Dive Master swim requirements

[oly5050user]

Rachel; was that Jim as your dm instr?

 

[perdidochas]

So, after 11 years of recreational diving, I'm considering the plunge into the professional side by beginning the dive master training. I see that there are requirements such as 15 minute float/tread, a 400m swim/tow and a 800m snorkel swim.

Here's the question...are the two swims (400 & 800) timed?? If so, does someone have the specific required times you could share?? At 42 yrs of age, I feel comfortable with most skills, but the physical stuff at least has me wondering about the challenge!!

Thanks.
Kevin :14:

They are timed. In a NAUI AI/DM course in 1987, the times were 10 minutes for the 400m swim, and somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes for the 800m snorkel. You should be able to do that at your age (my age as well), but even college-aged kids need to practice it. You need to get in the pool and start swimming laps--both with and w/o snorkel.

Edit: After reading the other responses, is NAUI using the scoring system, or is it pass/fail to certain timed standards?

 

[BarryNL]

Yikes! Hopefully you find an instructor who doesn't think mediocre is good enough!

The standards are set by PADI, not the instructor.

*edit* Wow, that's weird - just looked at the start of the thread and I seem to have posted virtually the same reply nearly two years apart :blinking:

 

[danclem]

This thread makes me feel better. At 58 I was talked into starting my DM certification. I was just about to start lap swimming to get in shape and my instructor called two weeks ago and said he had some evening pool time available for the swimming tests, and would I like to knock one or two of the tests out.

So, after not training, I was able to completed the 400, 15 minute tred, and half mile snorkel/fin requirements with 4-5-4 scores. That was the good part. Following the swim I drove home, had a glass of wine, and barely made it up the stairs to bed. It took about four days before I could move normally again.

If there is a question about 42 being too old, what the heck am I doing? Yikes!

Cheers,

Dan

 

[ClayJar]

After reading the other responses, is NAUI using the scoring system, or is it pass/fail to certain timed standards?

NAUI standards do not have a scoring system. It's pass/fail, with the times being roughly equivalent to "3.5" on the PADI scores. 450 yard swim in any stroke(s) in 10 minutes or less, followed by 25 yards of resting strokes. 900 yard snorkel in 18 minutes or less.

(There are also quite a few more watermanship skills, but those are the two most endurance-based skills. I have a full list of the ones in the S&P manual in another thread, if you'd like.)

 

[FireDiver443]

I know this is going back a ways, but the PADI requirement is that if the candidate STOPS, they must re-test the skill. Flip turns are, according to PADI, acceptable.

 

[bfw]

At 42 yrs of age, I feel comfortable with most skills, but the physical stuff at least has me wondering about the challenge!!

Being 42 is no reason not to be in shape; 40-45 is THE most competitive age class for men in the sport of triathlon (because the kids are old enough to look after themselves, the career is on track, and money is not a problem.)

There's no reason to pursue DM training unless you're going to use it by leading or training other divers, and, in doing so, you're going to encounter things that call for the stamina those tests demand. When a mother and teen daughter buddy team surface 100 yds. behind the anchored boat in a stiff current, the DM is the one who has to swim out to them, calm them, and tow them to the end of the line trailing the boat. A good rescue course will cover the all too common scenario of one of the rescuers becoming a victim by overtaxing their body.

Start running and/or swimming laps now. In today's industry, where supervision is seen as a substitute for competence, divers WILL be looking to you with a sense of dependence, and you need to be in shape.

 

[bfw]

So, after not training, I was able to completed the 400, 15 minute tred, and half mile snorkel/fin requirements with 4-5-4 scores. That was the good part. Following the swim I drove home, had a glass of wine, and barely made it up the stairs to bed. It took about four days before I could move normally again.

Don't take passing the test as relieving the need to get in shape. If it took that much out of you, you didn't really pass from the standpoint being ready for the real world.

 

[danclem]

Hi BFW

Thanks for the note. Due to advanced old age some of us like to understate our abilities. The day after the test we made two dives, the following day a four mile trail run followed by a dive, then on Monday a city run and weight training. Always better to understate and over-deliver. Off for a mountain bike ride.

Cheers,

Dan