Diver training
Encyclopedia
Diver training is the process of developing skills and building experience in the use of diving equipment
and techniques so that the diver is able to dive safely and have fun.
Not only is the underwater environment hazardous
but diving equipment can be dangerous when used by the untrained; there are many unexpected problems that the new diver must be taught to avoid. Also, beginners need practice and a gradual increase in experience to build their confidence in their equipment and themselves, to develop the skills needed to control the equipment and to respond safely when they encounter difficulties.
Most commercial operators and dive clubs serving divers insist that each diver is able to show them "certification", evidence of a minimum level of training, for the type of diving the diver intends to do. Reputable dive operators, dive shops
and compressor operators may refuse to allow uncertified people to dive, hire diving equipment or have their diving cylinder
s filled.
" or qualification card.
A good dive training organization, such as a dive school based at a dive shop, will always offer courses to the standard of a recognized certification organization, such as those listed below. Many dive shops in popular holiday locations offer courses that can teach you to dive in a few days, and can be combined with your vacation. Upon completing the course the student is issued a certification card.
Many diver training organizations exist:
The usual sequence for learning most diving skills is to be taught the theory in the classroom, be shown the skill and practice in a swimming pool or sheltered and shallow open water using the minimum equipment, then practice again in open water under supervision in full equipment and only then use the skill on real dives.
Typically, early open water training takes place in a local body of water
such as a lake, a flooded quarry
or a sheltered and shallow part of the sea. Advanced training mostly takes place at depths and locations similar to the diver's normal diving locations.
. BSAC
allows 6 year olds to train for the "Basic Snorkel Diver" qualification.
From the age of 8 years old PADI
has the "SEAL Team program" and SSI
have "SCUBA Rangers" which teach diving in shallow swimming pools.
PADI allows 10 year olds to do the full Open Water Diver
course. They are called "Junior Open Water" divers. There are restrictions on their depth and group size when diving. Also they must dive with their parents or a professional. When they reach the age of 12 they can dive with a qualified adult. Over 15 they are considered capable of diving with others of the same age or above.
BSAC
allows 12 year olds to do the full entry level diving course - the Ocean Diver course. This qualification has no restrictions for the young diver, but individual branches of BSAC are free to set their own minimum age of branch membership.
Diving equipment
Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers for the purpose of facilitating diving activities. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other puprposes which is found to be suitable for diving use....
and techniques so that the diver is able to dive safely and have fun.
Not only is the underwater environment hazardous
Diving hazards and precautions
Divers face specific physical and health risks when they go underwater or use high pressure breathing gases. Some of these conditions also affect people who work in raised pressure environments out of water, e.g...
but diving equipment can be dangerous when used by the untrained; there are many unexpected problems that the new diver must be taught to avoid. Also, beginners need practice and a gradual increase in experience to build their confidence in their equipment and themselves, to develop the skills needed to control the equipment and to respond safely when they encounter difficulties.
Most commercial operators and dive clubs serving divers insist that each diver is able to show them "certification", evidence of a minimum level of training, for the type of diving the diver intends to do. Reputable dive operators, dive shops
Dive center
A dive center is the base location where sports divers usually start scuba diving. Divers commonly refer to dive centers as dive shops. It is normally a shop selling diving equipment equipped with a gas compressor to fill the cylinders. Classrooms are sometimes available...
and compressor operators may refuse to allow uncertified people to dive, hire diving equipment or have their diving cylinder
Diving cylinder
A diving cylinder, scuba tank or diving tank is a gas cylinder used to store and transport high pressure breathing gas as a component of a scuba set. It provides gas to the scuba diver through the demand valve of a diving regulator....
s filled.
Sources of diver training
Many diver training organizations exist, throughout the world, offering diver training leading to certification: the issuing of a "C-cardC-card
C-card is the generic term for any certification card issued by a recognized scuba diving instruction organization, such as PADI or SSI. While usually taken to mean the minimum level training required to dive safely, it also applies to advanced certifications in a general manner.A typical card...
" or qualification card.
