PADI Divemaster Certification

Go Pro!

In the Divemaster course, you will learn how to supervise student divers as a certified assistant during training pool and open water dives, act as a dive guide on dive tours for certified divers, among over various challenging tasks. This course focuses on the practical side of the supervising and control of divers as well as an intensive review of important theoretical concepts of diving. Water skills as well as rescue scenarios will also be covered. The Divemaster is the first level as a professional in the PADI system, and upon completion of the course, you apply to become a pro member of PADI.

Philosophy

When you are ready to approach the professional level of Divemaster, it is important that you understand the philosophy and mindset of the dive professional. We strive to teach not only the basics and fundamentals of being a professional, but also go beyong what is required in the course requirements. With the entry level scuba diving courses, there is a fixed, rigid structure for instruction, and most of the training goes by the book. For the DM course, we have more time and many chances to develop and progress your skills. Once you start the DM training, you will quickly find that there is no one "right" way to accomplish something. There are many ways to approach a situation and solve problems that arise with student/certified divers and scenarios when diving.

Please contact us for further details and an opportunity to discuss this philosophy and whether we are right for your needs as well as a chance for us to assess your qualifications to enter the program.

Course Details

Academic Theory and Review

The first step in the course is the intense academic review of diving theory. As a Divemaster, you will be responsible to help certified divers plan dives and calculate dive profiles, as well as answer general questions from certified divers as well as student divers. Divers expect Divemasters to have a professional level of diving knowledge. The best way to review for the academics is to complete the Knowledge Workbook by using the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving. Then, during any necessary review sessions, we will cover the many topics of diving, such as physics, physiology, as well as diving equipment.

Practical Experience

In the pool or confined water, you will learn how to supervise students who are learning how to dive, how to help control groups of divers, and also learn how to demonstrate diving skills. Also, in one session, you will go through a full circuit of water skills. In open water, you will perform a full rescue scenario.

The hands on experience also comes from an internship where you accompany an Instructor on fun diving tours, open water and advanced level courses. You will learn how to manage and supervise diving tours as well as to lead underwater. The course is based on actual, real life diving experiences as well as practical training exercises.

Last, but not least, you will learn the basics of customer service, the business of diving, and how the Divemaster makes a diving trip/course more fun and enjoyable for all divers, not to mention the primary focus on safety. There will also be an overview of the retail side of the industry and the sales and marketing of dive courses and equipment.

Sound like a hard course? Maybe so. But the rewards are tremendous. The person who holds the Divemaster certification is a rare breed of diver. Less than 10 percent of certified divers reach this professional level.

Requirements

Prerequisites

Minimum certification required is PADI Advanced Open Water Diver or equivalent rating from an international certification organization. Equivalent is defined as proof of certification beyond entry level, along with proof of 20 or more logged dives documenting experience in deep diving and underwater navigation.

Certficiation as a PADI Rescue Diver or have an equivalent rating. Equivalent is defined as proof of certification in diving rescue from a training organization other than PADI. If the candidate enters with an equivalent certification, then the candidate must submit proof of CPR and first aid training within the past 36 months. If a candidate with an equivalent certification demonstrates poor or inadequate performance during the diver rescue assessment, then the candidate must complete a PADI Rescue Diver course.

Have completed and logged at least 20 dives as documented by personal log book. Note: Proof of 60 logged dives is required for Divemaster certification.

Be at least 18 years old at the start of PADI Divemaster training.

Submit, to the instructor, medical clearance for diving signed by a physician, attesting to fitness to dive. The medical clearance must be current within the previous 12 months. The physician signing the form cannot be the individual.

Cost and Package Details

Each Divemaster candidate will take a different amount of time and number of dives to complete this course; thus, the price for Divemaster certification is 42,000 yen excluding ocean dives and materials. This fee includes:

All course instruction
Up to 3 confined water (pool) sessions (usually enough for all confined water requirements)

Minimum days of ocean dives required for divemaster:

1 day Open Water Diver course (2 open water dives) Recommended to attend all 4 open water dives of the OW Course.
2 days (3 training dives (At least 2 from AOW, Rescue, or Specialty course), 1 Discover Local Diving (Required Training Exercise 3))
1 day Required Training Exercise 1 Mapping (More than 2 dives may be required to adequately prepare a dive site map)
1 day for Required Training Exercise 2 Equipment Exchange Stamina Assessment and Development Diver Rescue Assessment and Development

Cost for divemaster ocean dives depends on which site we are diving that day, and also on the number of participants. Price range is usually between 14,700 - 18,900 yen, tax inclusive, per day. The list above is for minimum number of dives only; the average divemaster will need to practice and repeat these dives 2 or 3 times before passing the PADI requirements.

Special Note for Prospective Divemasters

There are many resort locations that offer a quick one week course with no internship, only practical training exercises in a condensed course. Our opinion is that this type of course is good for those who are going to immediately enter the Assistant Instructor or Instructor course, because you do not get the real "hands on" experience of an internship and skill development over time. We offer a comprehensive course with both practical training exercises and a thorough hands-on internship. It may take a little longer to complete, but you, as a future Divemaster, will be the one who benefits from this real life experience.

For those with a limited time schedule, please e-mail or call to discuss the scheduling options. At the absolute minimum, a full 3-4 weekends will be necessary to complete the divemaster course. In practice, most divemaster candidates cannot commit to one full month of weekday study and weekend diving, and so we progress at the divemaster's pace, usually taking several months or up to 2 full summer dive seasons.