Do you have to know how to swim to scuba dive?
I was talking to someone I know who does a lot of scuba diving and I was surprised when he told me that you need not be a strong swimmer in order to learn scuba diving, and in fact you don’t even need to know how to swim (without diving fins) at all. Is this true?
Moviebuff hit it well. I was first certified YMCA, LA Co. and PADI in 1975. Since the instructor was certified for instruction from all three of the above, he gave us the hardest test and passed us for all three. YMCA was the hardest at that time. At that time, we had to swim 10 laps after each class and by the end of the course, swim 10 laps within 15 minutes. He could care less how you got there, as long as you could get through it within the time requirement. With a reasonable cardiovascular system, you can dog paddle that within the time requirements.
In the 1990’s, I was an equipment repair tech. at a dive shop. The certifying agency (who will remain nameless) the shop certified under eliminated the swimming requirements. My opinion was it was geared more toward equipment sales and did not want to push those away from class who could not pass the current swim tests. The instructors defended this by saying they were training divers to dive smarter, not stronger. My response was they were teaching divers to be equipment dependent and that no matter how smart you were as a diver, it did not compensate for a minimum level of physical proficiency required to survive adverse changes in ocean conditions. Especially in the temperate waters we live.
While it is doubtful anyone will ever use a freestyle stroke to rescue themselves in a diving emergency, I believe one must have a reasonable level of cardiovascular fitness to negotiate the ocean environment.
I’m a good swimmer and I’ve been scuba diving but I’m not an expert by any means. It seems fooliish to me to surround yourself in water if you don’t have basic swimming skills. Things can always go wrong when you’re in a large body of open water and I sure would want to be prepared for that. So I’m sure one COULD scuba without being a good swimmer but would you really WANT to!?
References :
This is not true, to my knowledge.
I am not aware of any training agency that does NOT require basic water skills, including some swimming ability, in order to complete a certification course. You don’t need to be a strong swimmer, but do need to show that you are comfortable in the water and are capable of functioning in water over your head without completely relying on equipment. Scuba equipment can fail, so being 100% reliant upon it for survival is not what being a certified scuba diver is all about. Many of the skills associated with scuba certification involve how to deal with unexpected problems underwater, including poorly adjusted or malfunctioning equipment.
References :
NAUI Scuba Instructor
Moviebuff hit it well. I was first certified YMCA, LA Co. and PADI in 1975. Since the instructor was certified for instruction from all three of the above, he gave us the hardest test and passed us for all three. YMCA was the hardest at that time. At that time, we had to swim 10 laps after each class and by the end of the course, swim 10 laps within 15 minutes. He could care less how you got there, as long as you could get through it within the time requirement. With a reasonable cardiovascular system, you can dog paddle that within the time requirements.
In the 1990’s, I was an equipment repair tech. at a dive shop. The certifying agency (who will remain nameless) the shop certified under eliminated the swimming requirements. My opinion was it was geared more toward equipment sales and did not want to push those away from class who could not pass the current swim tests. The instructors defended this by saying they were training divers to dive smarter, not stronger. My response was they were teaching divers to be equipment dependent and that no matter how smart you were as a diver, it did not compensate for a minimum level of physical proficiency required to survive adverse changes in ocean conditions. Especially in the temperate waters we live.
While it is doubtful anyone will ever use a freestyle stroke to rescue themselves in a diving emergency, I believe one must have a reasonable level of cardiovascular fitness to negotiate the ocean environment.
References :
Active NAUI divemaster for several years
BC (before children)