Scubareefing
The SDI Scuba Discovery Program gives you a glimpse of what you can expect to experience in the underwater world as well as what you could expect to learn in the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver course.
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SDI makes it possible for you to complete all of the academic requirements for your entry-level scuba diver certification online.
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Individuals that wish to learn the “How to’s” for two different types of snorkeling, and allow them to be more comfortable in the water.
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This program is designed to provide children between the ages of 8 and 12 an introduction to scuba diving in a controlled environment, under the direct supervision of an active instructor.
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This entry-level certification course is designed to give students the necessary skills to safely conduct open water dives in conditions similar to their training using the shallow water scuba system without the direct supervision of an instructor.
This course is specific to a shallow water scuba system, and is not intended to train participants in the use of conventional scuba diving equipment.
Therefore, use of conventional scuba diving equipment, by participants, during this program is strictly prohibited.
Are you interested in exploring the underwater world, but are not sure if you want to commit to the complete Open Water Scuba Diver Course? SDI has an option for you!
The SDI Supervised Diver Program will introduce you to all of the same subjects and skills as the Open Water Scuba Diver course; however the in-water training is abbreviated to save time.
The SDI Supervised Diver certification will allow you to dive under direct supervision of a diving professional for a period of 12 months!
At any time in that 12 month period all that is required for you to complete your Open Water Scuba Diver course is to complete 2 more open water checkout dives.
The SDI Inactive Diver/Refresher Program is designed to update and review the knowledge and skill level of an inactive diver.
SDI encourages the use of this program for instructors, assistant instructors, divemasters, and resorts or dive facilities that have questions regarding the diving history of an individual.
This program can also be used as a catalyst for continuing education programs.
The SDI Scubility Diver Program is designed to give physically disabled divers the necessary skills and techniques used to conduct open water dives in conditions similar to their training without the direct supervision of a SDI Scubility Instructor. However, some SDI Scubility divers require supervision of a qualified SDI Dive Buddy.
The SDI Scubility Diver Program takes a closer look at the techniques and equipment adjustments to meet a disabled divers needs allowing individuals to dive with safe diving practices.
The following courses are offered under the SDI Scubility Diver Program:
The SDI Advanced Scuba Diver Development Program was created to make truly “Advanced Divers.”
During the course your Instructor will take you through four complete SDI, TDI, or ERDI specialty courses (for example; Deep, Navigation, Photo, Video, Intro to Tech, Tender, etc.) covering all the skills and subjects, so that by the end you will feel comfortable to conduct dives of a similar nature.
Once you have logged your 25th dive (these can include any and all training dives), visit your local SDI facility with your logbook and verification of completing four SDI, TDI, and ERDI specialties and you will be awarded the SDI Advanced Scuba Diver certification.
By earning the SDI Advanced Scuba Diver certification you will have increased abilities and comfort in the water and be ready for the next step, SDI Rescue Diver.
The SDI Rescue Diver Course is designed to develop the knowledge and necessary skills to effectively perform diver rescues and assist and administer the necessary first aid in the event of an emergency.
You will learn skills such as how to perform self rescues, buddy rescues, recognize and calm potential panic divers, administer proper first aid to divers that have experienced dive related injuries, conduct effective search patterns and manage accident scenes.
After the SDI Rescue Diver Course you can enroll in the SDI Master Scuba Diver Development Program or start in the professional ranks and sign up for the SDI Divemaster Course.
The SDI Divemaster Course is the first professional level certification. During the course you will learn how to work with divers, lead certified divers, and act as a dive guide showing divers underwater dive sites and the marine life that inhabits those dives sites.
You will increase your knowledge about physics and physiology as well as increase your proficiency with your scuba and snorkeling skills.
The SDI Master Scuba Diver Development Program was created to make true master divers. The program requires a new open water diver to complete four SDI, TDI, or ERDI Specialties, the SDI Rescue Diver Course, and log 50 dives. SDI feels a diver will be a true master scuba diver after these steps accomplished.
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The SDI Assistant Instructor Course is designed to build on the SDI Divemaster Program by gaining practical teaching experience, learning to prepare lesson plans, and give academic presentations.
You will work with an instructor to gain experience teaching before moving on to the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor level.
Once you complete the Specialty Instructor training with a qualified SDI Instructor Trainer, you can become qualified to teach several SDI Specialty Diver courses.
The SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor (OWSDI) course is designed to teach current Divemasters or Assistant Instructors certified with a recognized dive training organization the knowledge to effectively function as an open water scuba diver instructor.
This program is divided into two sections, an instructor development course (IDC) and an instructor evaluation course (IEC).
