Jorbar1551:
I guess the question should have been: How much experience have you had, before you started going DIR/Tech?
In the book, it says that "a significant number of individuals who are successful in technical diver training are dive masters, instructors, or individuals with comparable leadership-level training."
I only have 50+ dives, so i have nowhere near the experience i want, but I'm getting there. I need to take the rescue class, and get more experience in the water before I start taking intro to tech courses. I just wanted to know when people started their transformation from strictly recreational environments, to more challenging environments like deeper dives and overhead environments.
DIR doesn't nessessarily mean that you are doing technical diving. A person doing the normal drift dives off the reefs of cozumel can DIR and not have anything to do with technical diving. It's a set of procedures, gear configuration, and an attitude to not do it at all if you can't do it the right way. It's a way to dive safely, have fun, and it's a style of diving that will grow with you. You don't have to go tech. to be DIR, but if you decide that you want to then the jump isn't so drastic.
Divin'Hoosier:
I thought you had to have 100 beyond OW to do Fundies? Is that a new prereq?
http://www.gue.com/Training/Recreational/index.html
Prerequisites
1. Must meet GUE General Course Prerequisites as outlined in Section 1.6
2. Must be a minimum of 16 years of age
3. Must be a certified open water diver from a recognized training agency
4. Must be able to swim a distance of at least 50 feet/15 meters on a breath hold
5. Must be able to swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 14 minutes without stopping. This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal protection.
1.6 General Prerequisites for All GUE Courses
The following are prerequisites for all GUE Courses (any additional and/or course specific course prerequisite, as well as any deviations from the following, will be listed under the appropriate section of the specific course):
1. Must submit a completed registration form, medical history, and liability release to GUE Headquarters.
2. Must be physically and mentally fit.
3. Must hold DAN Master level insurance or equivalent.
4. Must be a nonsmoker.
5. Must obtain a physician's prior written authorization for the use of prescription drugs, except for birth control, or for a prior medical condition that may pose a risk while diving. A partial list of such conditions may be found on GUE's medical history form; if a student answers in the affirmative to any of these, they must obtain a physician's approval to dive and disclose this to their GUE instructor before the onset of training. Physician approval for a specific condition is valid for one year from the date it is given assuming there are no further changes to the student's medical conditions.
6. Must be CPR/First Aid trained (except for DIR Fundamentals).
