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OFFICIALlast verified 2026-10-18

Sukeltajakoulu (Merivoimat) — Taistelusukeltajat
Diving School entrance exam (Sukeltajakoulun valintakoe)

The Finnish Navy Diving School (Sukeltajakoulu) at Upinniemi trains conscript combat divers (taistelusukeltajat, maritime reconnaissance with oxygen rebreathers) in even years and clearance divers (raivaajasukeltajat) in odd years; about 20 are admitted a year, always starting in January. The exam in week 35 scores nine events from 5 to 1 point — 12-minute run, 50 kg bench press, pull-ups, sit-ups, standing long jump, a 15 km run with a 10 kg pack, 200 m swim, underwater distance swim and a 6 m search — plus a 1-minute underwater breath-hold. Every event needs at least 1 point; no total-score threshold is published.

Move the sliders to your latest results. The verdict updates instantly against the published standards — calculated in your browser, nothing stored.

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minimum 2800 mtarget 3200 m
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minimum 14target 30
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minimum 10target 18
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minimum 34target 53
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minimum 2.1 mtarget 2.5 m
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minimum 100 mintarget 80 min
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minimum 3:50target 2:20
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minimum 25 mtarget 50 m
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minimum 3target 10

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Pay · free · AU table from 1 Jul 2025; conscript allowance from 1 Feb 2026

What a conscript combat diver (taistelusukeltaja) gets — and what professional soldiers earn afterwards — Upinniemi

Pay grade
days 1–165
Gross · Conscript — daily allowance × 30 days (varusmies, päiväraha) · days 1–165€185 per month, before tax
Base pay grows with service — tap a bar
Not included in the total
  • Conscript diving pay per diving day (sukellusraha)€13.50 per day
  • Exercise allowance for professional soldiers, per day of military exercise (harjoituskorvaus) provisional€141.64 per day
  • Diving pay for cadre instructors per training diving day — 2021 rate (sukellusraha) provisional€28.88 per day
  • Parachute allowance for professional jumpers, at least 2 jumps a month — 2021 rate (laskuvarjohyppylisä) provisional€192.50 per month

Diving School students are conscripts: from 1 Feb 2026 they receive a tax-free daily allowance (päiväraha) of €6.15, €10.20 and €14.25 a day, shown here × 30 days (our calculation), plus diving pay of €13.50 per diving day — the Defence Forces guide mentions about 60 diving days in service — and conscript service earns no pension. The AU grades are the Defence Forces NCO pay table of 1 Jul 2025; the raise of 1 Oct 2026 (2.10% general plus a 0.90% agency share) has no published table yet. A reservist can later serve as a combat diver NCO (taistelusukeltaja-aliupseeri) at the Utti Jaeger Regiment, but the AU class of that post is not public; cadre diving and jump allowances are known only from the 2021 agreement text.

provisional = official source with a provisional legal status, a secondary source or our own calculation; see the sources.

The test, event by event

EventMinimum — 1 point per eventFull points — 5 per event
12-minute run (12 minuutin juoksutesti)2800 m3200 m
Bench press 50 kg, reps (penkkipunnerrus)1430
Pull-ups (leuanveto)1018
Sit-ups in 60 s (vatsalihastesti)3453
Standing long jump (vauhditon pituushyppy)2.1 m2.5 m
15 km run with a 10 kg pack, 5 km loop with hills (15 km maastomarssi)100 min80 min
200 m freestyle swim (200 m vapaauinti)3:502:20
Underwater distance swim (pituussukellus)25 m50 m
6 m search — discs recovered out of 10 (6 metrin etsintä)310

Also required

  • Fitness category A (palveluskelpoisuusluokka A); visual acuity 1.0/1.0 without glasses or contact lenses (laser correction allowed) and accurate colour vision — red-green colour blindness disqualifies.
  • A BMI over 30 or body fat over 20% disqualifies; so does diagnosed asthma, including exercise-induced asthma, except asthma in early childhood.
  • The exam in week 35 at Upinniemi combines the physical tests, a medical and aptitude tests; results come about a month later. You cannot apply after starting conscript service elsewhere; a reservist without diver training can go through the special forces course (erikoisjoukkokurssi), take a combat diver NCO post (taistelusukeltaja-aliupseeri) at the Utti Jaeger Regiment if one is vacant, and then sit the Diving School exam.
Sources:

Questions

How many points do I need?

The school requires at least 1 point in every event and a passed 1-minute breath-hold, but publishes no total-score threshold; the maximum is 45 (9 × 5, our arithmetic). The calculator shows the 1-point column as the minimum and the 5-point column as the higher level. With about 20 places a year, scoring near the minimum is unlikely to be enough.

What is the difference between combat divers and clearance divers?

Combat divers (taistelusukeltajat) do maritime reconnaissance with oxygen rebreathers and are trained in even years (2026); clearance divers (raivaajasukeltajat) do underwater explosive ordnance disposal with mixed-gas equipment and are trained in odd years (the 2027 course, applications until 31 July 2026). Both use compressed-air sets, complete an NCO course and make 60–100 dives during service; the entrance exam is the same.

Where do the numbers come from?

From the Diving School's points table "Sukeltajakoulun valintakoelajit ja pisteytys" (PDF, April 2025) and its FAQ "Sukeltajakoulutus — usein kysytyt kysymykset" (April 2025), both published on intti.fi and read from Wayback Machine copies (28 July and 11 May 2026) because the site blocks automated access; the organisation of the training comes from the intti.fi page "Sukeltajat" (copy of 9 August 2026).

Compare with

GERMANYKommando Spezialkräfte der Marine (KSM) — KampfschwimmerPFV I — minimum sports requirementsUNITED STATESU.S. Navy SEALPhysical Screening Test (PST)NORWAYForsvarets spesialkommando (FSK) — SpesialjegerSpesialjegeropptak — physical requirements (fysiske krav)