Recreational diver training

Duration of training

Recreational diver training courses range from minor specialties which require one classroom session and an open water dive, and which may be completed in a day, to complex specialties which may take several days to weeks, and require several classroom sessions, confined water skills training and practice, and a substantial number of open-water dives, followed by rigorous assessment of knowledge and skills. Details on the approximate duration of training can be found on the websites of most certification agencies, but accurate schedules are generally only available from the specific school or instructor who will present that course, as this will depend on the local conditions and other constraints.

The initial open water training for a person who is medically fit to dive and a reasonably competent swimmer is relatively short. Many dive shops in popular holiday locations offer courses intended to teach a novice to dive in a few days, which can be combined with diving on the vacation. Other instructors and dive schools will provide more thorough training, which generally takes longer.

Location of training lessons

Initial training typically takes place in three environments:

Classroom - where material is presented and reviewed

Confined Water (Swimming pool or equivalent natural body of water) - where skills are taught and initially practiced.

Open Water - where the student demonstrates and refines 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 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.

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 syllabuses such as CMAS 1* and NAUI, and its absence from other equivalent courses such as PADI Open Water Diver.

Basic diving theory:

Diving physics

SCUBA Equipment

Human physiology

Diving hazards and precautions

Diving signals

Buddy system

Basic water skills:

Finning and mobility in-water

Fitting and wearing a diving mask

Snorkeling

Shallow free-diving

Entering and exiting the water (seated entry, ladder exit, giant step entry, etc.)

Basic open circuit scuba equipment skills:

Preparing the scuba equipment

Pre-dive checks:

Buddy check

Water entries and exits with scuba gear

Breathing from scuba equipment

Buoyancy control trim and stability using weights, the Buoyancy Compensator and the lungs

Underwater mobility and maneuvering

Ascents and descents

Diving mask clearing

Demand valve clearing and recovery

Air sharing

Emergency ascents

Controlled emergency swimming ascent

Basic rebreather diving skills:

Preparing the Rebreather

Buoyancy control using the Rebreather

Ascents and descents

Diving mask clearing and mouthpiece draining

Bailing out to an alternative breathing gas supply

Bail out ascent

Diluent flush

Dive planning skills:

Buddy system

Use of decompression tables

Use of Dive computers

Breathing gas requirement calculations

Dive risk assessment:

Safe dive site selection

Choosing appropriate equipment

Precautions for night diving and drift diving

Dive leading skills:

Depth and time discipline

Air management

Use of surface marker buoys

Use of decompression buoys

Use of distance lines

Use of diving shots

Compass navigation

Underwater pilotage

Doing decompression stops

Diver rescue techniques:

Controlled buoyant lift

Towing a diver and landing a casualty

In-water artificial respiration

CPR on land

Oxygen first aid on land

General First aid

Technical diving techniques:

Using Nitrox as a bottom gas

Analyzing proportion of oxygen in a breathing gas

Calculating maximum operating depth of a breathing gas

Calculating equivalent air depth of 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

Vocational techniques:

Cave diving techniques

Wreck penetration

Underwater photography

Underwater videography

Underwater archeology

Marine life identification

Marine biology

Dive group leading skills:

Selecting dive sites using nautical charts

Tides and use of tide tables

Weather influences and prediction

Group diver rescue management techniques

Dive group safety, prevention and supervision

Underwater search and recovery skills

Underwater survey skills

Logistical skills:

Boat handling and seamanship

Boat navigation and position fixing

Diving air compressor operation

Gas blending

Use of group equipment such as diving shots and decompression trapezes

Recompression chamber operation

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 people

Most training agencies have minimum ages for diving and often restrict younger children to snorkeling. BSAC allows 6-year-olds to train for the "Dolphin Snorkeller" grade.

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 for branch membership.

International standards equivalence

The International Organization for Standardization has approved six recreational diving standards that may be implemented worldwide (January 2007).

The listed standards developed by the (United States) RSTC are consistent with the applicable ISO Standards: