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Open Water

Advanced Open Water

Entriched Air Nitrox

Refreshed Diver

Rescue Diver

HSA SCUBA - Divers with Disabilities

Other classes include Divemaster training, Assistant Instructor, Instructor, and more. Contact for details.

Gabrielle SCUBA Classes

Note: 100% of proceeds from Gabrielle's classes go directly to local charities. To register for any of these classes, please complete the online registration form.

OPEN WATER
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
To train students so that they can demonstrate the ability to plan and execute entry-level recreational dives within their qualification profile. Contact for pricing.
PREREQUISITES
1. Age 15 years or older. (12 through 14 for Junior Open Water SCUBA Diver).
2. Medical Questionnaire or medical by a physician. Download here.
3. Statement of Understanding/Waiver & Release completed and signed if adult or completed and signed by student and parent/guardian if a minor (under age 18). Download here.
4. Competent swimming ability (without mask, snorkel, fins or other swimming aids). Swim goggles are permitted.
a. Entrance requirements: (prior to SCUBA training):
(1) 200 yard surface distance swim (goggles acceptable.)
(2) 25 foot underwater swim without a push off.
(3) 10 minute treading water/survival floating exercise.
b. Exit requirements: (prior to certification)
(these may be used as the entrance requirement and not repeated later.)
(1) 300 yard surface distance swim (goggles acceptable.)
(2) 50 foot underwater swim without push off.
(3) 15 minute treading water/survival floating.
5. Junior Open Water SCUBA Diver students must also meet the following:
a. Permission of parent or guardian to take course is required.
b. Pre-course interview with instructor and parent(s) is required.
c. Attendance at all sessions of the course by parent or guardian is required unless Junior Waiver has
been signed by a parent and properly witnessed.
Note: See Renewal below for more information on Junior Diver.
EQUIPMENT
Students shall use the Minimum Student SCUBA System
MATERIALS
Student
1. Required Text: Leaird or Graver (I prefer Leaird.)
2. SCUBA Educators International Open Water Diver Student Kit*
3. SCUBA Educators International Air Diving Tables*
4. SCUBA logbook*
* These items are included in the Student Kit

COURSE TIMES - MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
1. CLASSROOM AND POOL HOURS The traditional SCUBA Educators International Open Water Diver
course includes approximately 32 hours of training in classroom and pool or confined water. However, this instruction must include at least 24 hours of training and testing not including open water training. At least 50% of the course time must be pool or confined water training. Students whose understanding or water skill is less than average may require additional time.
2. OPEN WATER TRAINING Students are to participate in at least one skin and four SCUBA dives prior to certification which includes approximately 8 hours. Two dives in one day are traditional. However, no more than three SCUBA dives may be conducted on any given day. These dives may be a combination of required training dives and additional excursion dives. The open water training shall be conducted during daylight hours with clear access to the surface at all times.

ADVANCED OPEN WATER
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
The Advanced Open Water Diver course is the next step in the progression of training for a SCUBA diver who has completed Open Water SCUBA Diver certification and perhaps Open Water Plus. This program adds five additional dives to the diver's education and experience. Open water training is the primary objective of this course.

The Advanced Open Water Diver course is easily taught during a trip where a group of students accompany an instructor for the purpose of experience and enjoyment. The five dives can also fit into a weekend. No classroom or pool sessions are required for this course. A pre-dive briefing must cover any information that may be necessary for each dive and the content will depend on the dive situation and environment.

PREREQUISITES
1. Age 15 years or older (12 to 15 see Policies, Procedures: Junior Diver Policy).
2. Medical Questionnaire or medical by a physician. Download here.
3. Statement of Understanding/Waiver & Release completed and signed if adult or completed and signed by student and parent or guardian if a minor (under age 18). Download here.
4. Open Water Diver, Open Water Plus or equivalent from another recognized agency where the diver has logged at least four training dives.
5. Prospective students are to be informed of all required equipment prior to the course, i.e., a light for the night dive, compass for navigation dive.

CREDENTIALS
1. Certified SCUBA Educators International Instructor with current insurance policy.
2. The SCUBA Educators International Instructor is to be at a minimum, in “indirect supervision” during this entire program. Students without recent dive experience should be under direct supervision on deep dives.
3. Assistant Instructors or Divemasters may participate in instruction under the supervision of a certified SCUBA Educators International Instructor.

EQUIPMENT
1. Students shall use the Minimum Student SCUBA System (see definition, Part I) and other equipment as required.
2. Instructors, Assistant Instructors and Divemasters shall use the Minimum Leader SCUBA System.