A good dive training organization, such as a dive school based at a dive shop, will always offer courses to the standard of a recognized certification organization, such as those listed below. Many dive shops in popular holiday locations offer courses that can teach you to dive in a few days, and can be combined with your vacation. Upon completing the course the student is issued a certification card.
Many diver training organizations exist:
- Entry-level recreational SCUBA diver training organizations:
- using professional instructors. Examples of this type are ACUC, Scuba Diving InternationalSCUBA Diving InternationalScuba Diving International is a SCUBA training and certification agency. It is the recreational arm of Technical Diving International, the world’s largest technical diver training organization...
, SSIScuba Schools InternationalScuba Schools International or SSI is an organization that teaches the skills involved in scuba diving and supports Dive Businesses and Dive Resorts.SSI has well over 2,500 authorized dealers and 35 Regional Centers and Area Offices all over the World....
, PADIPadiPadi or PADI may refer to:* Padi, Chennai, India* Padi , a musical group* Paddy field, a type of cultivated land * Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a scuba organization...
and NAUI - using amateur instructors. Examples of this type are the British Sub Aqua ClubBritish Sub Aqua ClubThe British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by the Sports Council as the governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom....
, Sub-Aqua AssociationSub-Aqua AssociationThe Sub-Aqua Association or SAA is a diver training organization for scubadivers in the United Kingdom. The association and some other UK-based diving groups have traditionally used a club-based system with unpaid instructors, while the other principal training agency, PADI, organises most of its...
and similar organizations affiliated to the Confédération Mondiale des Activités SubaquatiquesConfédération Mondiale des Activités SubaquatiquesThe Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques is the World Underwater Federation. CMAS is the international umbrella organisation for recreational diver training organisations represented in the CMAS Technical Committee and underwater sports governed by the CMAS Sport Committee...
(CMAS)
- using professional instructors. Examples of this type are ACUC, Scuba Diving International
- Technical recreational SCUBA diving organisations. Examples of this type are ANDIAmerican Nitrox Divers InternationalAmerican Nitrox Divers International was founded by Ed Betts and Dick Rutkowski in 1988 as a Scuba diving training agency. As a former dive supervisor of NOAA, and the original founder of IANTD, Dick Rutkowski is responsible for many of the developments in the recreational diving industry.ANDI has...
, DSAT Tec (PADI), GUEGlobal Underwater ExplorersGlobal Underwater Explorers is a scuba diving organization that provides education within recreational, technical and cave diving. It is a not-for-profit, membership organization, based in High Springs, Florida, United States....
, IANTD, TDITechnical Diving InternationalTechnical Diving International is the largest technical diving certification agency in the world. As one of the first agencies to provide training in mixed gas diving and rebreathers, TDI is seen as an innovator of new diving techniques and programs which previously were not available to the...
, SSISSI- Economics :* Standing Settlement Instructions, payment processing and settlement information about financial institutions* Strategic Sustainable Investing, an investment strategy that recognizes financial value in transitional leadership towards sustainability...
TechXR, NAUI Tec, PSAI and Unified Team DivingUnified Team DivingUnified Team Diving is a SCUBA diving training agency founded in 2008 to incorporate DIR/Hogarthian principles into SCUBA education at all levels.-History:... - Commercial diver training organizations. Train divers for professional diving using SCUBA, surface supplied divingSurface supplied divingSurface supplied diving refers to divers using equipment supplied with breathing gas using a diver's umbilical from the surface, either from the shore or from a diving support vessel sometimes indirectly via a diving bell...
and saturation divingSaturation divingSaturation diving is a diving technique that allows divers to reduce the risk of decompression sickness when they work at great depth for long periods of time....
equipment and techniques. - National navies and armed forces. Train divers for ship maintenance, salvage and repair, rescue, mine clearance and covert operations using SCUBA and more advanced equipment and techniques.
Location of training lessons
Initial training typically takes place in three environments:- Classroom - where material is presented and reviewed
- Swimming pool - where skills are taught and practiced in confined water
- Open Water - where the student demonstrates the skills he or she has learned.
The usual sequence for learning most diving skills is to be taught the theory in the classroom, be shown the skill and practice in a swimming pool or sheltered and shallow open water using the minimum equipment, then practice again in open water under supervision in full equipment and only then use the skill on real dives.
