Who is a PADI Divemaster? PADI divers across the world are looking for very special individuals to help them choose their diving environment to gain the maximum benefit from every dive. The PADI Divemaster is a person who divers look up to, somebody divers can trust to make accurate judgements, somebody who shows examplary diving skills, wears well maintained dive equipment with the offer of spare equipment to other divers, passes knowledge of dive theory effortlessly, handles logistics for student divers and fun divers and provides accurate dive briefings. The PADI Divemaster assists the dive operator with risk management offering rescue skills and prevention methods to reduce diver accidents and to act with common courtesy and ethnic role model behaviour at all times.
The PADI Divemaster is a very special person in the diving community and all students wishing to enroll on a PADI Divemaster Course should be fully prepared to receive job satisfaction and praise, because when divers come across a good Divemaster they certainly let their appreciation show.
If you are indeed looking to work as a PADI Divemaster you should also consider your social ability and the levels of fun you can provide to your divers morning, noon and night. If you find having fun challenging then you are not ready to become a Divemaster, having fun is one of the most important roles of a Divemaster and the more fun you have the more contagious your fun becomes and the more fun your fellow divers will have. Remember, fun, must always be safe fun!
A Divemaster should also be able to share their experiences and stories, divers love stories and the more diving experience you can achieve the more stories you will have to tell, Divemasters should always continue with their education to better their knowledge and keep them at the forefront of diving. Its a good idea to have a continuing education plan in mind and follow it and update it as often as you can. You may want to consider Gas Blending, Deep Diving, Wreck Diving and Nitrox Diving so you can assist all these divers at every level with confidence that you have the experience within that field.
As you may know, many PADI Divemasters go on to become PADI Professional Scuba Instructors. So, the training and experience you gain through the PADI Divemaster programme helps shape your abilities and attitude toward becoming a professional level diving educator. To help shape you into a Dive Professional, PADI has developed the PADI Divemaster Crew-Pak and various other materials that will compliment your course. Studying the materials PADI has on offer will ehance your knowledge extensively.
A Divemaster will also be qualified to assit PADI Professional Instructors with student training. Instructors will need you to be attentive and supportive at all times and respect your piers. This will require you to adapt to different situations as they arise with different instructors so being flexible to individual needs is essential.
What will you do during the PADI Divemaster Course? The PADI Divemaster course is a performance based programme, so course duration depends on class size, logistics, and divemaster performance characteristics. During the course candidates will learn through a combination of independent study, classroom, confined water and open water sessions.
The PADI Divemaster course is divided into three modules:
Knowledge Development, Water-skills and Stamina, and Practical Application. Knowledge Development Consists of 12 topics:
- The role and characteristics of a PADI Divemaster
- Supervising diving activities for certified divers
- Assisting with student divers in training
- Dive theory introduction
- Physics
- Physiology
- Equipment
- Decompression theory and dive tables
- Divemaster conducted programmes
- Risk management
- Business of diving
- Furthering your dive career
Water Skills & Stamina Includes: Stamina Assessment - Completing four exercises that evaluate stamina, water-skills, each rated by points. Diver Rescue Assessment & Development, Confined Water-skill Demonstration Development - to verify that the candidate can perform the 20 basic dive skills from the PADI Skill Evaluation, and to train the candidate to perform these skills to demonstration quality.
Practical Application: During your training, you will be working closely with your instructors in learning how to assist and conduct training dives for PADI Open Water Diver Courses, Discover Scuba Diving programmes, specialty courses and more.
Course Prerequisites:
- Candidates must be a minimum of 18 years of age
- Hold PADI Advanced, Rescue and EFR certifications
- Have logged a minimum of 20 dives to enrol and completed 60 dives in total to certify
- Have a good physical ability and provide a doctors medical certification.
After successfully completing the PADI Divemaster Course you'll become a member of PADI and receive benefits, including the ability to purchase professional liability insurance (which may be required to conduct some activities). There is a direct charge to PADI upon successful completion of the course.
What is included within the Course? The standard Divemaster Course includes (but is not limited to) 5 days of boat trips including breakfast, lunch, water and fruit. Approx 12-15 logged dives any further dives required to complete the minimum of 60 dive total or for additional training will be charged at a discounted rate. 4-6 days of pool training plus several days of theory based classroom training and exams. Approx 18-20 days in total. Students must purchase the Divemaster Manual for home study plus the Recreational Diving Encyclopaedia and knowledge workbook, these will help with final exams. Equipment is available for hire but at Divemaster level candidates should have a full set of the basic equipment.
Divemaster Internships are available at PACIFICDIVERS which involve various different levels of time and experience for those who are looking for that extra special training and hands-on experience. Please email us at contact@pacificdivers.net with a brief outline of your experience to date so we can provide a tailor made package.
Where can you go after completing this programme? You can work as a PADI Divemaster or continue your training with a PADI IDC, Instructor Development Course. You can also look at advacing your diving knowledge with technical diver training staying at the forefront of your profession.
When can you start? Divemaster candidates should contact Pro-Tech for available start dates. Dates are flexible but internship DiveMaster courses are limited depending on instructors schedules.
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