• The certified TDI Cavern Diver or equivalent who has interest in moving forward with overhead environment diving and expanding their diving techniques, capabilities, and more!

Course prerequisites

(these requirements must be met prior to commencement of training):

• Minimum age 18, 15 with parental consent
• Provide proof of TDI Cavern Diver certification or equivalent

What you can expect to learn:

The TDI Intro to Cave Diver Course takes an in-depth look at all of the following and more:

• Policy for cave diving
• Gas management procedures and management to include dissimilar volumes
• Psychological considerations of cave diving
• Equipment considerations including:
  • Cylinder options
  • Regulator options
  • Buoyancy compensator/harness options
  • Proper weighting
  • Reel options
  • Equipment configurations
• Communication (light and hand signals)
• Swimming techniques
  • Body posture/trim
  • Buoyancy control
  • Line following
  • Propulsion (finning) techniques
• Physiology
  • Breathing techniques
  • Stress management
• Cave environment
• Cave conservation
• Problem solving
  • Emergency procedures
  • Equipment failure
  • Silting conditions
• Accident analysis
• Cave diving etiquette
• Review of dive tables and decompression theory

Some of the required skills you will have to demonstrate include:

• Properly deploy a guideline
• Properly use line markers
• Properly follow a guideline with eyes open and closed (simulating loss of visibility)
• Air share with a buddy with eyes open, following a guideline
• Air share with a buddy with lights off and eyes closed, using touch contact while following the guideline
• Remove and replace mask while in contact with the guideline
• Demonstrate conservation, awareness, and back referencing techniques
• Demonstrate light/hand signals and touch contact
• Demonstrate anti-silting techniques
• Simulate a primary light failure and use back up light to exit
• Demonstrate buoyancy control, proper trim, and propulsion techniques

What’s in it for you?

Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may engage in single guideline cave diving activities without direct supervision provided the graduates adhere to the following requirements:

• The diving activities approximate those of training
• Planned dives do not exceed diver’s current certification level
• Penetration is limited to the “rule of thirds,” OR 1/6th if using doubles to a maximum depth of 40 metres/130 feet.
• Proper cave diving equipment must be used
• Maintain a continuous guideline
• Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are qualified to progress on to the next level of overhead environment training: the TDI Full Cave Diver course!

TDI Intro to Cave Diver Minimum Certification Requirements:

• Satisfactorily complete the TDI Intro to Cave Diver course written examination with a passing score of 80%, followed by 100% remediation by the instructor
• Perform all land drills and cave dive requirements efficiently
• Demonstrate mature, sound judgment concerning dive planning and execution
• Maintain an appropriate level of awareness and respect for the environment
• Log all training dives