The average age of active scuba diver, according to some sources, is 36, while many physicians believe that scuba diving after reaching the age of 50 can pose serious danger to a person's health and even life. From the other hand, there's a wonderful example of Jacques Cousteau, who kept scuba diving even at the age of 87, until the very end of his life. Although at that age the famous Frenchman had problems walking, upon his request he was being taken to the water by his friends and he said he couldn't still imagine his life without scuba diving.
Cousteau's example is rather often being referred to by older age dive addicts and advocates of the wonderful sport and hobby, which, undoubtedly, scuba diving is. Some of them have been diving for decades already, while others only made their first open water dive at the age of 70. In fact, the age of 70 is the upper age limit the majority of recreational diver training facilities set for enrollment to the courses they run for new students.
Anyway, this optimistic approach seems to be hardly shared by doctors and rescuers, whose attitude can be defined as rather reserved one, at least regarding people with no previous experience in scuba diving or those who made their mind to resume scuba diving after a considerable time gap after having practiced it for the last time in the past. Even if benefits from practicing recreational scuba diving for the sake of physical, psychological and social adaptation of elderly are evident, you can by no means neglect the fact that with this latest increased popularity of scuba diving rapid holiday courses, statistics in accidents covering older age scuba diver group has somewhat increased.
The bottom line is here: if well equipped, adequately trained and duly supervised when taking part in individual or group dives, elderly scuba divers, both freshmen and veterans, still can enjoy the pleasure of getting in touch with underwater world. But each such dive should be planned with much attention and always with safety in mind. If you are a beginner diver in older age group, it's highly recommended that you learn slowly until you feel you are both emotionally and physically ready to take your first open water dive at a desired scuba diving destination to satisfy your specific needs, your individual limits, and your personal diving experience.
C. Dyson is a long-time fan and advocate of recreational scuba diving. He offers practical advice on dive equipment, gear, and various aspects of scuba diving on his blog, which he has been running for quite a period of time. He welcomes everybody to ask questions, join discussion and contribute telling about your own experience, whether you are just considering scuba diving as a hobby or professional career, or have been in scuba diving for years.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=C._Dyson
>
0 comments:
Post a Comment