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PADI Open Water Diver
Although they are too young for certification this does not mean they cannot experience scuba diving. PADI has a great program called PADI Seal Team where 8 and 9 year olds can begin their underwater adventure. They will be experiencing the things older divers learn but with specialized instructors who are experienced with the younger age. Then once they are 10 they can begin their certification journey. .
In order to be certified as a PADI Open Water diver you must complete all the requirements of the certification course. In addition to your weekend class and pool course, you'll need to do your first 4 dives in open water with any PADI instructor around the world (to make sure you are safe and have learned all the skills from the weekend) to get your certification. Typically, it will take two weekends to get your full Open Water certification.
There are a few skills that are required in the confined water portion of the PADI Open Water course. These skills are:
1 – 300 meter snorkel swim – with snorkelling gear, mask, snorkel and fins, swim laps in the pool
2 – Snorkelling skills – learn and perform the basic snorkelling skills, clearing a snorkel and diving down under water
3 – Surface float or swim for 10 min – float, tread water, swim or drown proof for 10 min in the pool
You do not need to be an Olympic swimmer and our instructors can help you with all these skills.
Once you complete the class and pool portions all you need to do is go diving with a PADI instructor for 4 dives in the open water (not a swimming pool).
Scuba 2000 offers open water dives here in Ontario from the May long weekend to Thanksgiving long weekend. You can join us on our local dives, usually within a 2 hour drive outside the GTA, or join us for a spectacular weekend vacation in Tobermory, ON, the best fresh water ship wreck diving in the world!
Or join Scuba 2000 on one of our tropical diving trips, where you learn from one of our expert PADI instructors!
Once you are a Certified PADI diver you are certified for life! But it is always prudent to practice your skills lest you forget. PADI recommends refreshing your skills every 6 to 12 months before you go diving. S2K has refresher courses available every week and our instructors will even sign your log book so where ever you dive they recognise you have practiced your diving skills.
You can start your adventure at the age of 10 with the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification! It is exactly the same as the normal certification except there are depth limits and a limit on who they can dive with. Those divers who are 10 and 11 years old must dive with a certified parent or Divemaster. Those 12 to 14 must dive with a certified adult with them at all times.
Once you are 15 years old you can contact PADI and apply for a new PADI card. That’s it!
Check out the PADI medical form here, if you answer YES to any of the questions you must get your doctor to fill out the medical form before you dive with Scuba 2000.
While we would love to be able to finish off your certification in Ontario or on one of our tropical dive trips, we understand that many people want to complete their certification while on vacation. Unlike other dive centres we do not charge for open water referral paperwork. Simply give us a call at least 7 days prior to leaving and we can prepare your referral documents for you to pick up at the shop.
If you are looking to become a diver, you can start with the PADI Open Water Diver course. The course is broken up into two parts, a class and pool weekend here at our dive training centre, and another two days of open water diving with an instructor.
See more about the course here.
We teach our Open Water class and pool at our dive shop at 9033 Leslie Street in Richmond Hill. We are the only dive centre in the GTA to have our own, in-store dive pool. That means you can complete your Open Water weekend more conveniently and comfortably by simply walking down the hall from our modern classrooms to our tropical dive pool. No need to shuttle back and forth to the local community centre like other dive shops.
At Scuba 2000, we proudly offer PADI courses. As a 5-Star Instructor Development Centre, we teach PADI courses ranging from Open Water Diver through to Instructor-level. PADI Divers carry the most respected and sought after scuba diving credentials in the world. No matter where you choose to dive, your PADI certification card will be recognized and accepted. In fact, on most scuba diving adventures, you’ll be surrounded by other PADI Divers who made the same certification choice you did – to train with the world’s largest and most respected scuba diving training organization.
Yes! We offer Discover Scuba courses every Tuesdaay at our in-store dive pool. For only $75 you'll get a full introduction to scuba and begin to learn the fundamentals of being a diver.