Typically, early open water training takes place in a local body of water
Body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, usually covering the Earth or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans, seas, and lakes, but it may also include smaller pools of water such as ponds, puddles or...
such as a lake, a flooded quarry
Scuba diving quarry
Scuba diving quarries are depleted or abandoned rock quarries that have been allowed to fill with ground water, and rededicated to the purpose of scuba diving....
or a sheltered and shallow part of the sea. Advanced training mostly takes place at depths and locations similar to the diver's normal diving locations.
Training topics
Most entry-level training is similar across the diver training agencies, although some may emphasize certain topics earlier in the program, such as the inclusion of diver rescue in the CMAS 1* syllabus.- Basic diving theory:
- Diving physicsDiving physicsDiving Physics explains the effects that divers and their equipment are subject to underwater.- Laws of physics for diving :The main laws of physics that govern the physics of the SCUBA diver and of diving equipment are:...
- SCUBA Equipment
- Human physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
- Diving hazards and precautionsDiving hazards and precautionsDivers face specific physical and health risks when they go underwater or use high pressure breathing gases. Some of these conditions also affect people who work in raised pressure environments out of water, e.g...
- Diving signals
- Buddy systemBuddy systemThe buddy system is a procedure in which two people, the "buddies", operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other.-Advantages:...
- Diving physics
- Basic water skills:
- Finning and mobility in-water
- Wearing a diving maskDiving maskA diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. When the human eye is in direct contact with water as opposed to air, its normal environment, light entering the eye is refracted by a different angle and the eye is unable...
- SnorkelingSnorkelingSnorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
- Shallow free-divingFree-divingFreediving is any of various aquatic activities that share the practice of breath-hold underwater diving. Examples include breathhold spear fishing, freedive photography, apnea competitions and, to a degree, snorkeling...
- Entering and exiting the water (seated entry, ladder exit, giant step entry, etc.)
- Basic open circuit scuba equipment skills:
- Preparing the scuba equipment
- Buddy checkBuddy checkThe buddy check is a procedure carried out by SCUBA divers using the buddy system where each diver checks that the other's diving equipment is configured and functioning correctly just before the start of the dive. A study of pre-dive equipment checks done by individual divers showed that divers...
- Breathing with scuba equipment
- BuoyancyBuoyancyIn physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...
control using the Buoyancy CompensatorBuoyancy compensatorA buoyancy compensator is a piece of diving equipment worn by divers to provide:* life saving emergency buoyancy both underwater and on the surface....
and the lungHuman lungThe human lungs are the organs of respiration in humans. Humans have two lungs, with the left being divided into two lobes and the right into three lobes. Together, the lungs contain approximately of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli, having a total surface area of about in...
s - Ascents and descentsAscending and descending (diving)In diving, ascending and descending is done using strict protocols to avoid problems caused by the changes in ambient pressure and the hazards of obstacles near the surface or collision with vessels...
- Diving maskDiving maskA diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. When the human eye is in direct contact with water as opposed to air, its normal environment, light entering the eye is refracted by a different angle and the eye is unable...
clearing and demand valve clearing - Air sharingAir SharingAir Sharing and Air Sharing Pro are file sharing and document viewing applications for the iPhone OS. With the application a user can mount the iPhone hard drive over wireless internet to a computer and drag and drop files. Users can also view files and manage files on the iphone in many popular...
- Air sharing ascent
- Basic RebreatherRebreatherA rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
skills:- Preparing the Rebreather
- Buoyancy control using the Rebreather
- Ascents and descents
- Diving maskDiving maskA diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater. When the human eye is in direct contact with water as opposed to air, its normal environment, light entering the eye is refracted by a different angle and the eye is unable...
clearing and mouthpiece draining - Bailing out
- Bail out ascent
- Diluent flush
- Dive planning skills:
- Buddy systemBuddy systemThe buddy system is a procedure in which two people, the "buddies", operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other.-Advantages:...
