Divemaster fitness requirements?

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Frosty

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
1,266
Reaction score
425
Location
Auckland NZ
# of dives
500 - 999
Hey guys sorry to start a new thread but Ive got questions I need answered. Dive op is 3.5hours flying away and its an expensive toll call to call them
I AM doing my PADI Divemaster training starting Late June.

I understand the fitness requirements are
1)400m swim
2) 100m "tired" diver tow- both divers in full dive gear
3) 800m surface snorkel
4)15 minute "float' -last 2 with hands out of water
5)A gear swap underwater.
I do understand that each skill has a points structure.
My questions are
1 what is the points breakdown for these skills? Ie at what time break do the skills get each points level.
2) as a rule the stamina skills done one straight after the other or with a breather?
3) how does the gear swap points breakdown? Ie on what basis.-someone answered that
4)For the training do you need to go to a standards gear setup -ie weightbelt and octi/regulator?
5)what did you do to get yourself to the proper fitness level?
6) Based on your own experience what part of the DM training was the most difficult?--ie stuff to study up on in advance.

Genuinely appreciate all or any advice from instructors /divemasters.
 
Assuming PADI ?

Here's a post I made a few years ago that answers at least some of your questions: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/go...aster-padi-explained-details.html#post6006076
I'll check to see if there have been changes since and if it answered all of your questions.

- - -

Some updates / comments:
Candidates must score at least a 3 in the equipment exchange.
For the snorkel swim, a candidate with leg-use limitations who normally arm swims, may use arms.
This is from the PADI Americas manual. Asia/Pacific might be different.

... My questions are
...
2) as a rule the stamina skills done one straight after the other or with a breather?
...
4)For the training do you need to go to a standards gear setup -ie weightbelt and octi/regulator?
5)what did you do to get yourself to the proper fitness level?
6) Based on your own experience what part of the DM training was the most difficult?--ie stuff to study up on in advance.
2) There is no PADI Americas requirement that the skills be done all in one session. Your instructor might choose otherwise.
4) You'll need ditchable weights and an alternate air source. There are other equipment requirements that your instructor should explain. e.g. signalling device, tables or computer, etc.
5) swam laps with/without fins
6) some candidates had difficulty with the physics portion of academics
 
Last edited:
5)what did you do to get yourself to the proper fitness level?

I started my divemaster from a base fitness level of crappy. I pulled a three on the 400 and a 5 on the tread/float, but thought I was going to die after the swim. A couple weeks of swimming and running got me into good enough shape to feel I could conquer (ok, survive) anything the course could throw at me.

6) Based on your own experience what part of the DM training was the most difficult?--ie stuff to study up on in advance.

I thought the mapping was probably the single most difficult project, but I can be a perfectionist and was daunted by what I thought would need to go into it. I also ended up doing a fair amount of the final draft on my last morning on Lembongan still drunk on arak at 4 am.

Overall, though, what was most difficult was just organizing all the various parts. I could always tag along with the things my LDS was doing anyway, and got a lot of experience working with students and divers in the pool, the quarry, the Niagara River. But I had to pretty much organize my own workshops, and it took all of October and most of November to find anyone with the time to fake a snorkel class with me.

--Andrew
 
Hey guys sorry to start a new thread but Ive got questions I need answered. Dive op is 3.5hours flying away and its an expensive toll call to call them
I AM doing my PADI Divemaster training starting Late June.

I understand the fitness requirements are
1)400m swim
2) 100m "tired" diver tow- both divers in full dive gear
3) 800m surface snorkel
4)15 minute "float' -last 2 with hands out of water
5)A gear swap underwater.
I do understand that each skill has a points structure.
My questions are
1 what is the points breakdown for these skills? Ie at what time break do the skills get each points level.
2) as a rule the stamina skills done one straight after the other or with a breather?
3) how does the gear swap points breakdown? Ie on what basis.-someone answered that
4)For the training do you need to go to a standards gear setup -ie weightbelt and octi/regulator?
5)what did you do to get yourself to the proper fitness level?
6) Based on your own experience what part of the DM training was the most difficult?--ie stuff to study up on in advance.

Genuinely appreciate all or any advice from instructors /divemasters.