MATERIALS
Student
1. SCUBA Educators International Air Diving Tables
2. SCUBA logbook

Instructor
SCUBA Educators International Advanced Diver Instructor Guide

CERTIFICATION
1. Advanced Open Water Diver certification is awarded by the instructor upon completion of all course requirements.
2. Certification is awarded when the instructor submits a properly completed and signed Certification Form and certification fee to the SCUBA Educators International office.
3. Students aged 12-14 will be certified as Junior Advanced Open Water Divers. (not to exceed 60 ft)
4. Renewal of this certification is not required.

CLASSROOM TRAINING
Not required, however, pre-dive briefing must include any information that may be necessary for each dive to be a safe and enjoyable learning experience.

POOL OR CONFINED WATER TRAINING
No pool or confined water training is required. However, students that have not been diving for one year or longer are recommended to have a pool or confined water session to refresh their basic skills prior to entering the open water. Student performance and enjoyment during the initial open water dives will improve when the refresher session is used.

OPEN WATER TRAINING
Each student certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver will complete five additional dives. Three are required dives and two are selected from an option list. The required dives include:
a. Navigation: Utilizing a compass, buddy teams swim a distance to an object and return without surfacing. Buddy teams then swim a prescribed pattern to be determined by the instructor, (square,
triangle, etc.).
b. Night: Students are to complete a night dive using proper underwater light and safe techniques.
c. Deep Dive: Students are to complete a deep dive (greater than 50' and less than 100’). Students are to plan their dive using diving tables requiring no required decompression stops. The student should then make their planned dive. The dive must include a safety stop. Following the dive, the student must complete a written dive profile of their dive.

The two optional dives are to be from the following options list:
Navigation Dive Drift Dive
Night Dive Search and Recovery Dive
Deep Dive Underwater Photography Dive
Boat Dive Computer Assisted Dive
Environmental Dive Wreck Dive (No Penetration)

RATIOS: The Instructor is to remain in “Indirect Supervision” during the dives included in this program. The number of students in the water at one time should be reduced for certain water conditions, i.e.: Current, waves, limited visibility, etc., if safety is an issue.
No more than two required or optional dives are to be completed in a single day. The only exception is that the night dive can be done following two daylight dives. These five dives may be counted towards the Advanced Plus Diver course, when the student enrolls in that training.

EXAMINATION AND TESTING (none required)

QUALIFICATION PROFILE
Prior to additional experience, this diver is qualified for diving under the following conditions: Depth - to 100 feet; Underwater visibility - at least 3 feet; Current - mild; Wave action - inshore to 2 feet, offshore to 4 feet;
Water temperature - to 40 degrees F; Surf - light.

The Divers Qualification Profile for each certification outlines the diver’s abilities at the time of certification. Experience is a legitimate way to expand these qualifications. Initial dives in excess of these conditions should be done under supervision. Supervision must be provided by divers experienced in the appropriate conditions. SCUBA Educators International does not recommend any recreational diver to exceed the depth of 100 feet.

ENRICHED AIR NITROX DIVER - Contact for pricing. Includes instructor, IANTD Nitrox Manual, instructional materials, Nitrox table, student workbook, classroom session, exam, and certification card.

TRAINING OBJECTIVE
The SCUBA Educators International NITROX specialty program is designed to familiarize the individual diver with the issues and procedures necessary to evaluate the application and utility of using oxygen enriched breathing mixes of 22% to 40% oxygen content for recreational SCUBA diving.

PREREQUISITES
1. Age 15 or older
2. Medical Questionnaire or medical by a physician. Download here.
3. Statement of Understanding/Waiver & Release completed and signed if adult or completed and signed by student and parents/guardians if a minor (under age 18). Download here.
4. SCUBA Educators International Advanced Open Water Diver certification is recommended (or equivalent from a recognized agency).

EQUIPMENT
1. Minimum Student SCUBA System with nitrox cylinder.
2. Minimum Leader SCUBA System with nitrox cylinder.
3. Oxygen analysis/monitoring/measur ing devices.
4. Nitrox cylinders used in this course are to be appropriately marked and filled with EAN-32.

MATERIALS
Student
1. Required Textbook "IANTD Nitrox Manual or Recreation Nitrox Diving by Robert Rossier"
2. SEI Air Diving Tables and SEI Nitrox Tables, EAN32 & EAN36.
3. SCUBA logbook.
Instructor
SCUBA Educators International Enriched Air Nitrox Instructor Guide with PowerPoint teaching aid.

