GUE Technical Fundamentals

While additional course-specific standards are listed under the prerequisites for each course, the following standards apply to all GUE courses (unless stated otherwise in the course’s Specific Training Standards). An applicant for a GUE course must:

1. Submit a completed Course Registration Form, Medical History Form, and Liability Release Form to GUE HQ.
2. Hold insurance that will cover diving emergencies such as hyperbaric treatment, e.g., DAN Master-level insurance or equivalent.
3. Be physically and mentally fit.
4. Be a nonsmoker.
5. Obtain a physician’s prior written authorization for the use of prescription drugs, except for birth control, or for any prior medical condition that may pose a risk while diving.

Applicants for a GUE Technical Fundamentals course must abide by Training Prerequisites (2.1.4.1), plus:

1. Be a minimum of 16 years of age. Documented parental or legal guardian consent must be submitted to GUE HQ when the participant is a minor.
2. Hold a certification from a recognized training agency to dive to 100 ft/30 m or a GUE Deep Primer certification.
3. Have conducted at least 75 non-training dives following completion of autonomous scuba diver certification. At least 25 of these must have been at a depth of at least 70 ft/21 m.
4. Have conducted at least 25 non-training dives in a double tank configuration or have conducted 15 non-training dives utilizing doubles following completion of GUE Doubles Primer certification.
5. If using a drysuit during the course, have conducted at least 15 non-training dives in a drysuit or have conducted 10 non-training dives utilizing a drysuit following completion of GUE Drysuit Primer certification.

The GUE Technical Fundamentals course is normally conducted over four days. It requires a minimum of eight dives and at least thirty hours of instruction, encompassing theory, land drills, and in-water work.

1. Student-to-instructor ratio is not to exceed 6:1 during land drill or surface exercises; it cannot exceed 3:1 during any in-water training.
2. Two dives must be at a depth of at least 40 ft/12 m
3. Maximum depth of 100 ft/30 m
4. No overhead diving
5. All dives must be within minimum decompression limits (MDLs), i.e., no required stops.

GUE training materials and recommended study as determined by the course study packet available online or via download after GUE course registration.

1. Introduction: GUE organization and course overview (objectives, limits, expectations)
2. Building a solid skill base: buoyancy, trim, balance, and propulsion
3. Fundamental diving skills
4. Streamlining and equipment configuration
5. Situational awareness
6. Dive planning and gas management
7. Breathing gas overview
8. Nitrox diving
9. Decompression overview and minimum decompression procedures
10. Diving safety and accident prevention
11. The GUE system

1. Equipment fit, assembly and disassembly
2. Propulsion and maneuvering techniques
3. Gas analysis
4. GUE EDGE and pre-dive checks
5. Basic 5 scuba skills
6. Dive team protocols
7. S-drill and valve drill
8. Backup light deployment
9. Surface marker buoy (SMB) deployment utilizing a spool
10. Ascent protocols
11. Diver rescue techniques, including unconscious diver lift

Students must demonstrate competence in the following skills to attain GUE Technical Fundamentals certification:

1. Must be able to swim at least 300 yds/275 m in less than 14 minutes without stopping. This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where necessary, appropriate thermal protection.
2. Must be able to swim a distance of at least 50 ft/15 m on a breath hold while submerged.
3. Demonstrate a safe and responsible demeanor throughout all training.
4. Demonstrate basic equipment proficiency and an understanding of the GUE double tank configuration.
5. Demonstrate proficiency in safe diving techniques, including pre-dive preparation, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.
6. Demonstrate awareness of team member location and a concern for safety, responding quickly to visual indications and dive partner needs.
7. Demonstrate proficiency in underwater communication.
8. Demonstrate safe ascent and descent procedures from a depth greater than 40 ft/12 m.
9. Demonstrate good buoyancy and trim, i.e., approximate reference is a maximum of 20 degrees off horizontal while remaining within a range of 3 ft/1 m from target depth.
10. Comfortably demonstrate at least four propulsion techniques that would be appropriate in a delicate and/or silty environment, including competence in the backward kick and helicopter turn.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in two power kicks by swimming without stopping and while maintaining proper technique for at least 50 ft/15 m.
12. Demonstrate aptitude in the following open water skills: regulator removal, regulator exchange, long hose deployment, mask clearing, mask removal and replacement.
13. Demonstrate proficiency in the ability to deploy a surface marker buoy (SMB) while using a spool.
14. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver in multiple gas-sharing scenarios.
15. Efficiently and comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver followed by an ascent with at least two stops to the surface utilizing minimum decompression while using a surface marker buoy and spool.
16. Demonstrate a comfortable demeanor while swimming without a mask in touch contact, followed by a switch to the backup mask.
17. Demonstrate an efficient valve drill with double tanks.
18. Demonstrate proficiency with a primary corded light by handling it during all skills.
19. Demonstrate proficiency with backup light deployment.
20. Demonstrate proficiency with diver rescue techniques, including effective management of an unconscious diver underwater.

GUE double tank configuration as outlined in Appendix A, plus:

1. One primary corded light and two backup lights

Prior to the commencement of the class, students should consult with a GUE representative to verify equipment requirements and the appropriateness of any selected equipment.