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The Divemaster course is an incredible undertaking, involving study and fun, and only you set the limit. If you decide to take your first professional diving course, you need to know what the pre-requisites and qualifications are.
How much does a PADI or SSI Divemaster course cost?
Some schools may offer different systems in time or organization. In the view of Divers Go Diving, the best option is to pay for the course and be able to have as many months as you choose, with unlimited dives so you can meet the requirements at your own pace. You will need to have some money saved up for your personal expenses.
In some places, they might offer you only a few weeks or a limited number of dives, which makes the course insufficient, as you have a lot of things to learn, in addition to diving, and diving again, every day.
Some schools offer a system of doing internship in exchange for work. You get the course for free in exchange for working for a few months. If you choose this option, you will have to carefully consider whether it is really worth it to save 550/750 euros in exchange for working much more than you might have initially thought. It will be highly educational, and good experience in seeing how the real world works in a diving school, but it will also be exhausting. Negotiate your course and your responsibilities to avoid any future misunderstandings.
What can a Divemaster do? What job can a certified Divemaster get?
As a Divemaster, you can plan and/or guide certified divers in fun dives, help instructors in doing courses under their supervision, and “officiate” baptisms in a swimming pool or open confined waters up to six meters in depth, if you have first achieved that capacity as a DSD Leader by assisting an instructor in four independent and separate baptisms. You are evaluated and certified by the instructor, and you will pay an annual fee.
You can also direct snorkeling and refresher courses, among others, like adventure dives in the advanced course under the direct supervision of an instructor or obtain the title of instructor of underwater photography, if you pursue that specialty.
To do all this, you must have “Active status”, by paying an annual quota of about 115 euros and have diving insurance to cover accidents (not mandatory in all countries)
What are the pre-requisites for the Divemaster course?
1- Certification as an Advanced Diver and Rescue Diver by any certification organization.
2- Minimum age of 18.
3- At least 40 immersions recorded in your divelog.
4- Completion of First and Second Aid (EFR PADI or React Right SSI) within the previous 24 months.
5- Examination by a doctor and declaration of fitness for diving within the last 112 months. Medical examination.
What material will I need for Divemaster course?
Once you have made up your mind to do the course, you have fill out the necessary documentation required in any extreme sports. Your instructor will handle it.
We also recommend that you choose an instructor with a personality you feel comfortable with, because you’re going to spend many hours together and you have to get along from the start. Payment can be made from the start, at the end, or in installments. This is also something you can negotiate with your diving center.
Ready? Because the next step is to receive a large amount of materials called the Crew Pack, which we recommend buying from the school, so you can study and get to be better acquainted with the information you will be learning over the coming months.
You will have to attain perfect mastery of the physics and physiology of diving. You might find the following things in the pack:
– your Divemaster guide, with many topics and a review of the knowledge to be acquired by the end of the course.
– An instructor’s guide so you can learn the rules of professional diving.
– An RDP table
– An electronic calculator (eRDPml), a tool for better organizing your dives.
– You will receive one of the best diving books of all time, the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, because all you need is there.
– Your Divemaster table for use while diving and or taking notes.
– A divelog for recording your dives.
– An individual reflecting sticker, which is very important for your course. Don’t lose it! Otherwise, you’ll have to buy another Crew Pack.
– They usually come with a free backpack for carrying your stuff.
There are many extra packs available, depending on how much you are willing to spend. I’ll just show you the required ones.
What do I have to do to pass the Divemaster course?
1- Meet the professional standards stipulated in the instructor’s guide.
2- Watch the Divemaster video provided by the diving school.
3- Complete all the segments of skills development in the guide, including a review.
4- Pass the final Divemaster exam, which consists of 120 questions. You will have to give the right answer in at least 75%.
5- Create an Emergency Assistance Plan for a designated diving site. The plan in the rescue course is compatible if it is less than a year old, and it can be submitted for the Divemaster course.
6- Complete resistance exercises and water skills exercises, by swimming between 400 and 800 meters with and without the support of light gear. Float for 15 minutes, the last two with your hands out of the water. Snorkeling and freediving techniques. Dragging a motionless diver for 100 meters. Change a complete diving suit and share a single regulator among partners in confined waters (no more than five meters)
7- Perform evaluation and rescue assistance of an unconscious diver underwater.
8- Complete skill circuit and evaluation of diving skills (24 skills).
9- Direct assistance required in courses of baptism, Open Water and Advanced or Rescue for a Divemaster.
10- Create a map of the diving area with all the characteristics of the surroundings, safety features and services.
11- Perform simulation of search and rescue of lost objects or divers.
12- Independently carry out the planning and guidance of a complete baptism under the supervision of an instructor.
13- Have at least 60 immersions recorded and sealed in your logbook, including your experience in nighttime diving, deep diving and underwater navigation with a compass.
14- Read and agree with the License and Membership Agreement of either PADI or SSI.
As you can see, long and fun work awaits you in obtaining your first professional license in the Divemaster course.
We recommend that you learn as much as you can (or even more!), and don’t leave any questions unanswered. Repeat everything as much as needed to acquire good technique, and give it your best.
This course is the most important one, even more than the next one as Instructor, which qualifies you to give courses. Because here you will get to the very heart of what diving is all about.
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