Am I too old to take a scuba diving course?

Of course, you are never too old to take a scuba diving course. In fact, the oldest person to ever complete a PADI course was 96 years old! The oldest person I have taught was seventy-four, and as I write this blog, I am about to turn seventy in the next few weeks and now I am teaching my grandkids to dive.

If you are an experienced swimmer, you can become a scuba diver at any age. With the right training, equipment and preparation, the answer is no. But here is what to consider before putting on a tank for the first time.

Scuba diver courses are designed to meet the needs of all students no matter their age, weight, gender, or disability. Trainee scuba divers of all ages must answer a medical questionnaire before being deemed fit to enrol in a dive course. However, there are specific (and important) age-related question as with passing year comes a higher risk of heart and lung issues.

Every diver, but particularly senior divers, should make sure they maintain a decent level of physical fitness, as a lapse in physical ability is a threat not only to their own security but also to their buddies as well.

Making Diving Easier for Seniors

There are several strategies that older scuba divers can implement in their diving to make it a more physically easy experience

• Use appropriate equipment
•  Back inflation BCD’s make it easier to don your equipment
• Split fins reduce leg strain by 30%
• Steel tanks reduce the weight you need to carry
• Use a computer with conservative mode

• Boat dives make diving easier than shore diving
• Dive with Nitrox for added safety.
• Drink lots of water the day of the dive, and the day before, to keep hydrated.
• Do not hesitate to skip a dive if you feel fatigued.
• Restrict descend and ascent Rates
• Limit the depths
• Ask for help from other divers without embarrassment

When it comes to diving, age is merely a number. The best proof of this is the father of scuba diving Jacques Cousteau, who continued to dive until his death at the age of eighty-seven. But Cousteau’s case is just one example of how age affects everyone differently.