Which pool is better

[frogxman]

Question to instructors. What is the best pool for OW pool sessions in your opinion - shallow or deep? There are advantages and disadvantages of both. In shallow student can just stand up if there is something wrong and thus prevent build up of panic and thus avoid negative impressions. In the deep one (without shallow end) it is much better to practice buoyancy skills.
Also do you think that pool is essential at all comparing to shallow open water? Personally I learned scuba straight in the sea. Found that very useful.

 

[RICHinNC]

Well, I am not an instructor...and I dont even play one on TV...but my lds has a great pool IMHO.

It is divided in half where one side is only like 5 ft deep so you can stand and play with your gear all you want....and the other half...is 12 ft deep so you can go down deep enough where... at least with my ears...you need to start equalizing.

I use it about every third weekend or so during non diving season...ok..at least non season for me...and during times when my work wont let me get out on a trip. I can at least keep my skills up.

 

[Fly N Dive]

the pool my LDS uses is a regulation swimming pool, and it starts at about 3-4 ft, and stays at about 5 ft for awhile before sloping down to like 12-13 ft.
best of both worlds

 

[jiveturkey]

RICHinNC once bubbled...
Well, I am not an instructor...and I dont even play one on TV...but my lds has a great pool IMHO.

Lines like this make me want to pee my pants. I love simpsons inuendo.

 

[chiara]

I thought a deep pool was best until I started training at a second pool in order to prepare myself for AI and eventually IDC and IE.

This second pool, where the Course Director who will be conducting IDC works, is only about 7ft at its deepest end.

Believe it or not, my buoyancy improved dramatically trying to hover or to do an horizontal controlled emergency ascent without hitting the surface every half kick or half breath.

 

[Walter]

"I learned scuba straight in the sea."

A pool or pool-like conditions is required, that's why various agencies' standards refer to "confined water" instead of "pool." If the part of the sea where you learned meets the requirements, there's no problem.

Many skills are best introduced in 3 feet of water. Buoyancy does not require a deep pool. If you perfect your buoyancy skills in shallow water, deep water will be a snap. OTOH, it is very useful to be able to change depth while working on buoyancy.

There are skills in which a deeper pool is better. Free diving is almost impossible to learn in less than 8 feet, 15 feet is much better. Of course, most classes leave out this essential skill. Ascents and descents require a deeper pool. Ideally, a teaching pool will have shallow and deep areas.

 

[Soggy]

Walter once bubbled...
Free diving is almost impossible to learn in less than 8 feet, 15 feet is much better. Of course, most classes leave out this essential skill.

Why do you consider free-diving an essential skill for SCUBA training?

 

[Walter]

The biggest killer of divers is panic. Panic is caused by a string of events. Something will go wrong (this is fairly common) which causes the diver fear or merely to question their ability. Sometimes what goes wrong is in his mind. Once a diver questions his ability, it usually follows that he begins taking shallow rapid breaths. This does not allow him to vent CO2 adequately and it begins to build in his lungs. The additional CO2 makes him feel a need to breathe faster. Breathing faster only compounds the problem, soon he feels he cannot get air and panic is the rapid result, he rejects his regulator and bolts to the surface. Often he will hold his breath on the ascent (because he is panicked and not thinking) which can easily result in his death even from shallow depths.

It is essential, IMHO, to prevent panic. A number of things are very useful in preventing panic. One is simply knowledge about how panic takes hold. We need to know that when we become frightened, one of the most useful things to do is to concentrate on taking slow deep breaths. I wonder how often this is stressed or even covered in OW courses. "Stop, think, act" or even "stop, breathe, think, act" does not go far enough unless a very good explanation is given.

Another element is practice in handling problems that arise. If you know how to handle a problem you are less likely to doubt yourself and panic when it does arise.

Confidence in one's own abilities is also very important. That is why some agencies require confidence building skills (doff & don, bailout etc.) in their courses.

One problem most divers have today is they are extremely equipment dependent. Take away a piece of gear and the diver is very uncomfortable. One reason for the no mask breathing requirement of most agencies is to reduce this equipment dependency. Unfortunately, most instructors do not require their students to become comfirtable breathing without a mask. I've even heard of one instructor who allows students to hold their nose during the skill. Learning skin diving requires a diver to be less equipment dependent and much more confident in their abilities. The same reasoning holds true for the swimming requirement that some agencies are gutting.

 

[Soggy]

I agree that panic is the biggest killer. I don't understand how freediving factors into that. Freediving promotes breath holding which is a big no-no for scuba. I think teaching freediving in OW would confuse the issue.

SCUBA is equipment dependent and a lot of the training involves learning to trust that equipment. If you are 100 feet down and something goes wrong, you are dependent on your equipment.

 

[Walter]

"I think teaching freediving in OW would confuse the issue."

Do you base that on teaching skin diving and SCUBA and seeing a problem? Or does it look good on paper? My experience (I started teaching using these methods in '86) is it never confuses the issue. People are already conditioned to hold their breath underwater, teaching skin diving does not affect this.

To continue a SCUBA dive, you need a tank and a regulator. While I'm not advocating diving without mask, fins and BC, it can be done. I practice, as a matter of routine, diving with two pieces of equipment having simulated failures. It is not unusual to see me swimming around the reef with one fin and no mask, or making as ESA with no fins, or no mask.

"If you are 100 feet down and something goes wrong, you are dependent on your equipment."

If I lost all my equipment at 100 feet, I would have confidence in my ability to surface and reach the exit point. If you don't, you might want to reconsider your personal depth limit.

"SCUBA is equipment dependent and a lot of the training involves learning to trust that equipment."

I'm sure some are trained that way, but IMHO, it's an accident waiting to happen. I train students to trust their abilities and how to use their equipment. Trust equipment? Not a very good idea, equipment fails.