- Use of decompression tables
- Use of Dive computerDive computerA dive computer or decompression meter is a device used by a scuba diver to measure the time and depth of a dive so that a safe ascent profile can be calculated and displayed so that the diver can avoid decompression sickness.- Purpose :...
s - Breathing gasBreathing gasBreathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration.Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas...
requirement calculations - Safe dive site selection
- Precautions for night divingNight divingNight diving is a type of recreational diving which takes place in darkness. The diver can experience a different underwater environment at night, because many marine animals are nocturnal....
and drift divingDrift divingDrift diving is a type of recreational diving where the diver is transported by the currents caused by the tide or in a river.The current gives the diver the impression of flying and allows the diver to cover long distances underwater, possibly seeing more habitats and formations than usual...
- Buddy system
- Dive leading skills:
- Depth and time discipline
- Air management
- Use of surface marker buoySurface Marker BuoyA surface marker buoy, SMB or simply a blob is an inflatable buoy used by scuba divers, with a line, to indicate the diver's position to their surface safety boat while the diver is underwater.- Standard buoy :...
s - Use of decompression buoys
- Use of distance lineDistance lineA distance line, penetration line or guideline is an item of diving equipment used by SCUBA divers as a means of returning to a safe starting point in conditions of low visibility, water currents or where pilotage is difficult...
s - Use of diving shotDiving shotthumb|right|Diagram of a diving shot upcurrent of a dive siteA diving shot is an item of diving equipment consisting of a weight, a line and a buoy. The weight is dropped on the dive site. The line connects the weight and the buoy and is used by divers to move between the surface and the dive site...
s - CompassCompassA compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
navigationNavigationNavigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks... - Underwater pilotagePilotagePilotage is the use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea by means of sight or radar to guide oneself to a destination, sometimes with the help of a map or nautical chart. People use pilotage for activities such as guiding vessels and aircraft, hiking and Scuba diving...
- Doing decompression stops
- Diver rescueDiver rescuethumb|right|Beaching a casualty while providing artificial respirationDiver rescue, following an accident, is the process of avoiding or limiting further exposure to diving hazards and bringing a SCUBA diver to safety...
techniques:- Controlled buoyant liftControlled buoyant liftThe controlled buoyant lift is an underwater diver rescue technique used by scuba divers to safely raise an incapacitated diver to the surface from depth. It is the primary technique for rescuing an underwater and unconscious diver...
- Towing a diver and landing a casualty
- In-water artificial respirationArtificial respirationArtificial respiration is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration, a metabolic process referring to the overall exchange of gases in the body by pulmonary ventilation, external respiration, and internal respiration...
- CPRCardiopulmonary resuscitationCardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
on land - Oxygen first aid on land
- General First aidFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
- Controlled buoyant lift
- Technical divingTechnical divingTechnical diving is a form of scuba diving that exceeds the scope of recreational diving...
techniques:- Using Nitrox as a bottom gas
- Analyzing proportion of oxygen in a breathing gasBreathing gasBreathing gas is a mixture of gaseous chemical elements and compounds used for respiration.Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas...
- Calculating maximum operating depthMaximum operating depthIn technical diving and nitrox diving, the maximum operating depth of a breathing gas is the depth at which the partial pressure of oxygen of the gas mix exceeds a safe limit...
of a breathing gas - Calculating equivalent air depthEquivalent air depthThe equivalent air depth is a way of approximating the decompression requirements of breathing gas mixtures that contain nitrogen and oxygen in different proportions to those in air, known as nitrox....
of a breathing gas
- Analyzing proportion of oxygen in a breathing gas
- Using Nitrox as a decompression gas
- Planning accelerated decompression stops
- Normoxic Trimix as a bottom gas
- Hypoxic Trimix as a bottom gas
- Using Nitrox as a bottom gas
- Vocational techniques:
- Cave divingCave divingCave diving is a type of technical diving in which specialized equipment is used to enable the exploration of caves which are at least partially filled with water. In the United Kingdom it is an extension of the more common sport of caving, and in the United States an extension of the more common...
techniques - WreckShipwreckA shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
penetration - Underwater photographyUnderwater photographyUnderwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.-Overview:...
- Underwater videographyUnderwater videographyUnderwater videography is a video production, the branch of underwater photography concerned with capturing underwater moving images either as a recreational diving or commercial documentary, or filmmaking activity.-Limitations:...
