Snorkelling - Activity

Student skills

Snorkel swimming and snorkel diving - type 1 venues

For snorkel swimming in type 1 venues, students must be taught the basic water competence skills of submerging and resurfacing.

Snorkel swimming is appropriate for any age group, where individual students have demonstrated basic water competency.

Appropriate wetsuits must be worn according to water temperatures.  Students who are unable to float or swim competently should not wear weight belts and should wear a positive buoyancy aid.

All snorkel diving students must demonstrate competency in snorkel swimming and have preparation in the following:

• buoyancy concepts (i.e. how to gain and maintain positive buoyancy, and as underwater depth increases, the effects on buoyancy of the increase in pressure)
• the dangers of separation from the group, hyperventilation and hypothermia
• ‘squeeze’ in ears, sinuses, mask and lungs (the pressure–depth relationship), and how to equalise pressure in ears and mask air space
• ditching and replacing a weight belt in the water (if relevant)
• clearing a flooded snorkel and mask
• surface diving techniques, including equalising the pressure in the ears when descending
• entry and exit methods
• self-rescue techniques
• correct finning technique
• hand signals (i.e. OK, not OK, distress)
• appropriate safety practices, such as the buddy system (responsibility for a buddy or diving partner) where one dives and the other one stays on the surface, i.e. ‘One up, one down’
• marine dangers (e.g. the blue ringed octopus).

Snorkel swimming and snorkel diving - type 2 venues

Students must be able to:

• swim continuously for 200 metres using a recognised stroke
• demonstrate survival sculling, floating and treading water for five minutes without the use of fins or flotation equipment.

Students taking part in snorkel diving must be at least 12 years of age.  Snorkel diving from a boat is not recommended for students under 14 years of age.  All participants who snorkel dive from a boat must have had prior shore-based training.

All snorkel diving students must demonstrate competency in snorkel swimming and have preparation as described for type 1 venues above.

Appropriate wetsuits must be worn according to water temperature.

Documentation of participant preparation, prerequisite skills/knowledge (Word - 120Kb) can be used to record student preparation for the activity.

The psychological preparation of students is as important as the physical preparation, especially for students who are anxious about the activity.  Under no circumstances should students be pressured by staff or peers to participate beyond their readiness.

Equipment and clothing

For snorkel swimming and snorkel diving, students must be positively buoyant at all times.  Appropriate wetsuits must be worn according to water temperature.  Before the snorkel swimming or snorkel diving activity, all snorkelling equipment should be checked to ensure that:

• exposure protection is used appropriately (e.g. wetsuits must fit correctly)
• the snorkel is attached, usually to the left-hand side of the mask, with a snorkel keeper
• masks have tempered glass and enclose the nose and seal correctly
• fins are properly fitted and suited to the conditions
• weight belts, if used for snorkel diving, must have quick-release buckles (note that snorkel swimmers must not wear a weight belt)
• a student’s weight belt should be less than the weight required to achieve neutral buoyancy, so that students remain positively buoyant at all times

The following should be taken into consideration for all snorkelling activities:

• staff members should carry a whistle or other device for signalling to snorkellers and other staff
• an assessment of the snorkelling venue (water depth, type of water, existing rescue equipment on site) and the ability of the swimmers, should result in the identification of any additional non-contact rescue aids for reaching and throwing (such as flotation aides, poles and ropes, surfboards) that need to be available during the activity
• divers’ flags must be used for all snorkelling activities in open water venues and displayed at the site at all times to indicate that there are snorkellers in the area or below the water surface
• students with asthma must have medication for emergency treatment as close to them as practicable (if an inhaler is lost in the water, it is essential that a spare is immediately available).

First aid kits

First aid kits appropriate to the location and level of training must be carried.

Clothing

Clothing is the individual’s primary protection against severe and variable weather conditions.

Clothing lists need to be appropriate for the activity, environment and season.

Before and after snorkelling, students need to protect themselves from the sun (e.g. shirt and hat), and cold and wet weather (e.g. a towel and change of clothing, including a jumper, long pants and jacket) as appropriate for the season and location.

Sun protection clothing should be readily available to students when they leave the water.

To protect against sunburn (see sun exposure) use broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30+ sunscreen on all exposed parts of the body, applied according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.  Students who own sunglasses should be encouraged to bring and wear them when required.

Under no circumstances are spear guns, hand spears, slings or knives to be carried or used by students.

Identification

Staff and students must be easily identifiable.

Staff must determine the most suitable identification system based on an assessment of the environment, students’ skills, the type of activities to be undertaken, and the age and number of students.

Staff must be easily identifiable by boat operators and all students, for example, by wearing brightly coloured wetsuit hoods, singlets or brightly coloured fins.