SCUBA RANGERS is a scuba training and club-based program designed for kids ages 7 to 12 years old.

Unlike other children’s scuba programs, SCUBA RANGERS uses teaching materials designed to be grade-level and flexible enough to suit different learning styles. Written classroom materials are supported with videos and plenty of pool time. The general result is delighted children who have developed a passion for the adventure of "diving".

Initial SCUBA RANGERS training is offered through five or six separate classroom and pool sessions of about three hours each. Once your child passes each of four “courses,” he or she demonstrates skills for a group of parents during the fifth and final three-hour session. During the last class for Demo Rangers, parents can get in the pool on either snorkel or scuba gear and watch their Rangers underwater! Thereafter, your fully certified “Demo Ranger” is eligible to become a member of the SCUBA RANGERS Club.

Club meetings are held about twice a month, with each focusing on a different scuba skill. During club sessions Rangers learn about ocean environments, get more diving experience and learn about advanced diving. Specialty “pint-sized” classes like underwater photography, night diving (with flashlights in the swimming pool), and marine ecology are offered through visits to the zoo and aquarium. See the tab below entitled "Scuba Rangers Club and Specialties".

Through SSI, children can become fully certified as open water divers as young as ten. SCUBA RANGERS who have passed all five courses can “challenge” and prove mastery of open water certification scuba skills taught in the pool. That means that successful “challengers” do not have to repeat the pool portion of Open Water Diver certification.

By regulation however, all Open Water students must pass the same academic requirements with the same student kit. Children who have learned this classroom material through SCUBA RANGERS and have stayed active in the club should not find Open Water course work particularly challenging.

At Denver Divers, your Scuba Ranger graduate can enter our Rangers Plus program of scuba skills review and academic instruction designed for children. Our goal is not only to insure that kids pass the Open Water Certification test. We want to insure thorough understanding of the concepts.

Beyond Scuba Rangers, kids can earn three additional Recognition Levels in preparation for their Junior Open Water certification. At Denver Divers, Rangers Club activities encompass some of the nearly 20 specialty classes required to advance. Recognition Levels include:

	Intermediate Ranger recognition requires five Scuba Ranger specialties. We recommend Equipment Ranger, Computer Ranger, Navigation Ranger, Maze Ranger, Search Ranger, and Rescue Ranger as those most valuable to attain Intermediate Ranger status. However, kids can select any five from among those listed on the back.
	Advanced Rangers complete ten Ranger specialties. Valuable additional specialties include Night Ranger, Marine Life Ranger, Maze Ranger, Technical Ranger, and Mile Ranger.
	To become a Master Ranger, Scuba Rangers must complete 15 specialties including Civics Ranger and Buddy Ranger.

Scuba Ranger Specialties

• Buddy Ranger - Invite up to five of your friends to try snorkeling or scuba in the pool. It’s a great time to demonstrate your skills and get your friends involved.
  
• Civics Ranger - Help in your home and community. Almost anything counts, such as cleaning your room, or participating in community events. After you get 12 sign-offs from the people you have helped, you get credit for the Civics Ranger specialty.
  
• Computer Ranger - Familiarize yourself with how computers are utilized in diving and diving research. Denver Divers will use our pressure pot and dive simulator to teach kids how to use a diving computer in the pool.
  
• Equipment Ranger - Gain additional knowledge, skills and experience with different types of diving equipment.
  
• Marine Life Ranger - Learn about aquatic fish, plants and animals that live in oceans, lakes and rivers. While no diving is involved, you get to see cool photos and take a “behind the scenes” tour of the Denver Aquarium.
  
• Maze Ranger - Test your buoyancy and scuba skills in an underwater "obstacle course." Skill stations are set up in the pool. Each station has a specific skill for you to perform.
  
• Mile Ranger - The goal of Mile Ranger is to swim a full mile in the pool with the assistance of your mask, snorkel and fins. You have several sessions in which to complete the mile.
  
• Navigation Ranger - Learn how to use an underwater compass, and natural navigation techniques (navigating with no compass).
  
• Night Ranger - Practice your skills and play games - at night with the pool lights off! You’ll have an underwater diving light so you can see what you’re doing.
  
• Repair Ranger - will tour the Denver Divers Service and Repair shop to learn what technicians do to make sure regulators, BCs, and other dive equipment is working properly. Repair Rangers will learn a little about each tool and machine.
  
• Rescue Ranger - Learn what it takes to help your buddy if he or she is in trouble while diving. Denver Divers invites police and rescue professionals to tell you about their jobs and what they do to help people.
  
• Science Ranger – To earn this specialty, kids will listen to a medical professional talk about common diving problems such as nitrogen narcosis and decompression illnesses. The talk will be accompanied by a trip to a local hyperbaric chamber.
  
• Search Ranger - Learn the basic techniques for locating lost objects under water. It’s not exactly what you need to become a treasure hunter, but it’s a good start.
  
• Technical Ranger – Several Denver Divers affiliated instructors are technical divers who have used special equipment to dive deeper and stay longer than most recreational divers. Rangers who attend a technical briefing can earn their Technical Ranger specialty.
  
