Open Water Diver

Congratulations on deciding to become a scuba diver! Your decision will lead you on many exciting and exotic adventures to the underwater world. Becoming certified is your first and most important step toward your adventures to come.

Denver Divers’ training philosophy is designed to insure your self-confidence and safety in the water through focused personalized instruction. Proper training will teach you all the rules associated with being a scuba diver during this process. You’ll find we offer several additional training benefits that will insure that you learn how to handle the equipment and to move comfortably in the water.

We provide a low instructor to student ratio of no more than four students for each instructor. Our approach allows us to teach the skills necessary to ensure maximum comfort underwater – the key to the best possible scuba diving experiences. Other features that make Denver Divers stand out as a top-drawer training facility include:

• A saltwater pool
Recently resurfaced with mosaic tile depicting dolphins, clown fish, angel fish, sea horses, an octopus, a sting ray, and more marine life
- Built as a scuba tank with a ledge, four feet deep, running the full 50-foot length

- An area ten feet deep that spans the length and covers 12 of the 18-foot width

- Maintained at 85 degrees, conditions most like the Caribbean in temperature
• Free, instructor-guided pool practices available nearly every Monday until you have completed your open water dives
• A new commercial-grade, “on-demand” hot water heater
• A large rinse tank filled with warm water
• DiveSafe Anti-Microbial mouthpieces on all our pool regulator
• Lifetime use of the pool – a benefit decades of past students have used, often prior to trips.

To insure proper training and comfort, we teach in high quality Scubapro equipment and Henderson wetsuits. Since children can become Open Water Certified Divers by age 10, we offer our younger, smaller students brand-name equipment and wetsuits scaled to size. For the same reasons – comfort and safety – students should have their own mask and snorkel. Further, we strongly encourage our students to purchase their own fins, but can make store equipment available during the classes.

Regular Open Water Diver class and pool sessions are offered either over a weekend – Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday; or Monday and Wednesday evenings over three weeks.

Open Water student groups of three or more can request classes tailored to their own schedules and needs, depending upon instructor availability, at the same price as group classes. We also can easily tailor classes for the private or semi-private student.

Click HERE for our class schedules.

Costs include $200 for the academic and pool work and $90 for the student kit which includes your student manual, DVD, professional dive log, and class materials bag. That's It! Denver Divers can provide all your needed equipment and exposure wear.

As an SSI training facility, our instructors are all directly affiliated with Denver Divers. Because SSI instructors cannot teach as independent agents, affiliation allows Denver Divers to provide instructors with oversight, insurance and continuing education.

SSI HOME STUDY COURSE

Step 1: Orientation and Sign Up. To start your scuba adventure, we first ask you to come in to our training facility and register for the class. You will complete a medical form and student folder at this time. You will then receive your student kit. We can do a short orientation at the same time or schedule you for a future short orientation prior to your upcoming class. Our regularly scheduled orientations are every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. You may sign-up for your class at any time.

Step 2: Homework. Before you arrive for class, you will read the student manual and watch the DVD that follows each book chapter. Because the certification process covers a lot of material in a short amount of time, it is important that you complete this self-paced independent home study and complete all the homework prior to the beginning of class. Devote approximately six to eight hours.

Step 3: SCUBA Training. Your training will begin with an academic review in the class room, followed by in-water skill development training at Denver Divers’ indoor, heated, salt water pool – our “ocean simulator”. The certification exam is given at the end of the academic session.

Step 4: Open Water Certification Dives. You will need to complete at least four open water certification dives
under the direct supervision of an instructor. Your instructor will evaluate your skills as you apply what you have learned during your academic and pool training in the open water. You will also learn practical lessons that can only be gained through real-world experience in the open water environment.

In order to complete your open water dives, you can travel with Denver Divers to any one of a number of sites, depending on your budget and schedule. Every month a certification trip is scheduled either to the Blue Hole in New Mexico; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Cozumel, Mexico; or Aurora Reservoir. Alternatively, if you are planning your own trip, we can arrange your open water dives at your destination through a Universal Referral. Open Water Certification dive costs range from $165 to $250 plus park fee, travel and lodging.

*We provide additional FREE pool skill development sessions with one of our instructors prior to your certification dives. Please call Denver Divers for more information about our FREE pool practice session, held every Monday for our students!

SSI ONLINE TUTORIAL
SDI ONLINE TRAINING