Sidemount Diver Specialty Course | Master Streamlined Diving

Learn one of the most versatile and comfortable ways to dive with our Sidemount Diver Specialty Course in Vancouver. At Diving Sports Canada, we focus on quality instruction, personalized training, and a commitment to helping you become a confident and skilled sidemount diver.

Unlike many dive centers that shorten training to cut costs, we structure our courses with the time needed for mastery — ensuring you leave with the skills, safety awareness, and comfort to enjoy sidemount diving for years to come.

Course Description:

• You will receive a code for the online learning to complete before the start of the course.
• You will spend one full evening in the class and pool to size equipment and learn basic skills.
• You will spend a full weekend in the ocean (3 dives min) to perfect gear adjustments, trim, tank switching, putting on and taking off equipment and proper diving techniques.

We are doing our part to try and reduce plastic use, so all of our certifications will be digital. If students would prefer a physical certification card, then they may pay to have one at the time of certification.

What’s Included:

• Sidemount Diver eLearning course material
• 1 evening classroom session for orientation, equipment configuration, and knowledge review
• 1 evening confined water pool training session before ocean dives
• Full weekend in the ocean (minimum 3 dives)
• Transportation between pool and dive shop
• Necessary exposure gear (wetsuit, drysuit, boots, fins, hood — except mask, snorkel, and gloves)
• Digital certification card (physical card available for an extra fee)

What’s Not Included:

• Mask and snorkel (must be personally owned)
• Sidemount equipment (regulators, harness, computer, DSMB, compass, dive light) — available for rent
• Tank rigging materials — must be purchased before course start (View setup video)
• Additional pool or ocean training if required (See private/group rates)

Course Prerequisites:

• Open Water Diver certification or higher
• Drysuit Specialty certification (if using a drysuit)
• Minimum 15 logged cold water dives
• Completed medical form (Download here)
• All eLearning completed before course start

Drysuit Training:

Sidemount diving is a new configuration that requires focus. To ensure your comfort and safety, you must have recent Drysuit Specialty training before the course, so you aren’t learning both skills at the same time. If you don’t have it yet, check out our Drysuit Specialty Course.

Equipment Rental:

We include basic gear (wetsuit or drysuit), but personal items like mask, snorkel, gloves, computer, DSMB, and compass are not included. Sidemount setups available for rent include:

• X-Deep Stealth Tec
• X-Deep Stealth Classic
• Hollis Katana 2

Regulator options: Apeks XTX 50, Scubapro MK 25/S620Ti, Atomic B2. Full sidemount gear rental: $69.99.

Transportation:

We provide transport from our shop to the dive site in our 7-passenger van. Seats are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

SDI & TDI Course Standards:

We follow internationally recognized sidemount diver standards:

• SDI Sidemount Diver Standards
• TDI Sidemount Diver Standards

Cancellation Policy:

Please review our cancellation and rescheduling policy before booking: → View Policy

Join the Diving Sports Canada community and master sidemount diving with the support of expert instructors and a welcoming dive family.

→ Book Your Sidemount Diver Specialty Course Now