Sidemount Specialty Instructor

Become a PADI Sidemount Specialty Instructor

Since diving’s beginning, cylinders use to be on our backs – it’s a natural, intuitive place to put them. as of now, it’s not the only the option. As sidemount diver carrying one or more cylinders along your sides - enjoys rising popularity among mainstream recreational and avid tec divers.

PADI Sidemount Diver course covers the equipment requirements, setup, dive planning and skills you need to use sidemount for diving, PADI Sidemount Diver course covers the foundational knowledge divers needs. Under instructor’s supervision and guidance, they will apply, practice and demonstrate what they learn during the course. 

Sidemount has a number of benefits for the recreational diver far beyond merely cave diving:

• Comfort – Especially for those divers with back issues.
• Control – Streamlining helps improve buoyancy control
• Efficient – Takes less energy
• Peace of mind – More redundancy and more air supply, less stress longer dives
• Fun – Enjoy your diving!

Learn to Teach PADI Sidemount Specialty Course

As PADI Sidemount Specialty Instructor you will need to teach your student divers a new skill-set, which makes for an extremely exciting diving course and will keep your divers focused.

During the PADI Sidemount Instructor Specialty Course you learn how to teach your students about the benefits of sidemount diving.

You will be shown the techniques we use to help student divers develop the necessary abilities to assemble, configure and wear sidemount diving equipment.

The Instructor Specialty course teaches much more than equipment configuration and covers additional skills that are required to plan and make no stop recreational Sidemount dives.

To enroll on a PADI Sidemount specialty Instructor course you must:

• Be at least a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor or currently participating in or have completed an IDC/OWSI Program within the past 12 months.
• IDC/OWSI candidates may apply for Specialty Instructor certification only after successfully completing a PADI IE.
• Be a PADI Sidemount Diver.
• Have recent Sidemount diving experience

The course consists of two sections:

• Knowledge Development
• Open Water training – 1 Sidemount training dive

During your training we will slowly build your confidence and ability as you develop the skills necessary to become a competent PADI Sidemount Instructor.

During the knowledge development section, you must complete the following:

• Present a knowledge development presentation from the PADI Sidemount specialty manual by prescriptively teaching a missed question from the knowledge review.
• Review & understand the purpose and goals of the PADI Sidemount specialty course.
• Review & explain the Sidemount course standards and procedures from the PADI Specialty Course Instructor Guide and list all student and Instructor equipment requirements.
• Demonstrate mastery of all knowledge development.
• Describe how to conduct all course segments in a manner that enables divers to meet course performance requirements.
• Participate in a marketing and promotional workshop where you will learn techniques to promote the Sidemount specialty diver course to your students and the general diving public.
• Participate in a pricing workshop.

During the the Open Water training, you must complete the following: 

• Demonstrate mastery of all water skill performance requirements for the Sidemount specialty diver course.
• Conduct an Open Water teaching presentation from the Sidemount specialty diver course.
• Demonstrate all Sidemount diver specialty diver Open Water performance requirements.

Upon completion of all the performance requirements, you will receive the PADI Sidemount Specialty Instructor certification.

Are you ready to Start?

Contact us  for private counseling and to help plan your next steps as a dive professional.