday, but because they receive information, time and attention the majority come away deciding that diving might be for them after all - at least, that is, until you mention the 7am start at Stoney Cove.
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