Scuba Diving Age Restrictions. No, You Are Not Too Young nor Too Old to Dive.

This could be the shortest post of our blog.  After all, according to certifying agencies like PADI, SSI or other scuba diving organizations, there is only one scuba diving age restriction. You can begin to dive when you are 8 years old, and there is no maximum age.

That’s right! To be honest, we recognize you could be too young to dive, but probably you, who are reading this post, are not 8 years old, are you? Therefore, if you are here it’s because of one of these two options: Or you are interested in teaching your children and looking for the best courses for them, or you are wondering how much longer you will able to dive. In both cases, you will be able to find an answer in this article, so keep on reading.

Scuba Diving Age Restrictions for Children.

As a diver absolutely in love with the underwater world, you desire your children to learn diving as soon as possible. It is completely understandable you want to show them the wonders of the sea, diving among stunning marine animals and discover together with the colorful coral reefs. However, you know that it is extremely important to learn diving properly in order to do all these things in a safe and fun way.

Well, that is the reason why there are scuba diving age restrictions for children and why they cannot take any kind of scuba diving course before they are 8 years old. Immediately after reaching this age, PADI offers two options for your children: The Bubblemaker program and The Seal Team Program.

The Bubblemaker program is an introduction to the emotions of diving and breathing underwater. Through this course, your children will have the opportunity to learn some basic scuba diving principles in a pool with a max depth of 6 feet/ 2 meters.

The Seal Team program is a more extensive confined water experience. Your children will know basic scuba diving skills while they have fun taking underwater photos, practicing buoyancy, and learning environmental awareness.

If you are wondering if your children will be able to dive into the ocean after these PADI programs, the answer is: No, not yet, unless the ocean spot is shallow, calm, very good visibility, and has pool-like conditions.

For more real diving, they will have to wait until they are 10 years old. With this age, the kids are old enough to complete the Junior Open Water Diver Course. It is similar to the adult certification program but with some limitations.

Kids between 10 and 11 years old must dive with a professional diver or, at least, with a certified parent or guardian. In addition, their dives cannot exceed 12 meters/40 feet.

Diving with a certified adult is compulsory for divers between 12 and 14 years old as well, but they can dive deeper until 60 feet/ 18 meters.

Finally, they will automatically become independent divers when they will be 15 years old without doing any other course.

There Are No Scuba Age Restrictions for Adult Divers, Just Health Restrictions.

All scuba diving lovers and those who want to start practicing this sport while not as young, should be congratulated. They will be never too old to dive!

Contrary to what a lot of people believe, generally, scuba is not a sport that demands a high physical effort. That is the reason why there is no scuba age restriction at all to practice it. Well, to be totally honest, we should say there are some diving destinations that will not allow you to dive if you are above 80 years.

However, generally the most senior, who wish to continue diving, have started to practice this sport well before this time. This fact probably makes them safer than many younger divers, precisely because of their experience. Therefore, if you are not in one of this age restrictions, to keep on diving depends entirely on you.

Being in a condition of good health, both physically and mentally is the most important thing to continue diving for a long time. Obviously, you should consider seriously your physical fitness, exactly in the same way as any diver regardless of age. So, if you are more than 50 years old and you want to start diving, just visit a doctor specialized in hyper baric medicine. As long as you do not have any health problems that could pose as a danger when you are underwater, there is no reason why you should not enjoy scuba diving.

Luckily, problems, which limited the possibilities of the elderly some years ago, have disappeared currently thanks to new technologies in diving gear. For example, precision masks make it possible to continue enjoy diving for those with poor vision. The elderly people’s greater sensitivity to the cold, nowadays, is palliated with thicker neoprene suits or dry suits

In summary, scuba age restrictions for adult divers don’t exist. Talking about scuba diving, age is just a number. Just remember, your health condition is the unique restriction you have to worry about.

Tell us, until what age do you plan to keep diving?