Try a Dive Question

[MarkA]

Hi Andy

Can anyone out there answer a simple query please ?

I have check this web site including technical publications but have been unable to find the answer. Is there a maximum depth for try a dives??

As a club we have traditionally stuck to 2 metres but as our pool is 3.5 metre I asked the question this week why we do not go deeper as this would give punters(for want of a better term)an idea of depth.

Apart from the old chestnut of "we are not insured for deeper than 2 metres" no one could give any other reason or qualify the insurance answer.

In the past we have not taken trainees below 2 metres until they produced a medical, but in these days of self certs this does not apply anymore.

Constructive comments only please and certainly no attempts at wit, we must think of the reputation of this forum and the BSAC membership. We don't want people to get the impression that some of us have a sense of fun

Thanks
Mar

[Mike Halligan]

<>
I have check this web site including technical publications but have been unable to find the answer. Is there a maximum depth for try a dives??

<>We don't want people to get the impression that some of us have a sense of fun

Mark,

Aha! the origin of the T-shirt "Am I having fun yet?" must lie in the UK, then.

Tech note T12 says nothing. However, I recall in the dim & distant someone briefing that a Try-dive should be broadly based on OS1 and OT1.

OS1 suggests "swim from shallow to deeper water and back covering about 50m, repeat several times" (element 9). Shallow water is not defined, but deeper water is said to be "from approx 2m to 4m deep. (Manual page 8)

As the Instructor on site, your call. In anticipation of debate, ring HQ.

HTH


Mike

[Andy Wade]

Hi Andy

Can anyone out there answer a simple query please ?

I have check this web site including technical publications but have been unable to find the answer. Is there a maximum depth for try a dives??

As a club we have traditionally stuck to 2 metres but as our pool is 3.5 metre I asked the question this week why we do not go deeper as this would give punters(for want of a better term)an idea of depth.

Apart from the old chestnut of "we are not insured for deeper than 2 metres" no one could give any other reason or qualify the insurance answer.

In the past we have not taken trainees below 2 metres until they produced a medical, but in these days of self certs this does not apply anymore.

Constructive comments only please and certainly no attempts at wit, we must think of the reputation of this forum and the BSAC membership. We don't want people to get the impression that some of us have a sense of fun


Hi Mark - Still reading your posts.
Try dive max depth.
All IMO of course.
Well, it depends.
On what you as the instructor feels about the person doing the try dive, how they are shaping up, are they likely to bolt for the surface or do they seem quite relaxed? Yes I know this is (allegedly) pretty obvious, but you should always have this in the back of your mind before taking them deeper than standing depth.
As for max depth in the pool, I've never seen any actual depth specified except for 'shallow to deep progression' which again, figures.
I haven't seen anything regarding not being insured over a specific depth.
IMHO, traditionally the 2m depth stated is because in 2m you can pretty much stand on the bottom on your fin tips as a quick escape to the surface, and you're unlikely to get a burst lung if you forget to breathe out. Most of the early training has this as a basis. And it's also a good confidence builder to start shallow and progress deeper.
I reckon the nearest you'll find to an official answer is that you as an instructor must ensure the safety of the trainee at all times, which leads back to my first point.
It depends - on the trainee and how they are coping with the try dive.
Personally I'd ask, why would you want to take them deeper at this stage?
I'd say that the idea of being able to go deeper (even in the pool) is something that might spur them on to actually starting training with your branch, and that's pretty much the point of the try dive anyway. It'd be a shame to let them go to the deepest part of the pool so soon.
I've always done try dives in pools with a max depth of 2m anyway, so this issue never actually arose.

.

[Angelfish]

The depth I take a Try Diver to in the pool (ours goes to 3m) depends on the confidence of the Try Diver Im with, some are happy to go into the deep end and some wont budge from the shallow end.

It amazes me that even those who are rooted to the spot just kneeling in the shallow edge still love it as much as the more confident ones.

Each one is different.

S

[David Walker]

Is there a maximum depth for try a dives??

A lot of ours end up in the deep end during a try dive - 3m in our pool. If they seem happy in the water then it seems a bit pointless to stay in the shallow end where they're barely below the water - we take them into the deep end where they can play around a bit more, some get onto forward rolls and things, last year we had a bucket and hula-hoop to play with, that kind of thing. They don't work in the 1-1.5m shallow end, you'd just hit the surface the second you moved.

David