If you’ve taken your Open Water Scuba Diver course and are now ready to expand your knowledge but would like to see what is out there first, then the SDI Advanced Adventure Diver course is for you!
The SDI Advanced Adventure course will give you an overview of five different SDI specialties.
Two of the required specialties are the Deep Diver and Navigation Diver specialties which are the foundation of continuing diver education.
The remaining specialty dives you can opt for include:
Advanced Buoyancy Control
Altitude Diver
Boat Diver
Computer Nitrox Diver
Drift Diver
Marine Ecosystem Awareness
Many more!
The SDI Non-Diving Specialty Instructor course is designed to teach members of the scuba diving industry such as: store owners, service technicians, etc the knowledge to safely function as an independent instructor of the non-diving specialties listed below:
Visual Inspection Procedures
CPROX
CPR1st
CPROX1stAED
Other non-diving specialties, i.e. unique specialties, offered by SDI (subject to headquarters’ approval)
The Instructor Trainer Workshop is an intense eight day course that includes academic, pool, and open water sessions.
The SDI Instructor Trainer Workshop (ITW), trains candidates as full evaluators, to conduct the SDI Instructor Evaluation Course (IEC) independently.
A corresponding, current instructor level rating must be held for all IT levels, along with minimum student certifications as detailed in this outline.
During this course, you will spend 8 days working directly with the headquarters staff presenting and evaluating various subjects such as: methods of instruction, dive leader risk management, the business of scuba diving, as well as teaching SDI, TDI, and ERDI instructor level courses.
You will also present and evaluate in-water presentations and skills, participate in class discussions, take the ITW final written exam, and more!
Boat Diving occurs every day around the world; whether is it an inland lake or in the Caribbean, South Pacific or Read Sea, divers can explore the underwater world located off-shore.
Dive boats vary from small private vessels to a large live-aboard dive boats.
The SDI Boat Diver Course covers the “how-to’s” of boat diving from how to board, proper boat etiquette, entry(s) and much more.
The course will also introduce you to the various types of boats you may be diving from.
Introducing a diver to the benefits of controlling his buoyancy usually has a great positive effect, an effect that will enhance the diver’s sense of enjoyment and feeling of accomplishment.
This specialty is designed to increase the open water diver’s understanding of the factors that influence buoyancy, and to train the diver how to use the means available to him as methods for controlling his buoyancy.
The added benefits to the marine and freshwater environments, cannot be overstated; as well as a diver that has better control of himself in conjunction with his environment.
The purpose of the SDI Altitude Diver Course is to acquaint a diver with the necessary procedures and knowledge to dive safely at altitudes at least 300 metres/1000 feet above sea level.
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The SDI Computer Diver Course is designed to expand a diver’s knowledge in the use of their personal dive computer (PDC) and is primarily intended for divers who are certified with agencies using traditional dive tables for planning, rather than PDC’s throughout training.
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Nitrox is a breathing gas that has a lot of benefits for both new and experienced divers. This course will cover the use of nitrox mixtures from 22 to 40 percent oxygen.
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SDI’s Deep Diver Course is a must for any diver wishing to explore a little more, go a little deeper, and learn the risks and benefits associated with deep diving. Many interesting sights lay just beyond open water diver training limits such as: beautiful wall dives, shipwrecks, and critters that don’t come into the shallows.
The purpose of this course is to provide the necessary training to plan and execute dives that are beyond the depth range experienced during an SDI Open Water Scuba Diver course, specifically beyond 18 metres/60 feet and to a maximum depth of not greater than 40 metres/130 feet. By the end of the course your knowledge, awareness, and comfort level with deep diving activities will have increased.
The SDI Diver Propulsion Vehicle Diver Course is designed to train divers in the use of a Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) and familiarize them
with the skills, knowledge, planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems, and hazards of using a DPV in a non-overhead environment.
Drift diving allows a diver to travel over a large area without expending much energy. You simply get neutrally buoyant and enjoy the dive as the scenery moves past you.
The SDI Drift Diver Course covers the “how-to’s” of drift diving from, how to enter and exit drifts, what to do if you get caught in a drift and wish to get out, how to get out of the drift to observe something special, and much more. The course will also introduce you to the various types of drift currents you may be diving in.
The SDI Dry Suit Diver Course will open up a whole new world of diving to you.
Many of the diving environments around the world are better experienced in a dry suit.
Why? These areas have an abundance of marine life waiting to be seen and photographed – they just happen to be a little colder!
Dry suits are also used in tropical water during the cooler months.
This course allows the student to develop the knowledge and skills to properly use a dry suit.
It will discuss the types of dry suits, accessories, maintenance and how to make basic repairs.
