Combine it with the "Why snorkels are useful" thread and you have a winner. Both speak to the historical origins of SCUBA diving, which, for a lot of current divers, was a very long time ago. (Not that it makes either a bad thing.)
Are we diving or swimming?
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Combine it with the "Why snorkels are useful" thread and you have a winner. Both speak to the historical origins of SCUBA diving, which, for a lot of current divers, was a very long time ago. (Not that it makes either a bad thing.)
I think that some swimming ability for diving is important. But at the entry level I do not see the importance of meeting a certain time. I have met a number of folks who can swim faster than me. However, after a mile I am still chugging along and they are spent. One needs to be able to get you and a buddy safely back to the boat or shore. Or wait for pickup if current is against you. You need to be able to get to the surface slowly if you have a problem. I do not see where time matters at all. Comfort in the water and ability to get some place does. While working on the DM I had no problem swimming several miles. But some of the speed requirements took me a while to meet.
Now as you move up into the pro ranks the situation is different. If somebody is in trouble and you are swimming out to get them, then speed is relevant. I recall once I was diving with a newbie and a very experienced instructor was 20-30 ft away. Newbie and I were on the hang bar doing our safety stop after a dive. I glanced away. I glanced back and instabuddy had lost his hold and was starting to drift up. Before I could react, the instructor had shot over, grabbed his arm and reattached him to the hang bar. Like barracuda fast.
So for OW I am all for a swim requirement. But think any speed requirements should be very mild. Supposed you do have to have some minimum requirement.
PS: Swimming too hard and fast underwater has its own problems. So better to have students learn to swim slow and in a controlled relaxed manner.
Now as you move up into the pro ranks the situation is different. If somebody is in trouble and you are swimming out to get them, then speed is relevant. I recall once I was diving with a newbie and a very experienced instructor was 20-30 ft away. Newbie and I were on the hang bar doing our safety stop after a dive. I glanced away. I glanced back and instabuddy had lost his hold and was starting to drift up. Before I could react, the instructor had shot over, grabbed his arm and reattached him to the hang bar. Like barracuda fast.
So for OW I am all for a swim requirement. But think any speed requirements should be very mild. Supposed you do have to have some minimum requirement.
PS: Swimming too hard and fast underwater has its own problems. So better to have students learn to swim slow and in a controlled relaxed manner.
Yes. I think TS&M's take on it is apt. Sure, GUE could test fitness in some other way, but since diving is a water sport, swimming seems to make the most sense.
My wife passed the Fundies swim test--with time to spare--doing it entirely in breaststroke, and another woman in the class passed it entirely in backstroke! At Fundies level, the minimum required level of physical fitness is low. Even the more advanced classes don't raise the threshold to what I could consider onerous.
I could hardly swim two laps in the pool when I made the decision to "become a better diver." It was very frustrating. But I started swimming regularly, and at one point took a few lessons. I also ramped up my other forms of exercise and lost some weight. I'm still not a great swimmer, but by the time I took the Fundies class, the swim test was well within my abilities. I believe that improved fitness did help improve my diving.
GUE may have that requirement, but GUE certifies only a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of the world's recreational divers. There may be other agencies with similar requirements, but I am unaware of them.
The agencies of the WRSTC (PADI, SSI, SDI, IDEA, etc.) probably certify over 80% of the world's divers. The WRSTC standards do not include any time limit on the swim requirement. There is a time requirement for the float (it has to go 10 minutes), but not for the swim. There are no increasing standards or time requirements for these agencies until you reach the divemaster level.
If you happen to fall off a dock or a pier, you will need to be able to swim or at least stay afloat, but you will rarely have to swim more than 200 yards to get back on that boat or pier, and there will not be a time limit.
Ha! You might be the only Instructor on SB who has stated they are not a "great swimmer".
I seem to get the impression from Posts on SB that we are all supposed to have excellent swimming abilities.
I also assume we are all discussing swimming with no "aids".
I've kept up with a slow swimming whale shark (slow for them), for over an hour with mask and fins. Does that count?
diver 85
Contributor
OP, you never been going(diving) into a big current---I see.......A couple I've gotten into-- a non-swimmer would be dead or floating 300 miles out in the Philippine Sea---or made it to Miami , starting from the Flower Gardens....
---------- Post added January 29th, 2015 at 07:38 AM ----------
My instructor's name @ his 'real job' was "Fish".....
---------- Post added January 29th, 2015 at 07:38 AM ----------
Ha! You might be the only Instructor on SB who has stated they are not a "great swimmer".
I seem to get the impression from Posts on SB that we are all supposed to have excellent swimming abilities.
My instructor's name @ his 'real job' was "Fish".....
AdivingBel
Diver
This is what I remember from my OW cert. At this level it's really a "comfort in the water thing" more so than swimming (fixed distance, no time limit, whatever stroke floats your boat). IMHO, comfort in the water at this level is VERY important. Beyond the basics of how the gear works, instruction on using the gear, some safety related drills, and a few supervised dives, comfort in the water is the major assesment associated with the OW when you get right down to it, isn't it? We are diving, right?
---------- Post added January 29th, 2015 at 09:43 AM ----------
Sometimes it's all about motivation. Life or death, keeping up with a whale shark...I can swim for miles and miles...
Not only fitness, but specifically the ability to self rescue and rescue others is important for all dive professionals and in fact all divers. Thaty includes moving in the medium in which we play- the water. And moving in water is called swimming. All divers should be proficient, and those on whom other divers rely (professionals) should be extremely proficient.
DivemasterDennis
DivemasterDennis
In the PADI system, the swim test is only required at the divemaster level in the "professional ranks", so the OP's original statement is incorrect for that agency.
Hawkwood, I passed the Fundies swim test (and the C1 test) swimming sidestroke, and if I can do it, just about anybody who is not a complete cough potato can. The tests for higher levels do get a bit harder, although with correct technique (and mine is way better than it used to be) you can make the times without getting too terribly winded.
Hawkwood, I passed the Fundies swim test (and the C1 test) swimming sidestroke, and if I can do it, just about anybody who is not a complete cough potato can. The tests for higher levels do get a bit harder, although with correct technique (and mine is way better than it used to be) you can make the times without getting too terribly winded.
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