SUPPORT SKILLS FOR TECHNICAL DIVING
What Happens When a Tec Team Needs Support?
A technical dive asks a lot of every team member. Can you recognize when a diver needs support, understand the signals, and respond without disrupting the plan?
The Tec Safety Diver Course develops the awareness and practical support skills to assist technical dive teams while staying within recreational depth limits. This PADI Distinctive Specialty was created by PADI Course Director Luis Miguel.
Duration
3 Days
Training Dives
2 Open Water Dives
Practical Experience
Interactive Workshops
SUPPORT THE TEAM WITH CONFIDENCE
Learn to Read the Dive, Not Just the Gear
A PADI DISTINCTIVE SPECIALTY BY LUIS MIGUEL
Be the Calm Presence Around the Dive Team
The Tec Safety Diver is a support role, not a technical diver qualification. You’ll learn how technical dive teams organize equipment and communicate, what to observe during planned gas switches and decompression stops, and how to offer support without taking over procedures outside your training.
Created by PADI Course Director Luis Miguel, this PADI Distinctive Specialty is designed especially for Rescue Divers and dive professionals who want to understand technical diving operations from a safety support perspective.
PLAN IT. BRIEF IT. LEAD IT.
Practice the Details That Help a Team Stay on Plan
Build familiarity with the equipment, signals, and support procedures used around technical dive operations.
PREPARE
Prepare for the Dive
- Review the dive plan, team roles, gas labels, maximum operating depths, equipment checks, and emergency procedures before entering the water.
OBSERVE
Read the Team
- Recognize backmount and sidemount configurations, observe diver behavior and positioning, and follow planned communication and switch cues.
SUPPORT
Support the Scenario
- Practice appropriate responses to simulated missed switches, early ascents, stress, or equipment concerns, following the briefing and your assigned role.
TAKE YOUR AWARENESS INTO THE WATER
Practice Support Skills in Real Dive Conditions
Complete two instructor-supervised open water dives to apply your skills in planned scenarios. Practice maintaining buoyancy and trim, holding position near the team, recognizing changes in diver behavior, observing gas switch procedures, and communicating clearly.
Training stays within the course’s recreational depth limit of 30 m / 100 ft. The course develops support skills, it does not qualify you to conduct technical dives or perform procedures beyond your training.
YOUR STARTING POINT
Before You Apply
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Hold a PADI Rescue Diver certification or a qualifying certification from another training organization.
Already a Rescue Diver?
Take your awareness further. Learn how technical teams plan, communicate, and manage complex equipment, then practice how to support them calmly and appropriately.