CERTIFICATION
1. Students completing this specialty certification course will receive a SCUBA Educators International Nitrox Specialty Certification.
2. Certification is awarded when the instructor submits a properly completed and signed Certification Form and certification fee to the SCUBA Educators International Office.
RENEWAL (not required)

CLASSROOM TRAINING
Classroom training included in the SCUBA Educators International Nitrox Diver course requires between four and six hours to complete and includes five required modules and one optional module.

OPEN WATER TRAINING
Prior to certification, students are required to complete two (2) enriched air Nitrox dives. Nitrox training dives are limited to a maximum depth of 100 fsw (30 msw), and a partial pressure of oxygen at the maximum depth of the training dive not to exceed 1.4 ata PO2. Nitrox training dives are to be limited in bottom time to the no-stop dive limits established by the SCUBA Educators International Air Diving Tables using the equivalent air depth principle calculation or the SCUBA Educators International Enriched Air Nitrox Diving Tables for the oxygen enriched mix used during the dives.

EXAMINATION AND TESTING
Students must pass a written exam covering information presented during the class in accordance with the specific NITROX training course materials supplied from the SCUBA Educators International office.

QUALIFICATION PROFILE
Upon completion of this specialty course, students should be capable of determining specific oxygen concentration of their breathing gas mixture and planning and executing recreational Nitrox SCUBA dives within those parameters.

REFRESHED DIVER - Contact for details. If you need to refresh your skills, I can design a refresher course based on your needs. Be sure to let me know which certifying agency your open water certification is with, when you received it, how many total dives you completed, and when was the last time you dived. I will have more questions for you, but these are the basics to get started in determining what we'll need to do to get you refreshed and ready to be a safe diver who enjoys the experience!

TRAINING OBJECTIVE
The Diver Refreshed program is designed to provide a controlled training environment for those certified
divers who have not had recent diving experience. This program is recommended for:
1. Those with less than 4 open water dives in the past year.
2. Those with no open water dives in the past six months.
3. Those planning dives in an environment that is new to them.
4. Those who may feel they have forgotten portions of the Open Water program regardless of time

PREREQUISITES
1. Age 15 or older (12 to 15 see Policies, Procedures: Junior Diver Policy).
2. Medical Questionnaire or medical by a physician.
3. Statement of Understanding/Waiver & Release completed and signed if adult or completed and signed by student and parent or guardian if a minor (under age 18).
4. Any certified diver with a desire to "refresh" their skills.

EQUIPMENT
(as defined by the WRSTC)
1. For students during pool and/or open water training:
Minimum Student SCUBA System.
2. For instructors during open water training if used:
Minimum Leader SCUBA System.

MATERIALS
Student
1. SCUBA Educators International Air Diving Tables
2. SCUBA logbook

CERTIFICATION
No certification is issued for this program however, instructors are encouraged to make note in the student's logbook that this training has taken place.
This program may also be used to upgrade those certified as Junior Open Water Diver to Open Water Diver upon reaching age 15 or above.

RENEWAL
Renewal is not required however, divers without diving activity in the past six months, or diving in a new environment, should be encouraged to retake this training prior to additional diving.

CLASSROOM TRAINING
There are no specific lectures required. However, the following should be reviewed prior to any water work:
1. Certification date, level, agency.
2. Date of last refresher or dive.
3. Review of log or training record and dive experience.
4. Recent changes in equipment and technology and review of basic dive rules.
5. Review of the dive tables and "no decompression stop" limits.
6. Overview of dive computers.
7. Local procedures and environmental factors.

POOL OR CONFINED WATER TRAINING OR OPEN WATER TRAINING
The student can receive training in either pool or open water to complete this program. If the student has not been diving for over a year, it is recommended that the instructor do at least the initial training in pool or confined water. On entering the water, the following skills should be reviewed both in theory and practice.
1. Equipment developments:
- Gear-up procedures.
- Equipment checks/operation/preventive maintenance.
2. Water entries.
3. Buoyancy control.
4. Communication.
5. Pressure equalization.
6. Buddy contact.
7. Navigation, underwater orientation.
8. Air monitoring.
9. Water exits.
10. Mask clearing.
11. Regulator clearing.
12. Out of air emergency simulation, e.g., alternate air source.
13. Surface survival without SCUBA air.

EXAMINATION AND TESTING
A written examination is not required in this program. The "Dive Refreshed" candidate is expected to renew his/her skills by performing exercises in the water.

QUALIFICATION PROFILE
Divers completing this program are better able to pursue SCUBA diving based on the level of past training involvement.

