Starting your Scuba Diving Training needs just a few steps.
Step 1: Health
You don’t need to be an 18 year old, nor an athlete to make the grade. Some divers started their training at 12, whilst others started at 65 and older. Maltese Diving Centres and Diving Clubs are obliged by law to request you to fill a standard questionnaire with generic questions, to identify whether you need to talk with your General Practitioner / Medical Doctor prior to undertake scuba diving activities.
The form must contain the questions as included in the annex to the related local scuba diving services law (attached here), or by link here.
Step 2: Plan ahead
Don’t expect to walk into a diving centre or diving club (non-profit) and expect to dive immediately. Dive centres work on a booking system (although many will provide many opportunities in the immediate future in the high season), whilst clubs run their training schedules on an annual or semi-annual basis, depending on availability of volunteer instructors.
Talk to the diving centre or club you may choose beforehand (our Diving Directory may help you find a training provider). Ideally, try to have either one-on-one training (even if it costs that little bit more), or at most, why don’t you take the plunge with a small group of like minded friends?
The best time to start your training at the Maltese Islands is always in May to June, reason being, the air and water temperatures are getting warmer, and the diving sites are a little less crowded. However, if you missed the date, anytime from May to November is still a good period, with the latter months of October and November being still warm and the dive centres are normally that little bit quieter that may help getting more individual attention.
Step 3: The Theory and practicals
Once scheduled, your training with a Diving Centre or Diving Club will normally start off with some theory lessons. Nowadays, training bodies (PADI and BSAC are such examples) are providing this theory training online, which you can pace through online, passing a small test and then using the referral to continue your practical training with the affiliated training provider of your choice. Practical training involves several dry demos and confined water dives (e.g. pool or shallow beach / reef), over three to five days which can be spread over weekends or a holiday trip. Training is modular, so you step up through the Divers’ ranks through learning and practice.
Another option, depending on the Dive Centre or Diving Club’s availability, is to do a “Try Dive”. In such a session, first you get a little theory lesson, followed by a limited practical experience under the strict supervision of a Diving Instructor within a confined zone. You will experience breathing underwater, maybe see some of the beautiful underwater environment and very possibly, convincing you to book the next course (some try dives may also qualify as the first dive of the course – ask your training provider).
What do you learn in a basic Scuba Diving course?
- Safety protocols – evolved over decades of Scuba Diving, these have evolved the sport from being considered “extreme” to mainstream where most people may enjoy the underwater environment as long as they are reasonably healthy, have received the correct training and use the right equipment.
Safety protocols cover things like diving discipline, care of equipment, choosing a good site, hand signals, how the body reacts to being underwater, knowing when to skip a dive, etc. - Breathing underwater – breathing techniques involve learning how to maintain a regular and calm breathing cycle that almost on its own, will calm the stresses we experience on land and put us in a trance-like mindset. Scuba Diving rule number is always “Keep on breathing”, and the techniques you learn may well be used even on land to overcome difficult moments!
- Maintaining Buoyancy – closely linked to the breathing techniques, but also related to equipment and protecting the underwater environment, maintaining buoyancy is an essential diving skill. Buoyancy control will make you feel like you are an astronaut in space, hovering around and letting you get close or away from the seabed depending on what you’re so lucky to see.
- Navigation – how do you know where you are underwater if you cannot surface frequently? Techniques are used through compass navigation, time and distance measurements and/or reading the diving environment markers in order to keep track where you are underwater.
Note regarding equipment
You don’t really need anything for starting your scuba diving training. Diving Centres will supply you with all the necessary equipment (except your swimming trunks or bikini in most cases). However, if you already snorkel or freedive, some of the equipment may still be used in scuba diving (e.g. mask and fins). However, do listen attentively to any advice given by instructors about whether these are suitable for scuba diving. Non-profit Diving Clubs normally with have a relationship with a Diving Centre and help you rent equipment from the one associated with the club.
Please note, under Maltese Law, only divers having achieved an Advanced Open Water, BSAC Sport Diver or CMAS 2* equivalent qualification are allowed to rent equipment from Diving Centres, unless the individual is accompanied by a qualified Instructor who assumes responsibility. Diving Centres may refuse to provide equipment, and will request you to fill the same medical form as in Step 1.
As you progress in your training you might then decide to get some equipment of your own. It is recommended to focus initially on equipment that requires fitting to your body’s contours, such as mask, wetsuit, gloves, hoodies and diving boots, before taking the plunge for more generic equipment. Discuss with instructors or experienced diving buddies, and do your research before jumping to hit “buy” on the internet. Prices in Malta are generally within normal levels compared to shopping abroad (wherein you have to add shipping and customs duty if sourced from outside of the EU), so look at quality and reviews prior to make purchases, maybe even discuss in local divers’ forums on Facebook.
A good full starter set (less diving air cylinder which is normally best rented) will cost somewhere between €800 to €1000, but in reality, it is much wiser not to commit yourself to such a large expense until you’re fully ready to make use of it. Also, depending on the diving you might like, or your wallet, you might choose different items from different providers. It’s rare that a Diver limits himself to buying equipment from a single shop, so hold back from doing a spending spree and discuss with Diving Instructors and Buddies as to what will really work for you, and at which point in time.
