DIR- GUE Fundies Rec vs Tec rating

[beester]

To the OP, originally fundies was a workshop, not a certification. It was established because too many divers were failing (expensive) GUE technical courses because they lacked "fundamental" skills. Hence the name and the workshop. Later it became a certification, and after that a certification with a rec and a tec pass.

I believe it wise to try to treat your course as the workshop it is. Yes you are evaluated (constantly), but the big positive of the course is the detailed briefings you'll get on any skill you struggle with, and even though the course is really packed, you'll have time to practice the skill again after the briefing, addressing some of the issues you might have with a skill.

It's a hard course though, because the standards are high, and for many (even very experienced divers) some of the skills you are being taught will be new.

So do yourself a favor! Take the course in the gear you are familiar with. A fundies course is not the time to start changing stuff up, just because these are requirements for a tech pass. If you are currently diving a doubleset, drysuit, and use a cable light, by all means use these and maybe by the end of the course the instructor decides that you can manage the skills at a tec level. If you are diving a wetsuit with a single tank, by all means take the course in this setup. You still will be training on the same skill set (with maybe the exception being the diver rescue part), and you will learn a bunch while at the same time not struggling with new gear.

If your ultimate aim is to gain access to GUE tech courses (so a fundies tech pass), don't worry. Just take the course and if you get a provisional or a rec pass you'll still be handed the tools on how to work towards a tech pass. You'll get a detailed post course briefing, with a timeline and what skill improvement you should focus on.

It's the hardest course I've done, but at the same time the most satisfying, because your level and way of diving will take a quantum leap forward (it might not feel that way in the course but it does).

Good luck and above all have fun!

 

[crofrog]

So do yourself a favor! Take the course in the gear you are familiar with. A fundies course is not the time to start changing stuff up, just because these are requirements for a tech pass. If you are currently diving a doubleset, drysuit, and use a cable light, by all means use these and maybe by the end of the course the instructor decides that you can manage the skills at a tec level. If you are diving a wetsuit with a single tank, by all means take the course in this setup. You still will be training on the same skill set (with maybe the exception being the diver rescue part), and you will learn a bunch while at the same time not struggling with new gear.

I don't entirely agree with that. You should talk to your instructor about your goals. We specifically took fundies to learn the skills in drysuits and doubles without any expectation to pass, and the struggling with new gear allowed us to go home to get comfortable with it without the bad habits, and we had discussed with him doing drysuit and doubles primers originally instead of fundies. I'm glad he recommended fundies over the primers because now I've got a rec pass out of it that I wasn't planning on.

 

[KevinNM]

I've seen people get a Rec pass who had 20 dives total. You have a lot less bad habits ingrained at that point. They did it in a single and wet suit. Adding doubles and a dry suit makes it much harder, so I'd suggest not trying fundies for the first time with both unless you are comfortable with the dry suit at least.

Being able to not move and maintain your trim and position in the water column is key. This can be very hard to do and for a lot of people it is the hardest part of the class. I found the instructors videos of what I was really doing on dive one to be pretty shocking. But once you know what you are doing you can fix it.

But don't try to practice specific skills before the class unless you have someone to show you how GUE wants it done. Doing a valve drill wrong a hundred times before the class will not make class easier.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I don't entirely agree with that. You should talk to your instructor about your goals. We specifically took fundies to learn the skills in drysuits and doubles without any expectation to pass, and the struggling with new gear allowed us to go home to get comfortable with it without the bad habits, and we had discussed with him doing drysuit and doubles primers originally instead of fundies. I'm glad he recommended fundies over the primers because now I've got a rec pass out of it that I wasn't planning on.

Many possible routes. My wife and I were experienced recreational (single Al80 and wetsuit) divers when we first encountered GUE, and the route we took was: (1) GUE Primer (this is what I believe has since been renamed Fundies Part 1; (2) the full Fundies course, also in single tanks and wetsuits, and we received Provisional passes; (3) returned 3 months later after 10 or so practice sessions and got Rec Passes; (4) a year later acquired doubles and drysuits and took a combined Doubles/Drysuit Primer; (5) almost 3 years of practice interspersed with some coaching sessions with various instructors; and finally (6) made the Fundies Tech Upgrade. I think taking it in small steps was best for us. The best route probably depends on how naturally talented/athletic one is. There is absolutely no way we could have gotten anything out of our initial Fundies course had we taken it in doubles and drysuits.