Teach Try Scuba

Try diving, or try scuba, is what you will do very often when working in a diving center. This is where people come who just want to see what it’s like underwater – and some who want to learn to dive.
Take the time to learn how to do this. Watch your colleagues when they have taster divers in the water. Listen to briefings, give a little support, see how they behave on land and in the water with the new divers – and see what you like.
Read your ITC manual, the student material, the instructor manual for Try Scuba and look at the standards. And take a look at this page – it might help you prepare for your try dives
Try diving is often ridiculed and unfortunately all too often done without much enthusiasm. Yet it is perhaps the most important dive of a diver’s life: the first time underwater, an experience that you will remember forever. That’s why it’s important to take special care with these dives and really do everything you can to make it an all-round successful, enjoyable experience. What you do here can determine whether this person never wants to get back into the water or finds a new, wonderful hobby for years or decades to come.

How does a try dive work?

Try dives often begin long before the actual dive. Not underwater, but with a smile, a conversation, an initial feeling of safety. And of course with a bit of paperwork.

Registration and the medical questionnaire are simply part of the process – the center usually takes care of this, but you should always know whether everything is complete. Especially when it comes to health issues, you need to be sure that the dive can be carried out responsibly. Even if you don’t collect the forms yourself, you are responsible as soon as you go into the water with someone.

Then it’s time for the equipment. Whether you put it together yourself or have someone else do it, you should go through it completely. What is missing, what fits, what might still seem strange to the participant? Take a moment to check everything. It makes a difference whether someone feels comfortable straight away or is already overwhelmed when getting dressed.

This phase before the actual dive is crucial. This is where you lay the foundation for how relaxed and curious someone feels – or how nervous and lost.
If everything is right, you are ready and your participant feels in good hands, then it’s time:

Let’s do a Try Dive.

Briefing

Even before the fins touch the water, the real adventure begins for many with the briefing. Here you explain what will happen – and how you will go through this first dive together.

Your participant doesn’t know how heavy all the equipment is or how to breathe through a regulator. Perhaps he or she has never worn a mask before. Everything is new – and your briefing is the moment when uncertainty slowly turns into anticipation.

Speak clearly and simply. Explain how the equipment setup works, which exercises you will do together and how the underwater procedure is planned. Let your taster diver breathe through the regulator, put on the mask and touch everything. And above all, don’t forget the most important hand signals, especially: “Everything OK”, “Resurface”, “Equalize pressure”, “Problem ” – and repeat them again when you are in the water later.

You don’t have to explain every detail – it’s not about a theory lesson, but about building trust. When your participant feels that they have understood what is happening, they feel safe. And that is the best basis for a relaxed dive.

A good briefing rarely lasts longer than 15 to 20 minutes. After that, the attention is usually gone – so think carefully beforehand about what you absolutely want to include and what is perhaps not so important after all.

If you want, you can also plan and structure your briefing – for example with the briefing builder, which you can find here:

Immersion: Getting used to the water on the surface

Now it’s getting serious. You have people in the water with you who are carrying heavy equipment for the first time – and in an environment that is completely foreign to them. Before you really dive, you need a moment to settle in. And it is precisely this moment that often determines how the rest of the dive goes.

The first few breaths from the regulator are the most important. Have your students put on their mask, put the regulator in their mouth – and then: just breathe. On the surface, with their face in the water. You are close by, ideally with your head under water too, and watch closely how the breathing develops.

Are they calm and relaxed? Or hectic, short of breath?
And above all: do they breathe out at all?

Some keep lifting their head to exhale – because it feels unfamiliar to them to let go in the water. Others breathe so shallowly and quickly that they feel constricted after a short time. This is often not due to the regulator, but to the CO₂ that builds up in the body because they are not breathing out properly. This feels like shortness of breath – and can cause anxiety.

What helps: explain calmly, breathe together, demonstrate clearly.
Exhale. Breathe out deeply. And then continue breathing in a relaxed manner.

When the breath calms down, when your students lie on the surface, bubbling calmly and enjoying the moment – then you are ready. Ready for the next step.

Descent

The descent is the strangest moment of all for many trial divers. Everything changes. The perspective shifts, the world becomes quieter, more weightless – and at the same time much more unfamiliar. There is no solid ground under your feet, everything feels a little different. Not frightening, but new. And that’s exactly why this part of the dive often feels a little confused. Not because you lose control – but because the students find themselves in a completely new element.

How you descend depends on the conditions – and your style.
If the water is shallow and everyone can stand, a clear signal is often enough: empty the BCD, drop forward, breathe. Many people just need a little encouragement – and a few meters of confidence.

If it is a little deeper, proceed individually. Hold the student firmly, empty your own jacket first, then theirs or theirs – with a calm pressure equalization signal and as little fuss as possible. Floating on your back, you can gently bring them into the diving position. This looks controlled and safe – and gives both sides peace of mind.

If you aredping the try dive with several people at the same time, descending ropes or a slow, sloping descent will help to avoid overstraining your ears. Always maintain eye contact, always have the feeling: “I’m here – and you can stop at any time.”

When you reach the bottom, it is often better to lie down flat first. On your stomach, face forward, just do nothing. Just breathe. Just feel. Kneeling is rarely a good idea – too unstable, too forced. Lying down makes it easier to relax. And perhaps playfully experiment a little with your buoyancy control.

The first impression under water counts. If this moment is calm, safe and pleasant, you have laid the foundation for everything else.