DM Swim Tests whats teh big deal

[belairbrian]

Seems there are a lot of post complaining about these.

I don't think I did great but got 14 points. And I'm a chubby 47 year old.

Got a 5 on the tread swim (maybe chubby is better here as it helps you float)
Got a 3 on 800 meter swim with fins. (just settled in at a steady pace)
Got a 4 on the tow

That gave me enough to pass But still got a 2 on the 400 meter.

So is there a particular one that seems to give people trouble?

 

[ClayJar]

We don't have points in NAUI, just pass/retry minimums, but looking at only those of our swim tests that correlate to PADI's list, the equivalent scores would basically be:

• 4 on the tread (20 minutes but no hands requirement seems like a PADI four to me -- between 3 and 5)
• 3 on the tow (100 yard scuba transport in <4min)
• 2.25 on the snorkel swim (900 yards in 18 minutes, scaled to PADI scores)
• 3.5 on the no-gear swim (450 yards in 10 minutes, scaled to PADI scores)

Our 450-yard no-gear swim is the one that usually has overconfident people's lunch. Since the NAUI versions are hard limits, you can't borrow points from something trivial like the tread to go easy on the 450-yard swim. Swimming 450 yards nonstop in 10 minutes requires a bit more stamina than most people have without a bit of training, but with four to five weeks of training, it's no problem at all to finish under 9 minutes (equivalent to a four-point PADI 400m). The other skills are easy if you can do the 450.

I've seen multiple candidates wash out over our 450-yards-in-10-minutes swim. In fact, I now consider that one of my prerequisites if anyone wants to enter Divemaster training. If they don't have enough initiative to spend *at most* five weeks training according to Zero to 1650 in Six Weeks, there's no way in the seven seas and 10,000 lakes that I want them DMing for me. (They don't even need to *finish* all six weeks of that thrice-weekly swimming plan. By about the middle of week four, the 450 should be no problem!)

Personally, I like our four-minute buddy breathing on the bottom while swimming (and half of that without a mask). The surface swims show whether you have the stamina, but that one shows how calm and in control you can be underwater. mb didn't understand my "I can't see my watch, so let me know when your two minutes with the mask is over", so we ended up going maskless almost five minutes each for an *extended* swimming-around-the-bottom buddy breathe. (If I had to do five, I figured she may as well, too. :biggrin: Hehe.) mb actually said that it was quite relaxing during her turn without the mask, as she didn't have to *do* anything but breathe and kick.

 

[belairbrian]

Alas, Buddy Breathing is a dying skill. No longer in OW. And the DM standard says the Instructor should demonstrate to DMCs if they had never done it.

I could have done better on my 400yd but I weathered out at the base pool 3 times for thunderstorms. There you do 7 turns. In a 12 meter pool the turns kill your time. But since I only needed a complete, i did it that way.

 

[davetowz]

I think it is mostly a mental game. I know I psych myself out a lil. The answer is to go try it before you do it with the instructor present and find out what you can do.
Then practice!

 

[TMHeimer]

Float--I'm very negatively buoyant. Finally got a 5 when I found out what drown proofing was and that it was allowed--did the hands out with almost no effort.

400--I was on HS swim team briefly. 39 years before the test, and hadn't swam a stroke in between--literally. Once I got advice and re-trained myself I got my 3--with lots of lap training to get those specific muscles up to par (age 56 at that time). Being in general good shape will help with swim times, of course, but technique is paramount. Though it is part of the stamina tests, it is also a sport (unlike diving, IMO)

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

I didn't practice or train. We did all tests back to back. 5 on tread, 4's on the rest, because I took it easy. I backstroked the straight swim. I was showing off, because it was me and 6 guys. When they told us that probably a couple wouldn't pass, they all looked at me. That ticked me off a bit, so I backstroked to irritate them. I use to compete and the backstroke was my thing..... They didn't know that.
We had to pass all sections with a minimum of 3 or redo all. We weren't allowed to borrow from a high end to cover a less than 3.

 

[endurodog]

I just turned 46 last week but completed the test a month ago. Now I am at 5100 feet and that makes some difference. I workout a lot but had not spent any real time swimming laps in a pool and so I spent a month working on technique and getting my stroke back before going. Pacing yourself is what my instructor told me was very important and that he saw several guys go out and kill it for a few laps then end up gassed.

 

[ClayJar]

Being in general good shape will help with swim times, of course, but technique is paramount.

I find that a bit entertaining, as my swimming technique would make a swim coach cry (or maybe even retire to a retreat in the Himalayas). :biggrin:

Pacing yourself is what my instructor told me was very important and that he saw several guys go out and kill it for a few laps then end up gassed.

Pacing is where it's at, so to speak. The Zero to 1650 thing built up my swimming stamina sufficiently that I could just set a normal-feeling pace and keep it *the* *entire* *time*. I've found that in swimming, hiking, biking, and paddling, if you just take a pace that feels natural, you can keep going *far* longer than you *feel* like you can keep going. For the 450 swim I had to build up a bit of arm-stamina, but a month into that, it really didn't matter at all *how* I felt. I just kept going... with the last length sprinted, of course -- why leave anything in the proverbial tank?

 

[knotical]

Of the DMs I've certified, all got 5's on the tread. A mix of 3's, 4's and 5's on the other three, but with an occasional 1 or 2 on the swim. I only got a 3 on the swim myself (got 17 points at age 53 and 6000 ft. elevation). So in my limited experience, the swim is more likely to challenge some folks. Seems like candidates range from strong swimmers to just fair. Note that the other three tests don't require much technique.

Personally, I like our four-minute buddy breathing on the bottom while swimming (and half of that without a mask). The surface swims show whether you have the stamina, but that one shows how calm and in control you can be underwater.

This has some similarities to PADI's equipment (scuba unit, fins, mask) exchange while sharing a single second stage. Fun! PADI now considers this waterskills exercise #5, requiring 15 total points to pass.