Swimming Assessment

Recently I observed an OW course being given at one of the pools I work, and specifically, I was interested in their assessment of basic swimming and aquatic skills required for scuba certification. When I asked the instructor how he evaluated their ability, he looked puzzled for a few seconds then stated: "I don't really know, I guess, I just sort of watch them and kinda know..."

As a Water Safety Instructor there are some clearly defined objectives a student must achieve before they're considered for a higher "Learn to Swim" level. Level One is simply swimming with assistance; Level Two is floats and glides without assistance and development of flutter kick and breathing; Level Three adds the front crawl, rhythmic breathing, intro to whip kick and scissors kicks, and some elementary back stroke; and Level Four begins stroke development and refinement; Level 5 begins adding turns, and is mostly stroke refinement.

So with the limited information provided, what approximate skill level do you believe a student should achieve before attempting scuba certification?

The vast majority of swimming students we see are children of various ages, but typically a low skill level. So what we do is pre-test for every new session and place our students accordingly, here's my typical test:

Front Float with face down, blowing bubbles in water, comfortable for at least 5 seconds.
Back Float with head back, ears in water, chin up and back arched, comfortable for at least 5 seconds.
Front Glide with face down, blowing bubbles in water, for at least two body lengths.
Back Glide with head back, ears in water, chin up and back arched, for at least two body lengths.
Bobs - exhaling full breath before returning to surface for ONE INHALATION ONLY before submerging.
Front Crawl Arms with Flutter Kick and FULL RHYTHMIC BREATHING with no head lift or extra breaths for 15 meters.

With this assessment you should be able to pre-determine exactly where a student belongs and know everything you need to know about a swimmer's ability in about 5 minutes. If they can't put their face in the water, or head back, you know there's a problem... and head position is KING in the water. Without proper head position the swimmer is mediocre at-best and a liability in the water.

RU4SKUBA:

Front Crawl Arms with Flutter Kick and FULL RHYTHMIC BREATHING with no head lift or extra breaths for 15 meters.

With this assessment you should be able to pre-determine exactly where a student belongs and know everything you need to know about a swimmer's ability in about 5 minutes. If they can't put their face in the water, or head back, you know there's a problem... and head position is KING in the water. Without proper head position the swimmer is mediocre at-best and a liability in the water.

Click to expand...

I'm not a swimming instructor, but this sounds confusing to me, and those are strong words ("mediocre at best," "a liability in the water"). What if a person is very comfortable in the water, and a decent swimmer, but does not swim the front crawl (or not super proficiently). I guess what I'm saying is that I don't understand the strong emphasis on the front crawl as an indicator of fitness for SCUBA (or even swimming).

Could you explain this in more detail?

Well, from my position as a DM, I'd say somebody who's level 2 but has good stamina in the water is good enough. I do not think you have to be able to do a good crawl to be a diver (I'd have to say that, because I don't have one, although in the last six years, I've at least gotten to where I can swim slow laps that way -- couldn't do it at all when I learned to dive, but I could swim sidestroke almost forever. Did my GUE swim tests that way). You DO have to be able to swim well enough to cope with falling off a boat or dock.

We worry about students who can't complete the tread, or can't do the MFS swim, because they're either showing poor water comfort or poor stamina, or both.

I have to agree with TSandM on this one. The ability to float/tread water for a while after falling off a boat or dock (perhaps adding on the surface having had to ditch your BC etc etc for some reason) is sufficient. Ideal.....no. But sufficient.

Standards set out three objectives, if they meet it, I teach them. If they don't, I can't certify them. The objectives are nothing like your swimming skill levels.

1. They must stay afloat for 15 minutes. I split it 5 minutes each tred, drown proof and float, but as long as they stay afloat the required 15 minutes, they've met that objective.

2. They must swim 50 feet underwater on one breath with no push off.

3. They must swim 300 yards non-stop using any stroke, no time limit.

They cannot use any swimming aids other than swim goggles. If they swim in cold water, they can use a wet suit, but I must weight them to be neutrally buoyant.

I can teach them if they make 10 minutes, 40 feet, and 200 yards, but they must meet the higher objectives to get certified. I've taught a few who couldn't quite meet the 50 feet underwater at the beginning of the class, but made it by the end. I've never had a student who could stay afloat 10 minutes who couldn't make it 15 nor who could swim 200 yardsa, but not 300. If they can't make the 10/40/200 I can't provide any in water instruction until they can.

I never did get the rhythmic breathing thing, even after some coaching with a local Total Immersion studio, which was frustrating, because I got the rest of it. Like Lynn, I can go for a long time on my side or back. It's not something I do for fun, though--I just don't have much interest in it.

I guess I'm just puzzled about the strong influence and push towards higher standards, tougher objectives, and criticism of agencies... yet swimming skills are perceived at such an extremely low level among some very influential dive leaders. I wasn't expecting minimum expectations to be rhythmic breathing, or doing refined strokes, but I'm honestly surprised by the responses to some degree.

Now I might wish to change my question to: Have any of you ever taken a swim lesson before and how would you perceive its value in the scuba world?

I need to know that the student is comfortable enough in the water to be able to pay attention and learn and not be prone to panic. Frankly I can often tell that at poolside before they even get wet, I can definitely tell that before they swim one length.

As a WSI I also taught swimming. Swimming is not directly needed for diving but poor swimmers tend to make divers who are a bit closer to panic than I like.

I started taking swimming lessons when I was about 3 years old, and I spent my growing-up summers in the water, mostly just goofing around. So I'm comfortable in the water, and I love to snorkel and swim, although I have never taken any advanced swimming technique lessons, nor have I swum competitively, or regularly in a pool. When I do swim an official stroke, it's typically the breast stroke, or sometimes the side or back stroke. I can swim the crawl (and I do when I want to "haul" for short distances), but it's not my strong or elegant suit.

I guess to me, what I perceived as your emphasis on technical swimming precision seemed slightly misplaced. Not that it's not good to be able to swim, but .... "whatever works" is my thought. I think the main thing is to be comfortable and confident in the water. While it's true that non-swimmers would be at a disadvantage; I believe that once you can swim, it probably doesn't add that much to be a "proper" swimmer.