• Underwater Photography Ranger – Denver Divers pool has over thirty mosaic tiles depicting marine life. Kids can learn to photograph clown fish, butterfly fish, sting rays, dolphins, and an octopus. We also use moving props to teach students to photograph moving objects underwater.

Children age 10 and older can be fully certified to dive to 40 feet with a dive guide. Here at Denver Divers we offer a children’s program that will help prepare kids to become Open Water certified.

Rangers Plus Certification for Scuba Ranger Graduates

Through a program we call “Rangers Plus”, children who have graduated from Scuba Rangers and who have demonstrated all of their required pool skills, can complete the classroom and pool work to prepare for Junior Open Water certification in a kid-friendly environment.

Connor Nelson, Denver Divers first Scuba Ranger to become fully certified as a Junior Open Water Diver.

Rangers Plus students complete the mandatory eight (8) academic hours in four, two-hour sessions with other kids. Weekly sessions allow children to cover the Junior Open Water Diver program material and learn at a slower pace. They also can become comfortable enough with an instructor to pass an oral test or take the written test according to your preference.

Each Rangers Plus program also includes four two-hour pool sessions. If, through Scuba Rangers, your child does not complete all the required skills, he or she can attend specific pool sessions.

Only Scuba Ranger (or similar program) graduates can enroll in Rangers Plus at age nine years and six months. To participate in other children’s programs at Denver Divers, students must be at least ten years old.

Rangers Plus Certification for Children without Prior Training

Rangers Plus offers kids an alternative to adult classes. Rangers Plus consists of four separate two-hour pool sessions and four two-hour class sessions. Children new to scuba diving will attend all eight sessions to learn necessary pool skills and pass the certification test. Children age ten and older can join the Rangers Plus program or attend regular adult classes to prepare for certification.

Junior Open Water Certification

Once your Ranger has passed both the pool skills and written test, she will be ready for the final step – real open water! All Open Water Diver candidates have to perform their skills over the course of four open water dives and a snorkel.

As a children’s outreach organization, the SCUBA RANGERS has a responsibility to promote good values. To keep it simple and fun, SSI designed the SCUBA RANGERS Star, which defines the five key attributes of a successful SCUBA RANGER:

Proper Knowledge: Rangers must learn the rules of responsible diving.

Proper Skills: Rangers must learn and practice the basic scuba skills.

Proper Equipment: Rangers must learn to use basic scuba equipment, and should own snorkeling equipment, and properly maintain and care for all equipment.

Proper Experience: Rangers should maintain diving proficiency, dive within their limits, and continue to learn more about scuba and water exploration.

Responsibility: Rangers should honor their responsibilities to their families, their community, the environment, and themselves.

At Denver Divers, the safety of the kids is the number one concern. Therefore, our SCUBA RANGERS programs are taught only by SSI certified Ranger instructors. Classroom work and pool sessions will take place at the Denver Divers training facility. One Denver Divers instructor will take direct responsibility for no more than two children in the pool. All pool sessions will have a minimum if two instructors present – one on “deck” and one diving in the pool with the children.

HOW DOES YOUR CHILD BECOME A SCUBA RANGER?

It’s easy! Scuba Rangers is for any kid age 7 to 12. He or she must have basic swimming skills, be comfortable in the water, and be in good health.

Before joining the Scuba Rangers Club, your child will learn scuba skills in five fun steps. Over four, three-hour classes, she or he will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to demonstrate scuba prowess during the fifth and final demonstration class.

1. Class 1 - Red Rangers review swimming skills and learn how to snorkel with a mask, a snorkel and fins.
2. Class 2 - White Rangers learn the reasons for each piece of dive equipment and begin to use fitted equipment in the salt-water pool.
3. Class 3 - Blue Rangers learn specific water skills like buoyancy control and mask-clearing.
4. Class 4 - Silver Rangers learn pool games designed to demonstrate their skills to instructors, family members and friends. If your Silver Ranger needs a little extra work before becoming a Demo Ranger, our Ranger Instructors will provide additional pool sessions at no additional cost.
5. Class 5 - Demo Rangers show off their skills to parents, other family members, and friends. In the Denver Divers’ pool, your child will show you what he or she has learned. This is a very fun graduation ceremony!

As a Demo Ranger your child can become a Scuba Ranger Club member. Club members do fun activities together and continue diving in the Denver Divers’ pool. Many club meetings are structured as pint-size specialty courses like “night diving” with flashlights or “search and recovery” for pool-buried treasure!

And you know what the best part is? If your classmates, or maybe even your parents, see and hear from you how much fun diving can be, they might want to try it too!

WHO SERVES AS SCUBA RANGER INSTRUCTORS AT DENVER DIVERS?

Our Scuba Ranger Instructors have:

• Completed SSI Instructor training
• Passed a background check
• Completed CPR/First Aid within a current calendar year
• Completed Stress and Rescue certification
• Logged at least 24 open water dives – six within the past six months

The ratio of children to instructors will never exceed two children for every one instructor in the pool. Classes and pool time member meetings will always be attended by at least two certified instructors.

