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TDI – Cave Diver Course
Introduction
This course is the third (3rd) stage of training in the series of TDI’s cave diver development program. Advanced cave dive planning, the practical execution of different types of cave systems and scenarios divers encounter are presented. This cave diving course is not intended to prepare divers for evaluating all facets of cave diving. The objective of this course is to expand and critique previous skills accomplished in the Cavern and Introductory Cave Diving programs. Emphasis is placed upon dive planning and skill perfection through actual cave penetration.

Qualifications of Graduates
Upon successful completion of this course, graduates may engage in cave diving activities without direct supervision so long as the following limits are adhered to:
1. Penetration is limited to the one-third (1/3) air rule
2. Forty (40) msw / one hundred thirty (130) fsw maximum depth
3. No gear removal in cave
4. Students are encouraged to gain experience before attempting to plan and execute complex or hazardous cave dives.

Who May Teach
Who may teach this course:
1. This course may be taught by any active TDI Cave Diving Instructor.

Student – Instructor Ratio
Academic:
1. Unlimited, so long as adequate facility, supplies and time are provided to insure comprehensive and complete training.
Confined Water (Swimming pool-like conditions):
1. N/A.
Open Water (Ocean, lake, quarry, spring, river or estuary):
1. A maximum of three (3) students per Instructor. However, it is the instructor’s discretion to reduce this number as conditions dictate.
2. Instructor must use (at least) full cave diving equipment during all water exercises.

Student Pre-Requisites
The student must:
1. Be a minimum age of eighteen (18) or fifteen (15) with parental .consent.
2. Have a minimum certification of TDI Introductory Cave Diver or equivalent (i.e. IANTD, NACD, NSS-CDS, CDAA, and CDG) or enroll in the full cave course with a minimum of one hundred (100) logged dives.
3. Be certified as a TDI Decompression Procedures Diver certification or equivalent.

Course Structure and Duration
Open Water Execution:
1. Eight (8) cave dives is required with a minimum accumulated bottom time of two hundred eighty (280) to three hundred (300) minutes at three different sites.
2. At least one (1) of these sites should be a location not utilized in training during the Cavern or Introductory Cave Courses
3. For divers entering the full cave program without Cavern / Introductory Cave Diving certification, sixteen (16) cave dives with four hundred fifty (450) minutes of total bottom, (not including decompression time are required).
Course Structure:
1. TDI allows instructors to structure courses according to the number of students participating and their skill level.
Duration:
1. The suggested number of classroom and briefing hours is five (5).

Administrative Requirements
The following is the administrative tasks:
1. Collect the course fees from all the students.
2. Ensure that the students have the required equipment.
3. Communicate the training schedule to the students.
4. Have the students complete the Liability Release and Medical history forms.
5. The Instructor should review the Liability Release and Medical Forms before starting on the course.
Upon successful completion of the course the Instructor must:
1. Complete the Student Registration Form and send the Registration Form to TDI HQ.
2. Award card and certificate.

Required Equipment
The following are the required for this course:
1. TDI Cavern and Cave Manual.
2. NSS-CDS Cave Diving Manual: An Overview.
3. NACD Art of Safe Cave Diving.
4. CDAA Cave Diver Manual.

The following equipment is required for each student:
1. Back-mounted cylinders volume appropriate for planned dive, student gas consumption and safety.
2. Dual-manifold valve (if available).
3. One first stage regulator equipped with pressure gauge and air source.
4. A second first stage regulator equipped with a second-stage on a recommended minimum one-point-five (1.5) meter / five (5) feet hose.
5. Buoyancy Compensator with power inflator.
6. Exposure suit adequate for cave environment.
7. Mask and fins, taped as required, NO snorkel.
8. Line cutting device.
9. Three (3) battery powered lights 1 primary and two (2) backup lights, each with a burn time suitable for the planned dive time.
10. Safety reel with a minimum of thirty (30) meter / one hundred (100) feet of guideline.
11. One (1) primary cave-diving reel with approximately one hundred seven (107) meter / three hundred fifty (350) feet per team.
12. Computer or watch (bottom timer) and depth gauge.
13. Slate, pencil and submersible dive tables.
14. Line markers (clothes pins or plastic line markers) minimum of three (3).
15. Compass.
16. Gap reel with fifteen (15) meter / fifty (50) feet of guideline.
17. It is recommended that the team
A. Provide decompression cylinders and stage them, in any dive where decompression is planned, at least one (1) stop deeper than the planned decompression obligation.
B. Cylinders should be marked and incorporate a regulator with pressure gauge.

16.9 Required Subject Areas
The NSS-CDS Cave Diving Manual: An Overview, the NACD Art of Safe Cave Diving and the CDAA Cave Diver Manual are the recommended texts. The following topics must be covered during this course:
1. Decompression Theory and its application to the special needs of cave diving.
2. Gas Matching Procedures
3. Accident Analysis
4. Psychological Considerations
5. Equipment Considerations
A. Cylinder options.
B. Regulator options.
C. Buoyancy compensator / harness options.
D. Reel options.
E. Rigging.
6. Body and Buoyancy Control.
7. Swimming Techniques.
8. Review of Problem Solving
A. Body positioning (trim).
B. Buoyancy control.
C. Emergency procedures.
D. Line following.
E. Propulsion techniques.
9. Local Access Requirements.

Required Skill Performance and Graduation Requirements
The following land drills must be covered during this course:
1. Review and add the drills necessary for basic surveying such as line placements and station location.
The student must complete the following in-water skills during cave dives. The maximum depth for this course is forty (40) msw / one hundred thirty (130) fsw. One dive must be to a depth of at least thirty (30) msw / one hundred (100) fsw but no more than forty (40) msw / one hundred thirty (130) fsw.
1. Demonstrate adequate pre-dive planning.
2. Equipment check and S-Drill should be second nature with each dive.
3. Air-sharing in a lights out, eyes closed situation through a restriction using a single-file swimming method on at least one dive.
4. Demonstrate specialized propulsion techniques for heavy outflow.
5. Demonstrate line jumping, and complex mazes with techniques and protocol to maintain continuous line to surface in more complex cave diving.
6. Demonstrate referencing as back-up navigation.
7. Demonstrate procedures for minimum out-flow and potentially silty conditions (anti-silting techniques).
8. Demonstrate proper stress analysis.
9. Demonstrate emergency procedures planning.
10. Students to critique their own dives while instructor is to supervise this process.

In order to complete this course, students must:
1. Satisfactorily complete the TDI Cave Diver written examination.
2. Complete all land drill and cave dive requirements safely and efficiently.
3. Demonstrate mature, sound judgment concerning dive planning and execution.
Updated 9 May 2003