PADI Divemaster Program – Seattle
Students will begin with an orientation to the GirlDiver program, our philosophy of instruction and making diving fun, and if new to diving in cold water, we’ll go for a couple dives to acclimatize. After a few days of fun diving we jump right into practicing local rescue techniques and familiarizing yourself with the local hospitals, re-compression chamber and transportation routes before beginning the divemaster program.
The PADI Divemaster course is divided into three broad sections; divemaster theory, skill development and practical application. During the program, Divemaster trainees will be instructed on a broad range of dive theory, including dive equipment, marine ecology and the physics and physiology of diving. There are eight dive theory exams to complete as well as PADI specialty courses in peak performance buoyancy and underwater digital photography.
Divemaster trainees will also develop their skills through assisting with confined and open water training for new divers and helping out the Instructor with the fun dives. Your main job as a divemaster trainee is to learn how to anticipate the instructors support needs, work with Discover Scuba students and to buddy up with the more in-experienced divers at our dive events. Divemaster trainees will also lead students on the tour portions of their training dives and assist with Rescue training and specialty courses. We begin with re-learning the 20 skills from the Open Water diver course, practice until you are comfortable and than run a few mock Discover Scuba courses with the staff before you conduct your own under supervision. The Discover Scuba course includes both confined water training and dives in the Sound focusing on diver comfort and marine life awareness.
These core components of the Divemaster course and PADI professional level certification take at least 3 months to complete (6 to 8 months on average). Once you are PADI certified you will be working as a PADI Divemaster for us until the end of your program with the option to earn your DSD Instructor certification. PADI DM’s can be certified to teach Discover Scuba Diving by conducting 5 of these courses under the supervision of one of our instructors. This additional certification is especially important for those seeking employment in tourist areas where the Discover Scuba Diving course is the focus of the dive center. As a PADI DM you can also participate in the Emergency First Responder and digital underwater photography instructor courses to further add to your diving resume.
Check out our classes in The Dive Shack!