How Long?

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Talking with a friend the other day, he made the comment that cave divers last about five years, then wander off to other things, unless they find something more to do than "simply" dive the known florida caves. It made me wonder if that's true.

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[FW]

It isn't true, I have been cavediving for over 40 years

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I guess that makes you a "D" diver! (10+ years). But we all know how uncommon you are!

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[FW]

You should ahve made the "A" diver 0-2 years. There is no place for a brand new diver to vote.

[Superlyte27]

I started Cave Diving in '97. I had a whole mess of kids, took a long break, and just now came back. I always missed it, but never had the time or money to keep pursuiing it. I'm back now, and sincerely hope i'm still cave diving well into the future.

[phreaticus]

...38 years....
And I know many who have more...Bill Main, Paul Heinreth, Wes Skiles, Guy Bryant, and lots more....

[Jim Wyatt]

I started cave diving in 1973, just after finishing high school.

[FW]

...38 years....
And I know many who have more...Bill Main, Paul Heinreth, Wes Skiles, Guy Bryant, and lots more....

Steve Foreman, Gene Melton, Bill Oigarden, Jim Lockwood, John Harper.....OFG-1

Most of them won't even come onto a forum, because they remember the old cavediver listserver.

[DA Aquamaster]

You should have made the "A" diver 0-2 years. There is no place for a brand new diver to vote.

Your intervals are uneven as well

1-2 = 2 years inclusive
3-5 = 3 years inclusive
6-10 = 5 years inclusive
10+ = year 11 to Forrest

It will skew the appearance of the bar graph in the poll and puts increasing weight on the B and C options separate from the actual number of responses in any given year in those categories.

The sample also only applies to divers on this particular board, not the population at large. I have met a few "experience" cave divers who seldom if ever go on the internet, so the over 10 year category is potentially under represented if it is true that older individuals who cave dive are also less likely to spend significant time on internet forums.

I think divers with 10 plus years in the sport are less likely to succumb to 1-3 noted below, but the fact that 32% of the respondents selected "10+" means a lot less than it would with unequal intervals. Try it again with 0-5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15, years, 16-20 years, 21-25, years, 26-30 years and 31+ years and you might get a much more accurate picture of the distribution within the range of active cave diving years.

"Active" is a key word as well - ask the respondents to only count calendar years in which they actually made a cave dive.


None of it is a big deal, just a hold over from teaching research methods at the university level and doing field level program evaluation.

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That said, I think there is probably some truth to the hypothesis of higher attrition from the sport after 5 years.

1. If the diver's motivation is to try something new, they'll stop doing it once it is no longer "new" and that is I suspect especially true for cave diving as it can be very time and money intensive to maintain.

2. Other divers will drop out of an activity like cave diving as it requires a minimum degree of currency to maintain the required level of skill. You can't just show up and do it over a weekend once or twice a year and expect to be at all competent. That requirement in many cases reinforces the cost aspectrs of number 1 above.

3. If you a) fail to maintain proficiency or, b) mis-perceive and then exceed the limits of your ability, and in either case scare yourself with a near miss, it can cause a diver to quit on the spot. At a minimum, it reinforces the need for number 2 and the requisite outlay of money and time.

The part time cave diver for whom cave diving is significantly less than a lifestyle is going to be much more prone to all 3.

[Cindy]

It isn't true, I have been cavediving for over 40 years

You took a time out...I know a couple of others who have done that, waiting to retire, get a divorce, the kids grow up.