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Gotcha. It had me fooled.Me thinks there is confusion - some are discussing OW requirements and some are discussing DMC requirements.
For DMC, I just refer to the skill as the "15 minute tread". If the DMC doesn't know the requirements, then that is his fault. If the DMC doesn't ask questions, then that is his fault. I want a smart DMC that comes prepared.
For an OW student, I will tell them all of the options available in the standards for the OW student.
There are a lot of people who don't know what the rule actually is and think treading water is the only acceptable way to do it. There was a thread a year or so ago about a situation in which OW students were doing this skill in a pool within the shop. Two of the students were teenagers who were excellent, comfortable swimmers and were enjoying themselves during the activity, as is fully allowed. The shop owner/director of instruction came in and told them they failed the skill because they were not treading water. When the instructor (the guy's employee) tried to protest, he was rudely corrected in front of the rest of the class.Well, I was probably at fault as a DMC for having never heard of drown proofing. Until I found it on SB of course. I doubt ANYONE who hadn't heard of it would think of this method when asked or told to tread water/float. Don't know if that means one is not prepared.
Re the OW students: Good to see someone giving all the options available in the standards.
In NAUI, basic scuba diver courses require a 10 min tread, back float or survival float (the form of drownproofing TM described)
In leadership courses, candidates do a 20 min survival float.
I know a man who had a guiness world book record for treading over 48 hours--hard...and I had a student who was a synchronized swimmer who could pick her body up out of the water with egg beaters---really hard..surviving floating is super easy and it creates watermanship. Students learn to keep their face in the water, exhale completely into the water, and when the times up a lot of students don't want to stop. It's my zen moment.
In NAUI, basic scuba diver courses require a 10 min tread, back float or survival float (the form of drownproofing TM described)
In leadership courses, candidates do a 20 min survival float.
I know a man who had a guiness world book record for treading over 48 hours--hard...and I had a student who was a synchronized swimmer who could pick her body up out of the water with egg beaters---really hard..surviving floating is super easy and it creates watermanship. Students learn to keep their face in the water, exhale completely into the water, and when the times up a lot of students don't want to stop. It's my zen moment.