PADI Skill Circuit or Skill Workshop - Divemaster and IDC Skill Circuit

During the PADI Divemaster course and PADI IDC you need to perform a PADI Skill Circuit (Skill Workshop). The PADI Divemaster Skill Circuit and the PADI IDC Skill Circuit are similar in that you will be demonstrating most of the PADI Open Water Diver skills.

PADI Skill Circuit Minimum Performance Requirements

During the PADI Skill Circuit you will be scored between a 1 and a 5, with 5 being the highest score and a 1 the lowest. The PADI Dive Instructor Manual for the Divemaster and IDC Skill Circuit states the standards for your Skill Circuit as being:

“Demonstrate all scuba and skin diving skills, scoring at least a 3 on each skill, and scoring at least 82 points in total, with at least one underwater skill to a 5”.

Conduct:

We will describe to you the characteristics of a demonstration quality skill, and explain that the focus is on exaggerating the critical attributes. We will then demonstrate each skill, and have you practice them. After practice, you will perform each skill for a score and we will remediate as necessary until you meet the performance requirements.

Scoring Criteria:

5.0 Exercise performed correctly, slowly and with exaggerated movement – appeared easy
4.0 Exercise performed correctly and slowly enough to adequately exhibit or illustrate details of skill
3.0 Exercise performed correctly, though too quickly to adequately exhibit or illustrate details of the skill
2.0 Exercise performed with significant difficulty or error
1.0 Candidate unable to perform exercise

PADI Skill Circuit Divemaster IDC Course

Note: These criteria are used to score skill evaluations throughout all levels of PADI leadership training: PADI Divemaster, PADI Diving Instructor, PADI IDC Staff Instructor and PADI Course Director. According to PADI Dive Instructor manual these are the dive skills:

Equipment assembly, adjustment, preparation, donning and disassembly
Pre-dive safety check (BWRAF)
Deep-water entry
Buoyancy check at surface
Snorkel-regulator/regulator-snorkel exchange
Five-point descent
Regulator recovery and clearing
Mask removal, replacement and clearing
Air depletion exercise and alternate air source use (stationary)
Alternate air source-assisted ascent
Free-flowing regulator breathing
Neutral buoyancy – using both oral and low-pressure inflation
Five-point ascent
Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent
Hover motionless for 30 seconds
Underwater swim without a mask
Remove and replace weight system underwater
Remove and replace scuba unit underwater
Remove and replace scuba unit on the surface
Remove and replace weight system on the surface
Vertical, headfirst skin dive
Swim at least 15 meters/50 feet underwater on a single breath while skin diving.
Snorkel clear using the blast method after ascending from a skin dive.
Snorkel clear using the displacement method after ascending from a skin dive.

More PADI Skill Circuit Training at Sairee Cottage Diving

To meet the performance requirements of the Divemaster course, standards state that you only have to pass one Divemaster Skill Circuit (Skill Workshop). We at Sairee Cottage Diving and IDC Koh Tao, believe that this is not enough to become a successful and employable Divemaster for most people. Our mission at Sairee Cottage Diving is to train only Divemasters and Dive Instructors with the highest quality possible to increase their chances of getting a good Divemaster Job or Dive Instructor Job. For this reason our Divemaster Candidates need to complete at least three PADI Skill Circuits during their Divemaster course.

PADI Divemaster Skill Circuit

We set the level of quality even higher during the PADI Dive Instructor course as we only pass our IDC candidates with 5 full points for each of the skills in the IDC skill circuit. We just keep practicing until you get full score and because the IDC at Sairee Cottage Diving takes longer then most Instructor training courses, we have plenty of time to practice.

Extended Sairee Cottage Diving Skill Circuit

You need to demonstrate 24 skills during the PADI Skill Circuit on the PADI Divemaster and Instructor Development Courses. However, the PADI Open Water Diver course was revised in 2013 and PADI added many new diving skills to the course. We decided at Sairee Cottage Diving to extend the PADI Skill Circuit and add all of the new diving skills, and more. The extended Sairee Cottage Diving Divemaster and PADI IDC Skill Circuits now have 35 skills for you to learn how to demonstrate, making you a much better PADI Divemaster or PADI Diving Instructor.

Preparing for your PADI Instructor Development Course

Being well prepared before your IDC makes your Instructor Development Course so much easier. Please watch these Extended PADI Skill Circuit videos to be well prepared for your PADI IDC or, indeed, feel free to use them to improve your abilities on the Divemaster or IDC course you are participating in at the moment.

Dive Equipment can make your PADI Skill Circuit Better

If you are struggling with your skill circuit, then maybe think about owning your own Dive Equipment. Being really good in demonstrating skill during the skill circuit has everything to do with how fluid your movements are.

Having Dive Equipment that does not fit well makes you off balance. We highly recommend to invest in dive equipment of high quality that fits you well. The better dive equipment fits you the better and easier it is to control your Buoyancy.

All pieces of Dive Equipment are important for making your PADI Skill Circuit better. For example a good fitting mask with the right latex can help you demonstrate the mask clearing skills better, good fitting fins can help you with your swimming skill demonstrations and a nice regulator makes feel more comfortable. However, there is nothing better for your skill circuit than owning your own good fitting BCD.