RESCUE DIVER - DIVER RESCUE AND ACCIDENT MANAGEMENT (DRAM)

TRAINING OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the DRAM Rescue specialty course is to provide the knowledge and skills to recognize and
take action in the event of a diving accident. This course concentrates on four primary topics: Cognizance, Assessment, Rescue, and Evacuation. DRAM Diver certification is recommended for all divers and is a prerequisite for SCUBA leadership training.

PREREQUISITES
1. Age 15 years or older. (12 to 14 see Policies, Procedures: Junior Diver Policy).
2. Medical Questionnaire or medical by a physician.
3. Statement of Understanding/Waiver & Release completed and signed if adult or completed and signed by the student and parent/guardian if a minor (under age 18).
4. Advanced Open Water Diver certification or 10 logged dives after Open Water certification.
5. Hold current certification in the following:
CPR (NSC, AHA, ARC, ASHI or equivalent).
Prior to certifying the DRAM Rescue Diver, the following certifications must be completed:
a. First Aid (NSC, ARC, AHA, ASHI or equivalent).
b. Oxygen Provider (DAN or equivalent).
c. CPR (NCS, ARC, AHA, ASHI or Equivalent)

EQUIPMENT
1. Students shall use the Minimum Student SCUBA System (see definitions).
2. Instructors, Assistant Instructors, Divemasters, and Teaching Assistants shall use the Minimum Leader SCUBA System.
3. Specialized rescue and first aid equipment as needed.

MATERIALS
1. SCUBA Educators International DRAM Manual for each student
2. SCUBA Educators International Air Diving Tables
3. SCUBA logbook.

CERTIFICATION
1. DRAM Rescue Diver specialty program certification is awarded by the instructor upon completion of all
course requirements.
2. Certification is awarded when the instructor submits a properly completed and signed Certification Form and certification fee to the SCUBA Educators International Office.
3. Renewal of DRAM Rescue Diver certification is not required.
4. Instructor certification is commensurate with the instructor's card.
Note: SCUBA Educators International DRAM Rescue Diver certification is a pre-requisite to SCUBA
Educators International Leadership Certification (Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, Instructor)

RENEWAL
Renewal is not required.

CLASSROOM TRAINING
1. For DRAM Rescue Divers (4 hours):
a. Cognizance of diving accidents (victim detection).
b. Assessment of diving accidents.
c. Rescue techniques.
d. Evacuation and support procedures.
2. For DRAM Rescue Diver Instructors:
a. All material covered for DRAM Rescue Divers.
b. Instructor orientation on planning and conducting a DRAM Rescue Diver Course (1 to 2 hours).
Note: this material is included in the leadership training institute.

POOL OR CONFINED WATER TRAINING
1. Aquatic Stability Test:
a. Lifesaving entry, approach stroke for 50 yards, continue free style for an additional 250 yards.
b. 15 minute float tread.
c. 50 foot underwater swim.
2. Extensions.
3. Approaches.
4. Lifesaving and Lifeguard swim skills.
5. Stabilization of a surface victim.
6. Contact and handling of a stationary submerged victim.
7. Descent arrests (use caution to avoid injury).
8. Ascent arrests (use caution to avoid injury).
9. Out of Air Emergencies (including alternate air source use and buddy breathing).
10. Retrieval and Stabilization of Unconscious Submerged Victim (use caution to avoid injury).
11. Tows.
12. Deep water Rescue Breathing:
13. Water egress.

OPEN WATER TRAINING
1. Pre-exercise briefing:
a. Equipment care and loss prevention.
b. Personal safety in and out of water.
c. Handling an actual accident at the site.
d. Detailed outline of required dives stressing safety.
2. All students are required to participate in open water dives designed to illustrate each of the major
aspects of the DRAM Rescue Diver program as follows:
a. A SCUBA dive that involves no more than two students with one staff member: the staff member
simulates being a victim and is rescued by one diver. This exercise should occur in no more than 30
feet of water and normally terminates after the victim has been stabilized on the surface.
b. Surface transportation and egress, which can involve a team approach using available resources to transport a simulated victim to a stable platform and prepare him or her for evacuation

DEMP Lifesaving Courses through Divers Alert Network Course - online modules, exam, and hands-on practice with Diving Emergency Management Provider (DEMP) courses consisting of CPR, First Aid, O2 Administration, Hazardous Marine Life, and Neurological Assessment. 

HANDICAPPED SCUBA ASSOCIATION (HSA) for divers with disabilities - please visit our HSA SCUBA page for full details on classes available.

Recommended textbook for my open water SCUBA classes:

SCUBA Educators International

SCUBA Educators International (SEI) a worldwide organization with the highest quality of education and standards in the industry. took over the YMCA SCUBA program.

The training takes longer than all traditional dive shops, but learners end up being more prepared and safer divers.