SDI Ice Tender Specialty Course

What will you learn?

The SDI Ice Tender Course is a wonderful course for divers who are curious about, but not necessarily ready to take the icy plunge, but who want to complete the academic portion of the course and assist in setup, support and tendering operations. Ice Diving is one of the most serious diving environments, one of the most demanding, beautiful and potentially dangerous environments to explore without the proper training, this course can bring you one step closer to understanding the rules and effort that goes into ice diving.

You’ll learn a lot in this course about prepping your gear, the dive site, specialized equipment that divers utilize and why they do so in the overhead environment, rescue techniques, line handling, emergency procedures and much more. Ice Diving requires a lot of diver setup, equipment, dive team management and logistics, you can help make this easier.

Prerequisites:

Be at least 18 years of age
No scuba certification required as this is a non-diving specialty course.

Additional Details:

Teamwork is essential for ice diving, so you’ll start by learning the roles and responsibilities of support personnel, tenders and safety divers.

As an ice diving tender, you’ll tender a minimum of three open water dives limited to a maximum depth of 40 feet in a horizontal line from the penetration hole.

Your training includes developing proficiency in many skills including equipment removal and replacement, use of harnesses and line techniques, exposure hazards and treatment, ice cutting and characteristics, signaling, and much more.  You’ll also discuss types of ice, site selection and prepartion, the effects of cold, emergency procedures and handling equipment issues.

Additional topics covered in your course include atmospheric conditions and characteristics of ice structure, wind chill factors, cold stress, dehydration and first aid, surface clothing and dry suits, penetration holes, and dive site preparation.

  • Using specialized ice diving equipment and safety lines.
  • Signals and communications along with line tending and line-securing techniques.

How can you start learning now?

Visit our store to enroll in the course or set up a meeting with your instructor who can help guide you through the steps required to enrolling in this amazing course. By studying before class, you’ll be better prepared to start practicing your search and recovery skills when you meet with your instructor.

Cost: $175+HST includes materials and certification fees.

What gear will you use?

* Ice Diving Harness, * Lines, *Chainsaw (* will be provided by our staff for the course if necessary). You’ll be responsible for your own foul weather gear or we can dress you in a drysuit with appropriate undergarment for accidental immersion in the water.

Where do I go from here?

Here are some popular examples of courses commonly taken by graduates of this course:

  • Cavern Diver
  • Wreck Penetration Diver
  • Cave 1
  • Tech 1 Diver
  • Trimix Diver
  • Technical Wreck Penetration