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By the end of this topic, you should be able to answer these questions: 1 What is meant by “team diving”? 2 What are four benefits of team diving? 3 What are your responsibilities as a team member when technical diving? 4 When is it appropriate to work alone as part of a team? 5 What is the rule regarding aborting a technical dive? The Team Concept Technical diving employs the team diving concept, which is the buddy system taken to the next emphasis level. The team diving philosophy is that technical divers work as a team. The focus is on integrating team members’ needs and efforts throughout, starting with planning the dive, during predive preparation and checks, meeting equipment requirements, executing the dive, and other aspects applicable to individual dives. Divers scootering their DPVs. Photo credit Halcyon Dive Systems Team diving treats the dive as a mission with a specific purpose. Together the team pursues a common goal, rather than an uncoordinated underwater visit. Benefits Team diving benefits include: Higher likelihood of mission success based on team input during dive planning. Having a mission may sound complex, but missions are often as simple as touring an underwater dive site. (More about missions later.) Preparedness and resources for handling complex emergencies. By knowing the training level, equipment and experience of each diver, the team is better prepared to deal with problems. By practicing basic emergency skills together, the team is equipped to respond should an emergency arise. Accident reduction by being each other’s “back up brains” during planning, while conducting predive preparation and checks, and throughout the dive. Camaraderie that comes from facing a challenge together. Knowing and agreeing what the challenges are and that everyone is onboard, helps to make it less daunting, more achievable and more fun. Team Member Responsibilities As a team diver, you have the responsibilities to: Plan to be self-sufficient, even in an emergency. You plan your dives so you can respond to emergencies independently; your team mates may make it easier and provide a "Plan B" if necessary, but you don’t plan to rely on them as your primary responses to an emergency. Not let the team take you beyond your limits. Otherwise, you can’t stay self-sufficient and may endanger other team members as well as yourself. Image place holder for images that are 365x365 Photo credit Jon Milnes Watch your team mates as closely as you watch yourself. After you check your gear, check their gear. After confirming what gas you’re breathing, confirm what gas they’re breathing, etc. When necessary, be willing to accommodate team needs over your individual preference as long as it doesn’t compromise safety. As you’ll learn, for example, generally all team members dive with the same gases. You may prefer a different blend for a specific dive, but team unity is usually more important. If you ever feel a team choice compromises safety, let the other team members know. If they still choose something you are uncomfortable with, it’s your responsibility to decline the dive. Not exert peer pressure, and not succumb to peer pressure. All team members need to be confident about their ability to successfully perform the dive. Working Alone Within a Team At times it may be appropriate for members of the team to complete different aspects of the mission. For example, after an initial planning meeting, one person may organize transport to the dive center, another liaises with the dive center to book a weekend of diving and a third books overnight accommodation. You’ll come back together again later to update each other on the progress of your plans. image placeholder for 730x365 Photo credit Aqualung/Apeks Each team works differently, some teams may enjoy doing everything together, others may prefer to do things like set up their equipment individually, then come together to check everyone’s kit. It's not usually appropriate to do or change something the team has planned without the rest of the team knowing. At best, this can mean the job gets done twice, but it could be far more serious, upsetting the group dynamic or causing something vital to be forgotten. Team Size Preferred size varies with the divers, dive objective and other variables, but is typically two to four divers, not counting support divers (when present). Many tec divers think of three divers as an optimum number in many circumstances, because in the event a team member has a problem, it provides two divers to assist the one. However, this is not a “rule” or “standard.” Two divers and more than three are also common team sizes, and work effectively. On some projects, the “team” may be very large – 10 to 15 divers working toward a common goal – though this is usually composed of smaller subteams of two or three people to make things manageable. There may also be specific roles and a hierarchy in some teams. During training, your instructor will lead the team, other staff may assist or have specific roles and you and your fellow student divers will work as part of the team to improve and master Tec 40 diving. Anyone Can End a Dive To negate peer pressure effects, all responsible technical divers adhere to and honor a rule that originated with cave diving: Any diver can abort any dive at any time for any reason. This means that if you feel like you want to end the dive, whatever the reason, it’s your responsibility to do so. Continuing the dive to avoid letting down your team members when you’re no longer fully focussed, increases the risk of problems for you and your team. Note What does abort the dive mean? In recreational diving, aborting a dive usually means going directly to the surface. In technical diving (not a serious emergency situation): If you’re still in a no stop situation, you ascend to complete a safety stop before going to the surface. If you have a decompression requirement, you complete all decompression stops before going to the surface.