DAN Resources for Students and Divers

For DAN World Professional and Business Members

Giant Stride: The NEW Diver’s Guide To Safe Diving

WHO IS IT FOR? Students and new divers

WHAT IS IT? The guide is 52-page publication that provides relevant information on:

  • How to choose, rent, purchase, inspect, and maintain scuba gear.
  • The critical elements of planning a dive.
  • Proper dive etiquette before, during, and after diving.
  • The facts about dive health and fitness.
  • What to know before traveling.
  • The benefits of DAN Membership.

HOW TO SHARE. Send the PDF download link, add as a prerequisite to an entry-level course or provide copies in class.


Prepared Diver Course

WHO IS IT FOR? Students, new divers and those in need of a refresher

WHAT IS IT? An online course offered via DAN E-Learning that teaches divers to identify and avoid the five most common triggers of dive accidents. Each video-based module provides additional insight into the science behind fundamental diving skills and highlights best practices. This course complements all entry-level certifications programs.

  • Respect Your Limits | Outlines environmental, physical and physiological issues relevant to diving, and explains how to recognize personal limitations.
  • Be Aware of Your Air | Explains the physics and practicalities of air management, and how to calculate and optimize air consumption.
  • Listen to Your Ears | Illustrates the effects of pressure on the ears, the consequences of insufficient equalization and importance of proper equalization.
  • Maintain Good Buoyancy | Reviews the factors that effect buoyancy and how to establish optimal weighting.
  • Control Your Ascents | Explores the principles of physics affecting safe ascents, the different types of dive environments and how to ascend properly in each one.
  • Assume Responsibility | Explains the importance of taking responsibility for dive planning and preparation – what issues to pay attention to and questions to ask.

HOW TO SHARE. Invite students through DAN’s e-learning platform and track their progress, email the brochure link for them to complete independently or share the modules in class.


DAN’s Smart Guides

WHO ARE THEY FOR? Students, new divers and dive travelers

WHAT ARE THEY? Short, digestible booklets on topics most important to dive safety. There are four guides in the series. Each guide focusing on a topic to aid awareness and provide techniques to help improve buoyancy, gas consumption and equalization. Download these guides in their entirety for easy reading and future reference, or read each article individually right in your browser.

HOW TO SHARE. Send the link to the Smart Guides, include the link on your website or download the individual guides:

Beat the Squeeze: Equalize Like a Pro

The purpose of this Smart Guide is to explain how ears respond to pressure and the best ways to protect them while diving.

Web Link
PDF Download

7 Mistakes Divers Make & How to Avoid Them

This guide outlines some of the most common mistakes made by divers, which range from general health to gear maintenance to dive planning.

Web Link
PDF Download

13 Ways to Run Out of Air & How Not To

Running out of air is one of the main causes of diving fatalities. This guide covers the 13 most common errors made and how to avoid.

Web Link
PDF Download

Know Before You Go: How to Plan Your Dive Trip

This Smart Guide focuses on the importance of health and safety while traveling and includes planning for local and international travel.

Web Link
PDF Download


Incident Case Summaries

WHO ARE THEY FOR? All divers: All levels

WHAT ARE THEY? Individual accounts of real diving incidents and emergencies generated from DAN’s diving incident database. The incidents reported include the near-misses, injuries and fatalities of open-circuit scuba, breath-hold and rebreather diving.

Each report is reviewed by members of the DAN Research Department and the results of this data collection and analysis are anonymized and many are made public for the benefit of the diving community in the form of incident case summaries. 

HOW TO SHARE. Post to social, provide links on your website or use as training references.

If you have experienced a near-miss or injury or witnessed an accident while diving, please share your experience with us and report the incident. 


DAN Membership and Dive Accident Insurance

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