Training takes place every Monday night, and consists of an hour of informal lectures on the principles of diving.  Notes from these lectures will hopefully be on this site shortly. They’re not as boring as they sound, and are designed to give the novice diver a thorough insight into what happens during a dive.

Before the training starts in earnest, the trainee must demonstrate a certain level of fitness.  This includes

1.  Swim 200m freestyle continuously, with no time limit;

2.  Retrieve an object from the bottom of the pool 3 times;

3.  Remain submerged for 30 seconds whilst holding breath;

4.  Tread water for 1 minute with hands above water.

After this the trainee will, over time, learn to:

1.  Use the equipment safely and confidently;

2.  Remove and replace mask underwater, and clear it;

3.  Discard and retrieve regulator;

4.  Discard all kit at bottom of pool and retrieve;

5.  Tow an unconscious diver while administering breaths.

Once you’ve mastered these, training continues in open water, although you will never be asked to remove your full kit!  Calne Divers offers training to Dive Supervisor level, and also to be an Instructor.