This course is designed to give an in-depth look at how dive equipment works.
It will cover general repairs and maintenance of various types of exposure suits, BCD’s, regulators, and other accessories.
Divers often have a need, or want, to effectively communicate underwater. The SDI Full Face Mask Course is the perfect starting point.
Full face mask diving allows the diver to relax and enjoy diving while not worrying about maintaining the second stage regulator.
In addition, the full face mask will help insulate the diver from a coldwater environment.
Ice diving can be a serene and beautiful aspect of scuba diving. As a winter activity, ice diving offers the opportunity to enjoy sport diving year round.
Diving under ice presents hazards not common to the open water diver, and special training is required.
The purpose of this course is to acquaint the diver with the hazards associated with ice diving, as well as how to plan and execute an ice dive.
The purpose of this specialty course is to acquaint the open water diver with the fascinating topic of research diving.
After the completion of this course, a diver will be better able to discover, explore, and appreciate the underwater environment by using research techniques and better preserve and protect the underwater environment.
Many divers find that night diving is their favorite type of diving. As with all specialty diving applications, procedures are different than those associated with open water diving.
The purpose of this course is to acquaint the open water diver with the procedures, techniques, and potential hazards associated with diving at night, or in limited visibility.
Becoming familiar with the use of dive lights, and night diving techniques such as navigation, buddy system procedures, communications, buoyancy control, and interacting with nocturnal aquatic life, the diver can safely enjoy night diving.
Divers have a vested interest in protecting the marine environment. In many cases, divers do not have environmental information about local sites.
This specialty is designed to increase the open water diver’s understanding of marine and freshwater environments, the problems facing these unique ecosystems,
and the role that diver’s play in protecting our marine resources.
This specialty is designed to acquaint the diver with special skills and techniques necessary to successfully plan, execute and evaluate a search and recovery dive.
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The new SDI/TDI Sidemount Diver program is far more than just another “how to” book on sidemount diving. It’s a complete, comprehensive set of training materials designed to work together to make learning and teaching sidemount diving easy. These materials include:
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At one point or another, many divers have found themselves alone during a dive, whether it was intentional or not. SDI’s Solo Diving is the practice of self reliant scuba diving without a “dive buddy.”Solo diving, once considered technical diving and discouraged by most certification agencies, is now seen by many experienced divers and some certification agencies as an acceptable practice for those divers suitably trained and experienced. Rather than relying on the traditional buddy diving safety system, solo divers should be skilled in self-sufficiency and willing to take responsibility for their own safety while diving.
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The purpose of this specialty course is to actively allow the student to engage in the collection of certain marine objects and to demonstrate and explain the necessary rules of underwater hunting. Prudent and conservative techniques of both aspects must be exercised. The SDI Hunter/Collector Diver Course covers the “how-to’s” of hunting and collection of marine life.
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Divers are intensely fascinated by navigation… It allows them to make their way back to a special spot discovered on an earlier dive. They use the tricks and techniques of navigation to find an ideal exit point at the end of a dive without the need for an uncomfortable surface swim.Your SDI Underwater Navigation Specialty course will help you overcome the obstacles inherent to finding your way underwater. You will learn how easy and simple navigation can be and how it will help you both above and below the surface. During this course, you will review natural aids such as sand ripples or reef formations, which can accurately predict your route. Tools such as mechanical or digital compasses are a surprising challenge to the novice but we will help you unravel the challenge and teach the practical skills and techniques you’ll need to use them effectively.
This course is designed to give students a greater understanding and experience on how to properly navigate underwater using both natural and compass navigation.
The SDI Underwater Photographer Diver Course is designed to introduce divers to the equipment, techniques and procedures necessary to take underwater photographs, and allow the student to experience and discuss many areas of interest to the underwater photographer.
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This Cylinder Inspection Course is designed to promote safety in the care and maintenance of high-pressure scuba cylinders. The VIP program is intended to demonstrate to the scuba industry, a need to meet and exceed the minimum standards established by the Code of Federal Regulations. In addition, it is intended to train inspectors in the proper handling, filling, and inspection techniques, including the identification of the various defective conditions that can lead to cylinder rejection or condemnation. The course will also cover the operation and repair of valves, cleaning and maintenance and the operation of high pressure compressor systems.
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Wreck diving can be one of the most exciting aspects of sport diving, however every effort must be made to maximize safe diving techniques.
The SDI Wreck Diver Course will discuss the equipment and techniques commonly employed while wreck diving.
This course may be taught as a non-penetration, 2 dives required, or as a limited-penetration course, requiring 3 dives.
Limited-penetration is defined as a swim through or within the ambient light of entry point.