- Underwater archeology
- Marine life identification
- Marine biologyMarine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
- Cave diving
- Dive group leading skills:
- Selecting dive sites using nautical chartNautical chartA nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
s - TideTideTides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s and use of tide tables - WeatherWeatherWeather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
influences and prediction - Group diver rescueDiver rescuethumb|right|Beaching a casualty while providing artificial respirationDiver rescue, following an accident, is the process of avoiding or limiting further exposure to diving hazards and bringing a SCUBA diver to safety...
management techniques - Dive group safety, prevention and supervision
- Underwater search and recovery skills
- Underwater surveyHydrographic surveyHydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...
skills
- Selecting dive sites using nautical chart
- Logistical skills:
- Boat handling and seamanshipSeamanshipSeamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat.It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watchstanding; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck...
- Boat navigationNavigationNavigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
and position fixingPosition fixingPosition fixing is the branch of navigation concerned with the use of a variety of visual and electronic methods to determine the position of a ship, aircraft or person on the surface of the Earth.These techniques include:... - Diving air compressorDiving air compressorA Diving Air Compressor is a gas compressor that can provide breathing air directly to a surface-supplied diver, or fill diving cylinders with high-pressure air pure enough to be used as a breathing gas.thumb|right|Filling a cylinder from the panel...
operation - Gas blendingGas blendingGas blending or gas mixing is the filling of diving cylinders with non-air breathing gases such as nitrox, trimix and heliox.Filling cylinders with a mixture of gases has dangers for both the filler and the diver. During filling there is a risk of fire due to use of oxygen and a risk of explosion...
- Use of group equipment such as diving shotDiving shotthumb|right|Diagram of a diving shot upcurrent of a dive siteA diving shot is an item of diving equipment consisting of a weight, a line and a buoy. The weight is dropped on the dive site. The line connects the weight and the buoy and is used by divers to move between the surface and the dive site...
s and decompression trapezes - Recompression chamber operation
- Boat handling and seamanship
- Instructor skills:
- Teaching diving theory
- Teaching personal diving skills
- Teaching group diving, safety and rescue skills
- Teaching boat handling, seamanship and navigation skills
- Teaching instructing skills
Scuba training for younger members
Most training agencies have minimum ages for diving and often restrict younger children to snorkelingSnorkeling
Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, a wetsuit may also be worn...
. BSAC
BSAC
BSAC can stand for:*Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center*Bit Sliced Arithmetic Coding, audio coding from MPEG-4 Part 3*British South Africa Company*British Sub-Aqua Club*British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy*Black Swamp Area Council...
allows 6 year olds to train for the "Basic Snorkel Diver" qualification.
From the age of 8 years old PADI
Padi
Padi or PADI may refer to:* Padi, Chennai, India* Padi , a musical group* Paddy field, a type of cultivated land * Professional Association of Diving Instructors, a scuba organization...
has the "SEAL Team program" and SSI
SSI
- Economics :* Standing Settlement Instructions, payment processing and settlement information about financial institutions* Strategic Sustainable Investing, an investment strategy that recognizes financial value in transitional leadership towards sustainability...
have "SCUBA Rangers" which teach diving in shallow swimming pools.
PADI allows 10 year olds to do the full Open Water Diver
Open Water Diver
Open Water Diver is an entry-level full diver certification for scuba diving. Although different agencies use different names, similar entry-level courses are offered by all diving agencies and consist of a combination of knowledge development , confined water dives and open water dives...
course. They are called "Junior Open Water" divers. There are restrictions on their depth and group size when diving. Also they must dive with their parents or a professional. When they reach the age of 12 they can dive with a qualified adult. Over 15 they are considered capable of diving with others of the same age or above.
BSAC
BSAC
BSAC can stand for:*Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center*Bit Sliced Arithmetic Coding, audio coding from MPEG-4 Part 3*British South Africa Company*British Sub-Aqua Club*British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy*Black Swamp Area Council...
allows 12 year olds to do the full entry level diving course - the Ocean Diver course. This qualification has no restrictions for the young diver, but individual branches of BSAC are free to set their own minimum age of branch membership.