Scuba skills

Scuba skills are the skills required to dive safely using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, (scuba). Most of these skills are relevant to both open circuit and rebreather scuba, and many are also relevant to surface-supplied diving. Those skills which are critical to the safety of the diver may require more practice than is usually provided during training to achieve reliable long-term proficiency

Some of the skills are generally accepted by recreational diver certification agencies as necessary for any scuba diver to be considered competent to dive without direct supervision, and others are more advanced, though some diver certification and accreditation organizations may consider some of these to also be essential for minimum acceptable entry level competence. Divers are instructed and assessed on these skills during basic and advanced training, and are expected to remain competent at their level of certification, either by practice or refresher courses.

The skills include selection, functional testing, preparation and transport of scuba equipment, dive planning, preparation for a dive, kitting up for the dive, water entry, descent, breathing underwater, monitoring the dive profile (depth, time and decompression status), personal breathing gas management, situational awareness, communicating with the dive team, buoyancy and trim control, mobility in the water, ascent, emergency and rescue procedures, exit from the water, unkitting after the dive, cleaning and preparation of equipment for storage and recording the dive, within the scope of the diver's certification.

The certified scuba diver is expected to be able to assess what type of diving exposure suit is suitable for the planned dive, and to check that it is in safe usable condition, that it is the right size, and to dress correctly in it. Entry level skills usually cover wet suits, but in countries where the water and/or weather conditions are very cold, dry suit skills may be considered an entry level skill. In other parts of the world, dry suit skills are considered a specialty skill. Where dry suits are used, the skills of using the dry suit safely during a dive are also necessary. These include equalizing, buoyancy control, inversion recovery, emergency venting and blowup recovery. Recreational divers trained in warm tropical waters may have no skills in the use of diving suits.

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