Hello Jay!
Thursday October 24 1996 21:46, Jay Hanig wrote to Angus lupton:
 JH> I've certified more 12 year olds than you can shake a stick at.  PADI
 JH> offered a junior certification to divers 12-14 that was equivalent to 
he
 JH> regular certification except you had to have an adult certified diver 
with
 JH> you when you dove.  Once you turned 15, you just traded it in for an 
adult
 JH> card.
 JH> Your paper got fed some bogus information, I do believe.
The funny thing is, is that Scuba diving is a self regulating sport. How can 
you stop a 12-14 year old from diving without a Adult certified diver 
esant?
Legally you don't even need a license to dive. It would be stupid to dive 
without a certification, and of course I myself would never recommend diving 
without certification, in fact we as responsible certified divers all know, 
one would more than likely hurt themselves or even kill themselves without 
proper training, but the reality is that if you were wealthy enough to buy 
all the gear brand new, and your own air filling station, and you were stupid 
enough to go without certification, you could in reality go diving today 
without a C-card and no one could do anything about it.
So in my opinion a "Junior C-card" is also bogus. Either you are certified or 
your not. Why would an adult with a c-card make any difference to a diver 
regardless of age?
BTW just out of curiosity, when was the last time you were asked for your 
C-card anywhere in the world before they would fill your tanks? I myself have 
dove all over the world and have been diving regularly for 15years, and have 
Never, not even once been asked to show my C-card before they would fill my 
tanks. They always check for current Hydro and Vis, but never ask to show my 
C-card. In my opinion, Air filling stations should be required to ask for 
proof of certification before filling any tanks. They always talk about not 
being able to get tanks filled in the PADI course, and any good instructor 
will instill this upon their students, but in reality the c-card is rarely 
asked for, and in my case has never been asked for.
Care to comment?
                                             -=Derek=-
--- RA - PORTAL - GECHO - ALLFIX - TNP - GOLDED......KOOL!
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