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The day the Course arrives.
What you will need. Your swimming costume (bathers), towel, pen, and
training materials (if you have them), and don't forget your
completed Recreational SCUBA Dive Medical Form and your passport
sized photos.
What happens once you get inside and start
the course?
Introductions. You will get
general introductions from each of the students on the course with
you, things like name, what you do and what attracted you to Scuba
Diving. The Instructor should let you know how long they have been
diving recreationally, teaching diving and what experiences and
other qualifications they have. They should also explain what it is
you need to do to become a Certified SCUBA Diver (Pass the dive
medical, a diving theory test, complete all in-water skill
requirements and be assessed as being competent with your SCUBA
equipment and the in-water skills).
Administration Check. The
Instructor will check to see if everybody in the classroom has paid
the required amount and give you all the theory materials (student
dive manual, dive planner, divers logbook, etc…) that you need for
the course, if you don't already have them.
Administration. You will then
start filling out the paperwork: Student Record File, Safe Diving
Practices Statement of Understanding, Liability Release and Express
Assumption of Risk and Medical Questionnaire. Usually taking about
30 Minutes to read and complete. At the end of the paperwork the
Instructor will ask for your dive medical form and passport photo's
these will be placed in your Student Record File.
Course Layout. You should be
advised as to what the course syllabus is and what it contains, this
differs between
Training Agencies,
Dive
Stores,
Instructors and the
course you've chosen. Usually it is a 4 full day course which can be
done full-time (Monday-Thursday) or part-time (2 Weekends) or
casually (Days to suit you and them).
The Basics of an Entry Level Dive Course.
Dive Theory. The dive theory topics that you cover are:
Introduction to diving
Diving equipment
How pressures effect your body
Safe diving practices
Underwater navigation
Dive planning
Problem management
How to use a dive planning table or Dive Computer |
The underwater environment
What a SCUBA System is
How your body reacts to SCUBA
Underwater communications
The buddy system
How to use a dive planning table
Where to go at the end of the course |
Confined
Water Skills. Confined water is either a swimming pool
or a place in open water that is sheltered, shallow and safe. Here
you will take your first breath underwater, become familiar with
the equipment and learn basic skills such as equalising the
pressure in your ears, and clearing water from your mask and
mouthpiece. You will be briefed by your Instructor about each
exercise in detail before being asked to do it, then you will see
a demonstration of the exercise, and then you will be given the
chance to do it yourself. Exercises differ a small amount between
Training Agencies to
Training Agencies.
Open Water Skills. Soon enough
you will be diving in the ocean or in some cases a lake. Here you
will repeat the exercises you learnt in sheltered water and start
to practice the skills that will keep you safe when you are diving
later, without an instructor or dive master - such as buddy skills
and navigation. Again, you will be briefed by your Instructor in
detail before being asked to do anything new. Exercises differ a
small amount between
Training Agencies.
Theory Exam. This is usually a
50-100 Question Exam with multiple choice answers. Passing the
exam should be no problem if you have followed the lectures
carefully - it is a very practical subject and a lot of common
sense is involved, even in the theory.
At the End of your Course.
Providing that you have passed your medical, the theory exam, and
your in water assessments, you will get a Temporary Certification
Card. You should receive your Plastic Certification Card, with
your photo on it, in the post within a couple of weeks.
Other areas of this series:
Main Page,
Medical Considerations,
Become A
Scuba Diver, the day the
course
arrives, Where do I go
from here? and check out our
Interactive Dive Gear
Guide as well.
The information contained in this article has been gathered from
various places, various sources and the experience and training of
the originator. Once again, it is not to be taken as the only way
things are or should be done, there are others.
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