The slowly ageing dive population????

[purple vonny]

Originally Posted by lostdiver

The thought that a 19 year old could be fairly knowledgeable scares a lot of divers and I find myself at logger heads, even with relatively new divers.
Ben

Now why doesn't that surprise me?

Edit: by the way, Ben, you are a relatively new diver.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by Howard Payne

I did my Cave course with a wonderful guy called Fred Devos Ben.

When we'd finished and it was obvious we'd passed - he sat us down and said this to us:

"Do any of you have a teenage nephew or relative? (A couple of us replied yes) Do you ever play GT or something similar with them on the Playstation or an XBox and do they thrash your arse ever time? (one answered yes) Bet that in a few years time - your nephew or relative will pass their driving test and see you shortly afterwards brimming with confidence. Would you think it was sensible for them to drive your Porsche straight down the motorway at 90mph - fresh out of their driving test? (of course not) But they thrash your arse every time on the Xbox - how different can it be?

We got the message - he didn't need to explain

CLM was more economical with the words... he said "Well done ... now don't f*ck up"

[Sparky750]

I don't consider myself old at 29 (although i certainly feel it) there is no way on earth i'd have had the money or the dedication to dive when i was 15-21 being told no you can't go out on saturday night because your diving in the morning would have received the same response my football coach did (turning up stinking of booze with a girls number written in lipstick on my hand ) i do wonder why i only ever made semipro As for the financial side i couldn't have afforded to buy my kit and dive whilst having fast cars and loose women too. So to me it's little wonder younger people aren't diving other than on holiday. In fact Ben WTF are you doing on here you should be out staggering down the street wondering why it's always you taking one for the team with the fat bird I do wish i'd gotten into it earlier but looking back i wouldn't/ couldn't have without missing out on a lot of other things that i believe make a well rounded person in later life (in more ways than one )

[Buoyant Babe]

Is this someone with a multiple log-in?

[Leg Of Salmon]

Originally Posted by Buoyant Babe

Is this someone with a multiple log-in?

Why do you think that?

I dont think so, he's just a bit crackers!

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by lostdiver

The title is going to confuse some people as to my intentions but I'd like to say, that it is not another article about being "diver fit", that's not excusing the massive number of old men who huddle round the burger van, smoking a fag moaning about the weather, the entry fees or how long it takes to get an air fill! But more to tackle the issue of a suspiciously low number of young people stepping in to diving.

I'm 19 as most of you will know I love diving! I dive in British waters all year round, with many different groups of guys and girls. I am finding though that a growing number of older divers find the need to take apart every tiny movement I make whilst on a dive trip (this is not saying all people, just a select few, I have encouragement and advice from so many people). I am not complaining about the divers that know me as they know my capabilities and know that if they need help I will not only be happy to help I will also probably have the knowledge for the job (just a bit of self praise there) .

I understand there is banter on dive trips and as you can see I dish out plenty so would be totally unfair if I wasn't willing to take any. This said there seems to be an air of fear surrounding the capabilities of someone much younger in the diving fraternity. Diving is full of all sorts of egos, but there are a huge number who want to be the ones who know everything and are outraged to find something they have said questioned, even if only for curiosities sake. The thought that a 19 year old could be fairly knowledgeable scares a lot of divers and I find myself at logger heads, even with relatively new divers.

Since learning to dive 3 years ago I have seen and experienced things I would never have imagined and diving has changed me massively as a person. It has taught me when the time to be serious is and has helped me grow out of a lot of childish traits (not to say I don't slip back in to them, now and again). I hope that people can see as much as diving is a very serious sport we have to bring fresh blood.

It is a sport dominated by older men and the older population of divers are slowly pushing out the bright eyed youngsters of the future. I don't believe it is intentional but with horror stories and over criticism the air of fun is being stolen from a hobby that is crying out for new blood. I hope people will argue with these comments and I will find there is a massive community of up and coming "young divers" but as far as I can see people want to limit what "younger divers' can achieve and keep them in the recreational window.

Thanks for reading,

Ben

I ahev started a response to this utter bollocks about three or four times now, and quite frankly i can't be arsed.
Are we going to see some evidence of you growing out of other childish traits, like attention seeking, picking fights, winding people up, throwing toys out the pram?

[The Doctor]

Originally Posted by lostdiver

I would really like to see something done again, it is only my opinion but it does seem there has been less interest generally in the industry, tohrewise why so many closures?

I

[lostdiver]

Originally Posted by Scubee

I ahev started a response to this utter bollocks about three or four times now, and quite frankly i can't be arsed.
Are we going to see some evidence of you growing out of other childish traits, like attention seeking, picking fights, winding people up, throwing toys out the pram?

What is wrong with this thread it is not offensive to anyone apart from fat smokers who like burgers and diving

[Howard Payne]

Funny you should say that - I think exactly the same thing - he's a right little f&*ker isn't he?

[Leg Of Salmon]

It isn't offensive at all. Just has more holes in it than Rab C Nesbitt's vest.