"Dive, Dive, Dive!” with Mary Lynn Berzett
Ages and Types of Folks Who Scuba Dive
EDITOR'S
NOTE: “I’ve been diving since Moby Dick
was a guppy,” says Dennis “Skinny”
Hallmark of Birmingham, Alabama. At the age of 15, Hallmark
made his first scuba dive with a friend in the quarry
near his home, and in his words, “I was hooked.”
Over the past 35 years, Hallmark has taught thousands
of first-time scuba divers and diving instructors and
owned dive shops in three Alabama cities in the 1980s.
Certified by the Professional Association of Diving
Instructors (PADI) and the National Association of Underwater
Instructors (NAUI), Hallmark also teaches instructors
how to teach firemen and police to perform rescue dives.
The International Diving Educators’ Association
(IDEA) of Jacksonville, Florida, honored Hallmark in
2002 as its Worldwide Instructor of the Year.
Night Hawk: Tell me about the oldest person you’ve
taught to dive. Why did he decide to learn? How did
he like it?
Hallmark:
We called him Gramps. He told me he was 63, and he was
in good physical shape. I later learned he was actually
79- or 80-years old. His stepson was a scuba diver and
asked me to teach Gramps. I did private lessons for
him. Gramps had sold cars all his life and was actually
a general manager for a large automobile corporation.
Gramps said he’d always wanted to dive but never
had the time. He also used his diving experiences as
a bonding time with his stepson.
Night Hawk: Tell me about the youngest person you’ve
taught to scuba dive. Why did he decide to learn and
how die he like it?
Hallmark: Off-hand, I don’t remember any specific
young person I’ve taught. In years past, we could
teach people to scuba dive as young as we wanted to,
as long as the person had the knowledge and ability
to comprehend everything. Then came the lawsuits, and
a standard was created. IDEA’s standard is now
a minimum of 12 years of age.
There are no height requirements, but there is a minimum
requirement of an 80-cubic-feet tank. Under PADI rules,
you can teach 10-and 11-year olds, but there are restrictions
attached. For example, a10-year old can dive with a
professional diver and is restricted to a maximum dive
of 30 feet. An 11-year old can dive with a parent or
a professional diver and is restricted to a dive maximum
of 30 feet. Children love diving, and sometimes are
more excited about diving than their parents are. Since
children have no fear and are bulletproof, you have
to slow them down.
Night Hawk: Have you ever taught a handicapped person
to dive? Why did they want to dive, and how did they
like it?
Hallmark: Yes, I have taught handicapped individuals
to scuba dive. I’ve taught people with one arm
and paraplegics who have use of their hands and arms.
I’ve taught a legally-blind person to dive who
lives in Israel and now is an underwater micro photographer.
When we teach the handicapped individuals, we have restrictions
and take them to a swimming pool or somewhere like Pelham’s
Blue Water Park where there are platforms and rails.
They also must have a dive master or an instructor with
them to make sure the equipment is continuing to function
properly.
All the ones I have taught have enjoyed scuba diving
and have wanted to go do something different.
To contact Skinny Hallmark for further information,
call him at home, (205) 980-0008, call his cell phone,
(205) 907-0824 or contact him at skinnyhallmark@charter.net.
His website is currently being redone and is unavailable.
He also has a DVD that he’ll be glad to send out.
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