ABOUT OUR SCUBA RANGER INSTRUCTORS

Judi Persoff is the mother of two sons who both earned their Eagle Scout awards. One son is a certified diver. She is also a Master Diver and has logged over 100 dives. Judi’s lifelong interest in children extends to her professional life as well. She is Director of the Early Childhood Department at Development Pathways. She earned her Doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Denver.

Wade Welch is a dad and Dive Control Specialist at Denver Divers. Wade was originally certified in 2001 and has tucked more than 300 dives under his belt since then. He attended Colorado State University and currently serves as a Sales Representative for Atrium Windows.

Heather Jergensen is a Dive Control Specialist and mother to a very active three-year-old! Heather holds a BA in Vocal Music from the University of Colorado in Boulder and an MA in Arts Administration from Golden Gate University.

Glen Tucker is one of our oldest instructors and our newest Scuba Rangers instructor! He started his diving career in 1988, earning his SSI Advanced Open Water Instructor Certification in 2005. Glenn worked for over 30 years for the federal government, retiring to devote himself to diving.

Partner Bonnie Sherman will serve as full time Club Monitor.

Scuba Rangers
Through 2011, Denver Divers will offer one winter and one spring six-week Scuba Rangers class. During the summer, we will offer three, one-week Scuba Rangers “camps.” In the Fall of 2011, Denver Divers intends to offer one Scuba Rangers class. Cost for the Scuba Rangers’ classes is $275 and includes the Scuba Rangers student kits, dive equipment and exposure suits. As is true for adult students, we recommend but do not require each child to have his or her own mask, snorkel, and fins. Prior to each class series, we invite parents to attend a one-hour Orientation during which you will complete your child’s training record, medical questionnaire, and liability form. At the Orientation parents and kids will meet Rangers Instructors, hear an explanation of the program, and tour the facility.

Rangers Club and Specialties
Denver Divers will offer two club sessions a month beginning January 2011. Each session will review core pool skills and then allow Rangers to learn a new skill and earn a specialty certificate. Club dues are $50 or $25 a session and include all the equipment and necessary equipment for the specialty. For example, Navigation class will include the use of compasses. See the description of Rangers Club and Specialties.

Rangers Plus
Only children who have completed Scuba Rangers can participate in the Rangers Plus program before their tenth birthdays. Scuba Rangers graduates can start Rangers Plus classes at nine (9) years and six (6) months.
Rangers Plus, a path to Junior Open Water certification, is otherwise open to children ten (10) and above. Children who are 13 and older generally enjoy the regular adult classes.

Rangers Plus consists of four (4) mandatory academic classes of two hours each. Academic classes are $100 plus the $90 cost of the Open Water student kit.

All Ranger candidates, including Scuba Rangers graduates, must attend the first two-and-a-half hour pool session to allow an Open Water instructor to test competence with the skills required for Junior Open Water certification. This first skills test is $25.

Each pool session thereafter is $25 as well. Rangers Plus students who do complete all the open water skills successfully will be required to attend one or more of these additional pool sessions. Rangers who have achieved all the necessary skills can also attend all the pool sessions.

The lowest possible cost for a Rangers Plus student is $125 for the class and $90 for the student kit. The greatest possible cost for a Rangers Plus student is $200 plus the student kit – the same cost as a regular adult Open Water class.

To sign-up or ask questions, call Denver Divers at (303) 399-2877, stop by the store, or use the on-line registration form. We really look forward to seeing you.

Click HERE to read more about Scuba Rangers and SSI Worldwide.

Hello Kids!

My name is Captain Kelp and me and my friends are going to tell you about diving and how you can go diving in the swimming pool. Scuba diving is a very cool sport. Maybe you have been watching TV and seen people going under water with bottles on their backs and things in their mouths - while swimming with red, blue and yellow fish, or even with dolphins. And I’ll bet you would like to try that too some time, right? And you can, of course!

If you are between 7 and 12 years old, you can become a SCUBA RANGER. Together with other kids you can go diving for real in a swimming pool, just like the grown-ups you have been watching on TV. With a real cylinder on your back and a mouth piece in your mouth, you can breathe under water. Isn’t that cool?

A real diver teaches you how you can breathe underwater and how you can stay at the bottom of the swimming pool. You won’t have to go up for air all the time! And if you put on fins and a mask you’ll be able to snorkel in the pool right away!

Once you understand how to breathe underwater - and trust me, it is not that hard - you are going to perform all kinds of exercises. Eventually you can do more and more underwater – you’ll even learn how to help other divers underwater. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

Now, it sounds like you have to study a lot. But hey, that’s a lot of fun too! And once you have taken the oath as a Demo Ranger, you can become a member of the SCUBA RANGERS Club, a real diving club.

Of course you can learn even more, like swimming underwater with a compass. Or night diving in the pool with a flashlight in the dark. But, above all, the SCUBA RANGERS Club is a lot of fun! We might visit the aquarium where you can see all those beautiful fish up close.

Together with my friends Sergeant Major, Hammerhead, Puffer and Spinner, I will guide you on your SCUBA RANGERS adventure. We will tell you everything you need to know and do in order to become a true SCUBA RANGER.