1. The times should be in the divemaster crew pack. I don't have mine with me as I'm at work.
2. I did mine over the course of a few sessions. I did the 400m swim, 800m snorkel, and the float in one night. My float ended up being 5 minutes with hands out of the water. It wasn't that hard and I'm not a floater. I did the tow at a local lake at the end of day assisting with some classes. Your experience may be different.
3. the points are based on how comfortable you are doing the entire thing and how you manage to work through the exercise, if you come up at all etc. Complete it without surfacing and freaking out, you'll get a 5.
4. For pool stuff, I used a single tank wing and borrowed a shop pool reg. I don't have a single tank reg set anymore, so it was easier than swapping my own regs around every week. I didn't need any weight in the pool, but used a single a kilo on a weight belt to demo weight belt removal/replacement. For anything in open water, I used my twinset with standard DIR hog-rigged regs.
5. I went swimming, nearly everyday. I am not a swimmer, my technique is crap and I managed to get a 4 on the both the swim and the snorkel.
5. Make sure you read and understand the material, know how to work through the tables, etc.
 
Frosty, you posted elsewhere. If you are not a "swimmer", practice for the 400. The rest doesn't have to do with form/breathing and is just a normal (leg) strength thing.
 
A minimum standard, such as they are, is just that, a minimum. Should not the goal be to exceed and excel well beyond a minimum?

N
 
A minimum standard, such as they are, is just that, a minimum. Should not the goal be to exceed and excel well beyond a minimum?

N

Assuming that the standards are "acceptable" the notion that meeting the standards is actually somehow deficient is a bit silly, no?
 
Assuming that the standards are "acceptable" the notion that meeting the standards is actually somehow deficient is a bit silly, no?

I obviously do not agree. A grade of D is passing some standard, a grade of A indicates a better grasp of the subject or in this case, exceeding that standard, whatever, it is is only a good thing to exceed a minimum standard unless squeaking by is the goal. I think my parents always expected an A. Too bad I did not always get them. If something is worth doing then it is worth do well. A minimum standard is a starting point of acceptance, not an end goal. Perhaps it is my fault and that I am adding the word minimum to a standard that seems fairly minimal. My mistake. Carry on as one sees fit.

And I thought in another thread it was decided by consensus that a gear swap was meaningless? I do not think I could fit into my wife's gear nor her into mine? If one is to have standards, perhaps they should be actually relevant. Meh.


N
 
Minimum score is 15 points averaged over the 5 disciplines as follows (metric):
400m: under 6:30 = 5; 6:30 - 8:40 = 4; 8:40 - 11 = 3, 11-13 = 2, over 13 = 1
800m: under 14min = 5; 14 - 16:30 = 4, 16:30 - 18:30 = 3, 18:30 - 21 = 2, over 21 = 1
100m: under 2:10 = 5; 2:10 - 3:15 = 4, 5:15 - 4:20 = 3, 4:20 - 5:30 -2; over 5:30 = 1
15 min float: performed as per required = 5; hands not out for 2 compete minutes = 3; touched bottom or side = 1

For the equipment exchange it's basically a 5 if you do it with no dramas and it looks comfortable, 4 with a bit of fuss, 3 is you did it but faffed around a lot, 2 is it was complete mess but you managed to swap, 1 is incomplete. You must do it in whatever you normally dive in, must swap all scuba equipment except your weights and your suit.

Note that you can't pass with bare minimum requirements, so therefore you have to put some effort into this. In my experience, average scores would be 2 for the 400m, 3 for the 800m, 3 for the tow, 5 for the float (I won't let anybody off with less than a 5!), 4 for the exchange - that's averages based on a loose guess of several hundred DMTs in a big CDC.

When it comes to prep - swimming and snorkelling! Just do as much time in the water as you can and you will get through it. A lot of people worry about the 400m swim - don't worry, you don't have to be an olympic athlete and a lot of people only score 1 point for the 400m, but are super confident snorkellers and can make it up in the 800m and 100m diver tow.

Are they all done together? When I was teaching in Thailand, all our DMTs did the 4 swimming tests in one session (as did I). It's not mandatory, but I think it's a positive thing if candidates are able to do this. Not all schools or instructors will do them one after the other - it can amount to a matter of logistics as much as anything else.

When it comes to the equipment exchange, it is very much relevant and meaningful - regardless of the naysayers - and - when conducted properly - serves as an excellent object lesson in planning, control and communication.

Good luck and have fun!

C.
 
I obviously do not agree. A grade of D is passing some standard, a grade of A indicates a better grasp of the subject or in this case, exceeding that standard, whatever, it is is only a good thing to exceed a minimum standard unless squeaking by is the goal. I think my parents always expected an A. Too bad I did not always get them. If something is worth doing then it is worth do well. A minimum standard is a starting point of acceptance, not an end goal. Perhaps it is my fault and that I am adding the word minimum to a standard that seems fairly minimal. My mistake. Carry on as one sees fit.

And I thought in another thread it was decided by consensus that a gear swap was meaningless? I do not think I could fit into my wife's gear nor her into mine? If one is to have standards, perhaps they should be actually relevant. Meh.


N

While I agree - they still call the guy graduating from the bottom of his class at Med School "doctor"
 

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