PADI Divemaster Swim Test Times

[namabiru]

Originally Posted by ScubyDoo

3. If you have split fins, make sure you use them for the 800 yd. snorkel swim. I wore my regular fins on my first attempt and was very unhappy with the results. On the make-up swim I wore the splits and increased my time by over 4 minutes.

So have people found it is better to wear splits or full-foot fins vs. a snorkeling fin or swimming fin (aka plastic vs. sturdier scuba fin)? I've not trained for the 800 yd snorkel before (I only started doing a bit for the 400), so haven't had a chance to try anything out.

I'm assuming that you not only had greater speed, but didn't see as much leg fatigue due to less movement required to get through the water. Does that sound right?

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by namabiru

So have people found it is better to wear splits or full-foot fins vs. a snorkeling fin or swimming fin (aka plastic vs. sturdier scuba fin)? I've not trained for the 800 yd snorkel before (I only started doing a bit for the 400), so haven't had a chance to try anything out.

I'm assuming that you not only had greater speed, but didn't see as much leg fatigue due to less movement required to get through the water. Does that sound right?

Whether splits are as good as paddles for general diving is a matter of much debate, but I was happy to have them for my 800 yd DM swim. The one thing they excel at is a speedy, low-effort kick... perfect for a pool swim where you are very unencumbered so drag is not an issue. They're not quite at full efficiency that close to the surface, but they still do their thing well. Since you aren't putting as much energy into the kicking, you can go long without getting too winded... and the 800 yd swim is all about a nice steady pace, not sprinting.

[chinacat46]

Just glad I don't have to do those swims again. To me they should adjust time for age but they don't. Lets face it a 20 year old kid in decent shape will run rings around 50 year old in decent shape but the times don't get adjusted for age. I got 4's on the 400 and 800 yard swims but when I was younger would have had no problem getting 5's. In fact if I had really really trained I probably could have gotten 5's but just didn't see the point.

When going to instructor you have to do the 800 yard swim again but it's untimed.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by chinacat46

Just glad I don't have to do those swims again. To me they should adjust time for age but they don't. Lets face it a 20 year old kid in decent shape will run rings around 50 year old in decent shape but the times don't get adjusted for age. I got 4's on the 400 and 800 yard swims but when I was younger would have had no problem getting 5's. In fact if I had really really trained I probably could have gotten 5's but just didn't see the point.

When going to instructor you have to do the 800 yard swim again but it's untimed.

Yeah. I consider myself to be in not-especially-good shape (I'm not heavy, but I don't have any normal exercise regime). I was on the swim team for a time in high school, so I have some experience swimming that others don't. That said, I haven't done any real swimming (other than diving) in the past 20 years since then.

The fact that, at 30-something, I finished well ahead of the low-20-somethings in my DM class (and they were all reasonably fit, by comparison), definitely gave me pause.

IMO, if you have a real hard time passing (3's or better) these tests, you might not be cut out to be a dive professional who may need to take lead in a rescue.

[JugglingMonkeys]

avoid butterfly - the most rigorous of the strokes!

[gtjason2000]

The fastest fin would be what we called a zoomer which was a full footed fin cut down to about an inch past the toes. Scuba fins offer a lot of power but are far too long for the rapid kicks required to go fast. I also found trying to kick fast with a scuba fin put a lot of stress on my knees and ankles so I could not maintain a rapid kick for too long.

[namabiru]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Yeah. I consider myself to be in not-especially-good shape (I'm not heavy, but I don't have any normal exercise regime). I was on the swim team for a time in high school, so I have some experience swimming that others don't. That said, I haven't done any real swimming (other than diving) in the past 20 years since then.

IMO, if you have a real hard time passing (3's or better) these tests, you might not be cut out to be a dive professional who may need to take lead in a rescue.

Yeah, but then again, form is just as important as speed. So your being on the swim team helped you out quite a bit. Take someone like me, on the other hand, who has heart but no technique. I unofficially started training for the 400 as a fitness routine, and this was after no form training, and I was pleased the day I broke 11 minutes on a 440 (freestyle, no wall touches but swimming circles in the lane... okay, I may have touched the wall with my foot, but that's all). That would barely put me in the 3 range. Out of shape, maybe. Lack of form, definitely.

I read once where someone got back in the pool after a hiatus similar to yours, and was still able to eek out an 8 minute time or something because they remembered form.

Not trying to justify that I should be a dive professional due to this by any means, but it would definitely help one's cause to be able to do some swim training.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by namabiru

Yeah, but then again, form is just as important as speed. So your being on the swim team helped you out quite a bit. Take someone like me, on the other hand, who has heart but no technique. I unofficially started training for the 400 as a fitness routine, and this was after no form training, and I was pleased the day I broke 11 minutes on a 440 (freestyle, no wall touches but swimming circles in the lane... okay, I may have touched the wall with my foot, but that's all). That would barely put me in the 3 range. Out of shape, maybe. Lack of form, definitely.

I read once where someone got back in the pool after a hiatus similar to yours, and was still able to eek out an 8 minute time or something because they remembered form.

Not trying to justify that I should be a dive professional due to this by any means, but it would definitely help one's cause to be able to do some swim training.

I agree, form helps.

I posted just this morning in another thread about this: If you are comfortable swimming , and consider yourself a decent swimmer, cardio and being in shape are going to be more important than swim practice. The exercise bike will help you as much as swimming laps. You may or may not score a 5 but you'll pass just fine. OTOH, if you're not an especially strong swimming, cardio or not you're going to want to log some serious swim practice and perhaps get some lessons (which will also help take care of the cardio, needed or not).

[cgvmer]

Anyone planning to be a dive pro, should consider these distances and times as being just below adequate.

[EMTGIRL86]

I have already done my Mask, fin, snorkel swim for my DM. I did it with my aqualung blades (the original) and passes the 800m swim in 7:59. I am not in the best of shape by any means, though I have reasonably strong legs. So, moral of the story, it can be done with regular scuba fins. Dont forget to have fun with this either!