GUE FUNDAMENTALS COURSE AT A GLANCE
• Course Duration: 4 Days
• Number of Dives: 6 Dives
• $1000 USD per diver
• 2 divers minimum, 4 divers maximum
• Registration Fees: 95 USD
• 32% Nitrox Fills Included
• Equipment: Backmounted Doubles or Single Tank
PREREQUISITES
• Age: 16 Years Old
• Certification: any diver certification
• Non-smoker
• Dive insurance
WHAT CAN I DO WITH THIS CERTIFICATION?
The GUE Fundamentals course is a training program on either backmounted doubles or single-tank configuration in open water which constitutes:
• An excellent way of improving diving skills
• A unique methodology for all diving levels
• The gateway into the GUE training system
• A prerequisite for GUE Tec and Cave courses
• A great preparation for any Tec or Cave program
• A passport for worldwide GUE diving projects
Global Underwater Explorers (GUE) is not “yet another” diving certification agency. It’s a community of divers built around a unique diving philosophy: team diving, fitness, standard gases, standardized procedures and equipment configuration, as well as a triple focus on education, conservation and exploration.
The Fundamentals course is by far GUE’s most popular program. It functions as a gateway into GUE training and it is an excellent way to personally experience what GUE is all about. Some divers use the Fundamentals course as a way to improve on the previous training they have received, while others see the course as a ticket to participate in GUE projects and activities. Many technical divers and even experienced instructors from other organizations use the course to improve basic skills and gain access to GUE’s cave and tech-training.
The GUE Fundamentals course has the world-wide reputation to be challenging, intense, and to truly improve numerous aspects of the students diving and knowledge. Depending on the configuration used (doubles or single tank) and the performance, a diver can either aim for a Technical or Recreational pass.
WHERE WILL I DIVE DURING THE COURSE?
The GUE Fundamentals course dives will be conducted in the open water area of local, beautiful cenotes such as Chikin Ha, Ponderosa and Carwash, as well as in the ocean in Xpu-Ha or Akumal depending on weather. Theory sessions are conducted in the classroom at Under the Jungle.
WHAT WILL I LEARN DURING THE FUNDAMENTALS COURSE?
The GUE Fundamentals Course includes dive theory, land drills and in-water sessions.
⇒ FUNDAMENTALS COURSE THEORY
• Building a solid foundation: buoyancy, trim, balance and propulsion
• Streamlining and equipment configuration
• Situational awareness
• Dive planning and gas management
• Breathing gas dynamics
• Nitrox
• Decompression overview and minimum decompression procedures
• Diving safety and accident prevention
• The GUE system
⇒ FUNDAMENTALS COURSE LAND DRILLS & IN-WATER SKILLS
• Dive team protocols
• Basic Five
• S-drill and valve-drill
• Equipment fit and functions
• Propulsion techniques
• Pre-dive drills
• Surface marker deployment
• Diver rescue techniques (Fundamentals Tech)
⇒ PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS: FUNDAMENTALS RECREATIONAL RATING
1. Swim at least 300 yards/275 meters in less than 14 minutes without stopping.
2. Swim a distance of at least 50 feet/15 meters on a breath hold while submerged.
3. Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving practices; this would include pre-dive preparation, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.
4. Demonstrate awareness of team member location and a concern for safety, responding quickly to visual indications and dive partner requirements.
5. Demonstrate good buoyancy and trim, i.e. approximate reference is a maximum of 30 degrees off horizontal while remaining within 5 feet/1.5 meters of a target depth.
6. Demonstrate proficiency in lift bag/surface marker buoy deployment while using a spool.
7. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver in multiple gas-sharing scenarios.
8. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver followed by an ascent to the surface, utilizing minimum decompression.
9. Demonstrate a safe and responsible demeanor throughout all training.
10. Demonstrate proficiency in underwater communication.
11. Demonstrate a comfortable demeanor while swimming without a mask, in touch contact.
12. Demonstrate aptitude in the following open water skills: mask clearing, mask removal and replacement, regulator removal and exchange, long-hose deployment.
13. Demonstrate safe ascent and descent procedures.
14. Demonstrate proficiency in executing a valve drill.
15. Demonstrate basic equipment proficiency and an understanding of the GUE equipment configuration.
16. Demonstrate three propulsion techniques & demonstrate comprehension of the components necessary for a successful backward kick.