In this episode of The Dive Locker Podcast we uncover the importance of the swim test during Open Water Diver courses.

Welcome To The Show!

Welcome to The Dive Locker Podcast, the podcast for dive professionals where we bring you the latest in diving industry resources that make you excellent at teaching techniques, risk management and dive business.

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Thanks for being with me today! Well in this episode we are gonna talk about the importance of the swim test for open water diver courses. RSTC says one thing, the agencies say something else. Then you’ve got variations of the test to consider as well as rules that can be, and are being, violated because instructors are letting them. There’s some great items to discuss, clarify and bring to light. Im also going to discuss tips for administering the swim test to make it as effective as possible.

Now we all know you need to be able to swim to be a certified diver, right? But what does “able to swim” mean? What is the ability needed and what should be measured? And by the way we are only addressing open water diver in this episode, the leadership swim tests could be a whole different episode. First, let’s break down what it is and what it isn’t. It’s not to measure fitness, endurance or technique. Although some of those might be on display, it’s not what we’re focused on. Instead the swim test is to demonstrate aquatic comfort and proficiency in the ability to keep the airway unobstructed in water. This is done while moving or swimming, and not moving, stationary. Strokes used and how fast one swims are also not measured directly. Yet indirectly they do give us a snapshot of big picture aquatic abilities.

Agency Swim Test Standards

So lets look at what our agencies using as standards for this test. And special thanks my colleagues for providing me with their standards and rationale, thanks to Sage Dalton with SSI, Steve Lewis with RAID, Derik Crotts with PSS, Ben Brown with SEI, Kris with NAUI and Jarrod Jablonski with GUE.

First here is what the RSTC standard states:
Physical Conditioning and Watermanship Evaluation. The student shalleffectively demonstrate basic watermanship ability by performing, to an instructor, the watermanship evaluation required by a training organization. This watermanship evaluation shall include either: a) continuous 200 yard (183 metre) surface distance swim and a 10 minute survival swim/float without the use of mask, fins, snorkel or of other swimming aids. b) 300 yard swim using mask, fins and snorkel, and a 10 minute survival swim/float without mask, fins, snorkel or other swimming aid. If an exposure suit is used, the wearer must be neutrally buoyant at the surface.

Swim Test Standards

• PADI
• SSI
• RAID
• PSS
• SEI
• GUE
• NAUI

Items In This Episode

• What to look for in the swim test?
• How to conduct the swim test?
• How do instructors do the swim test wrong?

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Thanks For Listening!

That’s it for today, everyone. Thank you so much for listening. Remember to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher, that way you’ll be notified of new episodes as soon as they go live and please leave a rating. Items talked about in this episode can be found on the show notes Page at scubaguru.com and there you can also click the microphone and leave us a comment. Thanks again. We’ll see you in the next episode. Safe diving and take good care of my friends.

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