You are physically fit to take on a scuba diving adventure. There are some medical conditions such as recent head injuries, surgery, blood disorders and spinal injuries where being underwater in a pressurized environment is not allowed. Generally, diving requires adequate physical wellness that will aid in the success of your underwater adventure. There is nothing that you must feel anxious about if you have been in tip top shape for as long as you can remember. But keep in mind that simple coughs, colds or fever can greatly affect you when you scuba dive since you will be in a different environment alien to what your body is use to. Clear thinking and excellent focus are key components to a smooth dive. It would be rather difficult to obtain both when you are feeling a bit under the weather.

Scuba diving is one sport that values safety more than any magnificent diving spot. Proper training, a good grasp of safety measures and how to use scuba equipment is always imparted to fresh divers. None the less, as safety is always a personal responsibility, you can start off with a few safety measures and procedures even before you arrive at your diving camp. Informing your relatives or close friends about your venture, the scuba company you will be with and the dive itinerary in case anything goes wrong. Include the dates of your departure and arrival, as well as the company’s contact numbers. You can also do a background check of the dive location and the site’s local rules and conditions. For those who have experience, make sure that your certification is valid as it may not allow you to dive in certain areas. With this in mind it is better to check ahead of time.

Train with certified scuba diving schools. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the biggest diver group in the world. PADI certifications are recognized all over the world. Hence, it’s wise to train in PADI certified diving centres, so if you have the opportunity to dive in some of the world’s best diving spots, your certification will be honoured. Beware of diving schools that offer a faster way to learn diving, whose short cut methods of teaching are extremely unreliable. Diving schools must provide adequate diving and operation of equipment training. Scuba diving gear and equipment must be complete and in top functionality. You can do some research on essential scuba diving gear and their purpose as well as operation via the internet.

Being exceptionally tall has many advantages, but what about when it comes to sporting endeavour, in particular when it comes to water sports. So just what are the plus and minus points of height when it comes to Swimming, rowing, water polo, canoe sports etc. How can a competitor use extra height to gain a competitive advantage over an opponent who has a different physical make up.

First and foremost is the ability to reach further. Being taller implies longer arms and legs, in turn meaning longer reach ability and longer stride ability. This is a tremendous advantage in many sports, but in particular water sports. One of the key factors to swimming is to generate long arcs with the arms and legs. This is only possible with long levers. The front crawl swim stroke requires that you have a long stroke i.e. your arms are powering through the water longer for every stroke than a shorter competitors. The longer your arms are in the water the more time you have to propel yourself in forward motion. Taller swimmers (and just take a look at who lines up for the next Olympic 200 metres Freestyle final) tend to have the textbook long, smooth stroke, whereas the shorter swimmers have a shorter, snappier stroke. Shorter swimmers, if powerful enough do however tend to excel at the more explosive and shorter events, such 50 metre breast stroke, where the long smooth stroke is overpowered by the more powerful short sharp strokes that generate forward momentum quickly.

Rowing is very much the domain of the taller athlete. Take a look any elite rowing crew and they will be tall. Even the lighter weight crews tend to be long and lean as opposed to short and muscular. Rowing is very much a team sport where all action and movement must be simultaneous to maximise effort. This is much easier to acheive if your crew of four or eight are of a similar height. Then to achieve a long stroke, maximising the oar time in the water, longer levers are required. Canoeing and kayaking can favour the shorter or longer paddler depending in the particular event. Some disciplines, such as slalom, white water event favour the shorter more balanced and powerful athlete who can generate power in a short number of strokes. Other events are more favourable to the taller athlete as they require long smooth stokes to generate forward momentum and maintain it for long period of time. Like many things in life, being tall has many advantages. Being tall in water sports is no different.