GUE Technical Fundamentals

GUE Technical Fundamentals

Some divers use the Fundamentals course as a way to improve their skills and systematize their knowledge. Others see this training as a ticket to participate in GUE projects. Many technical divers and even experienced instructors from other organizations take their Fundies because they want to improve their basic skills and/or access cave and technical training with GUE.

The main areas we will be working on are:

• Improving basic diving skills – stability, precise buoyancy control, position (trim and balance), advanced propulsion techniques.
• Safety procedures including underwater rescue skills.
• Teamwork and communication.
• Introduction to pragmatic decompression.
• Preparation for future technical courses (e.g. GUE Tech 1)

A diver with a GUE Performance Diver or GUE Basic Fundamentals certificate can take a shorter version of the GUE Technical Fundamentals course, completing modules of the training that haven’t been covered.

Limits during the course:

• Maximum depth: 30 m.
• All dives take place in open water.
• All dives must be within the minimum deco limits, i.e. no required decompression stops.

Each GUE course includes a swimming test. In this case, it is:

• 275m swim in up to 14 minutes.
• 15m underwater on breath hold.

With the new adaptive GUE Mastery Learning learning platform, you can start learning theory at your own pace as soon as you sign up for the class. The instructor will have insight into your progress and, if necessary, will explain you the most problematic issues. Thanks to this solution, during in-water sessions, you will spend more time on practicing and using your knowledge in real conditions.

The theory topics in the GUE Technical Fundamentals course are:

• Global Underwater Explorers – history and training system
• Basic diving skills: buoyancy, trim and balance, and propulsion techniques.
• Equipment configuration and optimization.
• Situational awareness.
• Dive planning and gas management.
• Breathing gas dynamics.
• Nitrox diving.
• Introduction to decompression procedures and the Minimum Deco principles.
• Diving safety and accident prevention.

During the training, you will master: standard configuration and functionality of GUE equipment, perfect trim and buoyancy, advanced propulsion techniques, principles of teamwork. Safety procedures are also an important element . We will practice for example sharing gas in an emergency situation along with ascent, carrying out minimal decompression without reference and signaling the place of ascent with an SMB.
An additional element of the training are underwater rescue skills.

Here is a list of the most important practical modules that we will cover during the course:

• Optimized equipment configurations.
• Advanced propulsion and maneuvering techniques.
• Gas analysis and marking.
• GUE EDGE – pre-dive control.
• Basic 5 diving skills (Basic 5).
• Team diving – techniques and procedures.
• S-drill (out-of-gas simulations in various scenarios).
• V-drill (conscious valve manipulation on a twinset).
• Backup light deployment.
• SMB deployment.
• Ascent techniques and minimum deco procedures.
• Rescue skills, including handling an unconscious diver underwater.

The course also includes theory and practice in the use of nitrox and an introduction to other standard gases used by GUE.