How Should I Prepare for my IDC?

It can be a bit overwhelming thinking about all the things you need before you head off for your IDC, so we have put together some ideas to help you get prepared.

It may or may not have been a while since you completed your Divemaster training, so we’ll go through the basics and you can decide how much practice you need depending on when you last had to do it!

You will need to make sure that your PADI dive skills are fresh for the IDC as you will be required to perform all 24 dive skills to “demonstration quality” standard (hovering where feasible) – so make sure that you know these skills (you will find them in the Divemaster section of your Instructor Manual). You should also watch the skill demonstration section of the Divemaster DVD to refresh yourself on how to demonstrate these skills. If you’re able to, it’s worth jumping in a pool and practicing these skills so you feel confident with them beforehand. As Instructor Candidates your Course Director will be looking for scores of 4 or 5 for each skill to make sure your future students are able to see all the critical attributes and pick up the skill easily, so aim high!

Also make sure your Dive Theory is up to date. This is the same dive theory that you learnt for your Divemaster course. You can use the encyclopaedia of recreation diving to refresh your knowledge and your dive knowledge workbook to test yourself. You may also consider investing in the Elearning for Dive Theory which will go through all the theory that you need to know and also give practice questions. We can also give you practice exams to see how you’re doing if you ask us.

Ok, so this one sounds pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people come to an IDC not knowing how many open water dives are in an Open Water Course!!! Please make sure you are familiar with all of the PADI courses – how many dives are required for open water, advanced etc.. As a Divemaster you have all this information in your Instructor Manual, so review the course information. You could even review the manuals and exams for each course, you should have the manuals from when you did the courses and you will find the exams in your Instructor Elearning package. Remember you will be able to teach these courses soon, so probably best to know what you’re talking about!!!

On the subject of your Instructor Elearning, once you pay your deposit and are confirmed on the IDC, you will receive your Elearning code. Once you have redeemed and set up your account with PADI, you will find a wealth of information here to review and go over. You will also find 16 PADI IDC Elearning curriculum components which you will need to complete and go through the knowledge review. At the end you will receive an Erecord which you will need to show to your Course Director. You will delay the start of the IDC if you haven’t completed your knowledge reviews. The Elearning needs to be assigned to you, so please remind us if you haven’t received it with ample time before your IDC start date.

Remember we are here to help you! We create a Whatsapp group for all our upcoming IDCs so you will be connected to your Course Director beforehand. Let us know your details for us to add you to the group. Ask if you need any help or practice study materials.

We wish you the best of success with your preparations and look forward to seeing you in Xcalak soon.