Underwater World offers a 3 easy step program to becoming a Certified SCUBA Diver
Each student is required to purchase a NAUI Education System when enrolling in a SCUBA Course. This education system includes online training which must be completed as part of the course.
The Education System is available in two formats; Digital Plus includes only the eLearning codes and is designed for students that don't need a book or physical learning materials. The Digital Premier comes with the eLearning codes, a paperback version of the NAUI SCUBA Diver text book and the NAUI Dive Tables. This is designed for students that learn best when they can reference a book or other physical learning materials.
(Thats where you are right now!) Confined Water Training is offered in a few different formats for your convenience. Most courses have 1 or 2 confined water sessions a week, though in the Summer we have condensed weekend courses.
No matter what Confined Water training you take, you will be schedule for a minimum of 15 hours of in-water training. On average that is about 9 hours more than the "other guys". Those 9 hours are the difference between just knowing how to dive and being a comfortable, confident diver. If you haven't completed step 1 already, no problem! Simply order the NAUI Scuba Diver eLearning with this purchase and you will be ready to proceed.
Consisting of 4 dives, usually over 2 days, and are considered the capstone of your training. Most commonly, students choose to do these dives locally with us over one of our Certification Weekends. You may also choose to do them on an Underwater World Dive Trip or even complete them on your own trip with a document from your Instructor known as a Universal Referral.
Whatever option you choose, Underwater World will be your certifying Dive Center which means we are here to help point you in the right direction
FAQs
Though NAUI and other Training Agencies allow certification to take place at 10 years old, our 50 years of training experience has taught us that we should wait. Though diving is safe, we are teaching people and in this example children, to understand the concepts of life-support in a condition where life cannot be sustained without proper training.
It is for this reason that we wait until 12 years old to Certify. Young divers may begin their training at 11 years old but must have turned 12 prior to Certification Dives. We understand that this can be frustrating for families that want to dive together but here is an example where we are putting safety above all else and we hope you understand.
The short of it is, we will provide all the equipment you need to take the course. This equipment is included in the price of your course and will be brought to the confined water sessions for you. When it comes to Certification Dives, we will provide you with all the rental equipment needed, included in the price of the Certification Dive fee, as long as you complete those dives with us locally or on a trip with us.,
In the case of Certification Dives, the equipment is NOT brought to the local dive site for you. Part of training is learning how to check and be responsible for picking up the equipment and students will be responsible for this going into their Certification Dives.
We highly recommend that all Students purchase their own mask, fins and snorkel. It is not a requirement but, just like golf, skiing, or other equipment intensive sports, it will make learning much more consistent and comfortable. We offer a 15% discount on mask fins and snorkels for students enrolled in our courses. If you are interested in purchasing your own life-support equipment, it is best to talk to a sales team member to find out what kind of diving you plan to do and what works best for that kind of diving. There is a program where if you purchase qualifying life-support packages, you would receive the Certification Dives for free, saving you $299!
So, after all that; Underwater World will provide you with everything you need for Certification Dives and your Course at no extra cost to you. No hidden fee here.
As far as what Underwater World charges, it comes down to you pay for the eLearning, the Confined Water Training, and the Certification Dives or Referral Packet. There are no other fees that we collect.
Certification Fees that are not collected by Underwater World are not included in our estimate. For example, if you plan of doing Certification Dives locally with us, the lakes usually charge between $50-$65 per day. This would also apply if you do certification dives using the referral program. We have no control nor way of knowing what the dive shop on your vacation is going to charge for those.We do have a general idea what is fair market pricing and we suggest you speak with a sales team member to make sure you aren't being taken advantage of as a new diver.
So in essence, yes, there are other fees that will be associated with your Certification, but none that are collected by us. We are transparent with our pricing structure because we want to build the trust that will keep you diving with us for decades to come.
There are some important differences between other agencies and NAUI. NAUI is a Not-For-Profit Worldwide Education Association. NAUI's purpose is to enable people to enjoy underwater activities as safely as possible by providing the highest quality practical education, and to actively promote the preservation and protection of the world's underwater environments. To accomplish this, NAUI trains, qualifies, and certifies leaders and instructors, establishes minimum standards for various levels of diver training, and provides various programs, products, and support materials to assist NAUI leaders and instructors with their diving supervising and teaching.
NAUI's primary purpose is also reflected in the association's motto, "Dive Safety Through Education". The quality of training provided by NAUI Instructors is of great importance to the Association, so NAUI employs various methods of evaluation to ensure that NAUI standards are met when NAUI instruction is conducted. As a pioneer in diving education, NAUI has developed many of the programs and concepts accepted throughout the diving industry. NAUI constantly strives to increase the safety of diving by upgrading the Association's standards and programs.
NAUI Instructors are qualified, professional educators who are granted academic freedom to teach diving in any reasonable manner as long as NAUI standards and policies are met. NAUI training support materials are designed for flexibility in teaching. NAUI Instructors may exceed NAUI standards in ways that do not jeopardize student safety. Examples include exceeding the number of required open water dives or increasing the academic content. One of the things the NAUI Credo states is that it is more important to train a few students well than to certify many marginally trained divers.
We further believe that educational quality must never be sacrificed for economic reasons. Also, NAUI believes that divers should not be totally dependent upon their equipment or others for their safety. NAUI members emphasize the skills of diving, and anyone certified as a diver should be able to perform the basics of a rescue of a buddy diver.
Skill Level:
Beginner
Skill Details:
This course meets the requirements for ISO Level 2- autonomous diver certification. It provides the fundamental knowledge and skills to scuba dive once your open water training is complete. Upon successful completion of this course, graduates are considered competent to engage in open water diving activities without supervision, provided the diving activities and the areas dived approximate those of training.
Requirements:
ALL Students must purchase a SCUBA DIVER: NAUI EDUCATION SYSTEM when registering for the course. The eLearning MUST be completed before the first day of the course. Students must be at least 12 years old by the Certification Dives. Students must complete the medical waiver prior to the first day of the course.
