The Diver’s Career
The career of the CMAS Training System consists of 4 Practitioner levels and 3 Instructor levels.
Career progression is carried out by conducting training courses and proven experience, through the registration of immersions in the diving booklet. The diagram below is intended to synthesize the information, and it will always be necessary to consult the requirements described in the respective standards of CMAS certifications.
One Star Diver
Although there are certifications of Snorkel and supervised divers (“Intro Scuba Diving experience”), the entry level as an autonomous diver is the “One Star Diver” certification.
Two Star Diver
The career progression of a diver One Star Diver for the course Two Star Diver does not require the diver to take any speciality course as an entry requirement, only to present 10 immersions in your booklet at the beginning of the course, however you can only obtain certification when you have 20 immersions recorded in the dive booklet.
Three Star Diver
For a diver to be able to take the Three Star Diver course , you are required to present 50 recorded immersions in your booklet at the beginning of the course (see particularities in the standard), and present 4 valid specialties:
- Underwater Navigation
- SBV
- O2 Administration
- Rescue Diver
A diver with Three Star Diver certification can progress to the Instructor career or move on to the highest degree of practitioner, CMAS Four Star Diver.
An experienced Three Star Diver who decides to pursue an Instructor career must present 100 immersions in his diving booklet so that he can attend the One Star Instructor course.
The Three Star Diver if working in a Dive Center is known as a Dive Leader or Guide, and can plan and lead divers on dive trips.
One Star Instructor
A One Star instructor has the possibility to teach intro Scuba Experience (Supervised Diver) practitionercourses and all specialties that it presents instructor certifications. Each certification has different instructor level requirements, some are intended for One Star instructors, others for Two and Three Star instructors, all of which are described in the standards of the respective courses.
In a simplified way a One Star instructor is an assistant to a Two Star or Three Star instructor. However, as has already been mentioned, it is always necessary to consult the requirements described in the standards of the training you are teaching as an assistant.
The career progression of a One Star instructor is carried out by his experience, through courses under supervision, and instructor training courses he must attend. To access the Two Star Instructor training course, One Star Instructor must have 2 courses and 10 certifications as an instructor’s assistant in One Star Diver courses.
Two Star Instructor
Similarly, a Two Star instructor to access the Three Star instructor training course needs to present in its history 10 One Star Diver courses, 3 Two Star Diver Courses, 2 Three Star Diver Courses, and 60 certified students.
Three Star Instructor
A CMAS Three Star instructor can be called “Trainer” or “Instructor Trainer”. This level of certification is the maximum level of the CMAS career.
A CMAS Three Star instructor in addition to training other instructors also presents the possibility of being elected to serve on the Technical Committee of Recreational and Technical Diving and/or be appointed by him to perform supervisory functions of diving schools.