Going beyond the light zone and building upon the values found in the TDI Cavern Instructor Evaluation, the TDI Introduction to Cave Diving Instructor Evaluation (commonly referred to as “Intro”), Intro Instructor candidates will have taught three cavern courses and assisted with at least one Intro to Cave course by this point. Having been recommended by a TDI Cave Instructor for this evaluation, the candidate will demonstrate the ability to educate overhead students in cave etiquette, communications and cave diving skills in an academic setting.Moving on, the candidate will demonstrate their proficiency in teaching in-water skills such as buoyancy control, S-drills, emergency procedures and lost diver drills to name a few.

Intro to Cave Instructor Prerequisites:

• Minimum age 21
• Certified as an open water instructor in active teaching status with an internationally recognized scuba training agency for a minimum of 1 year
• Have a minimum certification of TDI Cavern Instructor or equivalent (e.g. NSS-CDS), with active teaching status
• Provide proof of at least 150 full-cave dives
• Provide proof of teaching a minimum of 3 cavern diver courses and assisting with a minimum of 1 complete TDI Introductory Cave Diver course with 1 active TDI Cave Diver Instructor
• Provide recommendation from a TDI Cave Instructor with which the candidate has assisted in introductory cave training classes and stating that the candidate is prepared for the instructor evaluation program

Course Standards & Procedures