Basic Swimming Skills

[jaycanwk]

Having read trough a number of threads in "New to Scuba" and this one aswell, I've noticed that alot of problems newly certified people are having, it seems, in my opinion, really just comes down to lack of basic swimming skills. I'm not sure what the prerequisit swimming skills are for each of the agencies, but when I took my OW course with N.A.S.D.S. the swimming test on the first night seemed to be just tread water for a certian amount of time and swim a couple lenths of the pool without seeming too tired and that was about it.

I'm relitively new to scuba but i'm not new to water. Since I was a 1ft tall, Ive been in the water. I'm also a Lifeguard, Swimming instructor, Instructor/Lifeguard trainer and competitive swimmer. When I took my OW course a number of years ago now, out of a calss of 16 I'd say about 7 of us were, for lack of a better term, "advanced swimmers" the rest were "basic recreational swimmers" Looking back I recall that those of us that were more advaced swimmers in the group were way more comfortable in the water and caught onto basic scuba skills like bouancy control etc alot fatster than the rest of the group, in fact alot of the time they just seemed natural, almost instinctive, while some of the otherpeople in the group seemd to have alot of dificulty with something as simple as clearing a mask.

Does anyone here think that if the certifying agences raised the bar abit on swimming skill prerequisits that it would go along way in turning out better prepared divers at the end of a basic OW course?? In my opinion, I think it would, having had alot of experience in swimming instruction. I would suggest that if you sign up for a scuba course and you can't do a basic flutter kick or you freak when swimming without a mask on, that you are already in over your head.

Just my humble .02 cents worth.

 

[jbd]

Having read trough a number of threads in "New to Scuba" and this one aswell, I've noticed that alot of problems newly certified people are having, it seems, in my opinion, really just comes down to lack of basic swimming skills. I'm not sure what the prerequisit swimming skills are for each of the agencies, but when I took my OW course with N.A.S.D.S. the swimming test on the first night seemed to be just tread water for a certian amount of time and swim a couple lenths of the pool without seeming too tired and that was about it.

I'm relitively new to scuba but i'm not new to water. Since I was a 1ft tall, Ive been in the water. I'm also a Lifeguard, Swimming instructor, Instructor/Lifeguard trainer and competitive swimmer. When I took my OW course a number of years ago now, out of a calss of 16 I'd say about 7 of us were, for lack of a better term, "advanced swimmers" the rest were "basic recreational swimmers" Looking back I recall that those of us that were more advaced swimmers in the group were way more comfortable in the water and caught onto basic scuba skills like bouancy control etc alot fatster than the rest of the group, in fact alot of the time they just seemed natural, almost instinctive, while some of the otherpeople in the group seemd to have alot of dificulty with something as simple as clearing a mask.

Does anyone here think that if the certifying agences raised the bar abit on swimming skill prerequisits that it would go along way in turning out better prepared divers at the end of a basic OW course?? In my opinion, I think it would, having had alot of experience in swimming instruction. I would suggest that if you sign up for a scuba course and you can't do a basic flutter kick or you freak when swimming without a mask on, that you are already in over your head.

Just my humble .02 cents worth.

If the swimming bar were raised you might turn out better divers although not necesarily so IMHO. You probably would turn out fewer divers and thats not good for the business of diving and in business its all about the flow of money. The bigger the flow the better.

 

[Halthron]

The way my instructor described it when he got certified 30 years ago, the swimming test was 1/2 a mile and the nightly warm-up was 1/4 mile (uphill both ways?). What would be the point of requiring a longer surface swim now when divers regularly wear a BC? I don't buy into the argument that stronger swimmers are better at bouyancy control. There are people who aren't strong swimmers who are still very comfortable in the water.

 

[verona]

I agree with much of what you say Jay. I have been surprised during by DM internship by the poor ability in water people have generally (diving aside). I think that if you are a strong swimmer you will be comfortable in water kind of by default (that's probably why you are a strong swimmer). Though I accept people can be good divers without being stong swimmers. However, my view is that to cope with conditions, choppy and rough seas and current, people should be strong swimmers, by which I mean they should have a lot of stamina. I have recently completed my DM watermanship skills and a couple of my buddies didn't get enough points to meet the standard. This is due to time restrictions on the exercises. I am older than both of them and they are male and stronger. They both completed the exercises but not as quickly as I did and they were more exhausted at the end than I was. But I would say one of them is a far better diver than I am. But maybe in a rescue situation I would have the crucial edge if fast swimming was needed.

Overall, I do think that more importance should be given to physical fitness and swimming stamina than currently is.

 

[scubatoys]

I like the fact that Naui has the 50 ft., underwater swim on 1 breath. I know most the other agencies don't require an underwater swim - but I think it's a nice test of underwater comfort without just having someone swim a mile and tire them out. The other side of the coin is, that skill does not have to be performed on the first night - and sometimes people cannot complete it on day one. But after going throught he scuba and snorkeling skills, they have improved their swimming ability, and comfort underwater, and can normally nail it their next time they try. So I have seen if someone becomes a diver, their swimming skills improve - so should we demand they improve their swimming skills before they can dive?

 

[Rick Inman]

I'm not sure what the prerequisit swimming skills are for each of the agencies, but when I took my OW course with N.A.S.D.S. the swimming test on the first night seemed to be just tread water for a certian amount of time and swim a couple lenths of the pool without seeming too tired and that was about it.

When I took mt OW with NASDS in 1971, there was NO swimming. In fact, their moto was, "Dive with your brain, not your back."

Having read trough a number of threads in "New to Scuba" and this one aswell, I've noticed that alot of problems newly certified people are having, it seems, in my opinion, really just comes down to lack of basic swimming skills.

Can you give us an example of a New To Scuba incident that could have been prevented by better swimming skills?

 

[Hank49]

If the swimming bar were raised you might turn out better divers although not necesarily so IMHO. You probably would turn out fewer divers and thats not good for the business of diving and in business its all about the flow of money. The bigger the flow the better.

I think experienced swimmers catch on to diving faster but only because of comfort in the water. Once you learn to dive and control buoyancy well, there is very little "swimming" invloved. Just a few gentle frog flicks of the fins.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

I tend to agree with the line of thought that stronger swimmers tend to be more comfortable in the water (or is it that people who are more comfortable in the water tend to swim more and become stronger swimmers?) I think stamina is definitely an asset, as well as knowing how to use your fins to advantage. As a divemaster, surface swimming has been pretty important. I can remember one day in February in particular when I had to swim back and forth about 1/4 km several times through 3-4 ft waves with surface current, towing students back to shore when they either got cold or seasick. That sucked, but that's why divemasters earn the big bucks, right?

 

[TravisT]

I'm a newbie, don't consider myself a advanced swimmer but I feel comfortable in the water, having my face in the water, ect.

I've heard several people here make the statement that those who typically lose their lives are the ones who are so sure of themselves and take to many risks. It's not the newbie divers from what I have read that usually go do something to get themselves killed. It's those that have been known to be great divers.

I'm sure there is a fair portion of both, but I just wanted to point out that if you are speaking of safety's term. Making you an advanced swimmer doesn't make you obsolete of injury or death.

 

[ShakaZulu]

I think experienced swimmers catch on to diving faster but only because of comfort in the water. Once you learn to dive and control buoyancy well, there is very little "swimming" invloved. Just a few gentle frog flicks of the fins.

Encapsulated the essence of this thread, well said. Just don't forget about that swim againt the current and those nice long shore dives where you have to swim forever..........