Imagine yourself gliding weightless through the water, surrounded by darting schools of fish, swimming past sunken wrecks lit by blue-green shafts of sunlight, and meeting face-to-face with strange creatures seldom seen by those who don't dare to venture below the surface. Interested? Excited? The Hoofers SCUBA Club Open Water Certification program will open this underwater world to you. Upon completing the class, you will earn a lifetime PADI Open Water Diver rating (recognized at dive shops world wide), and be well prepared to begin exploring an underwater world that most people will never see!

Course Overview
The PADI Open Water certification course consists of five dry-land classroom sessions where you will learn about the equipment and skills needed by every diver, five indoor swimming pool sessions where you are able to apply your new knowledge in a controlled environment, and two days of open water dives where you will put your training to the test while under the supervision of the instructor and other expert divers.

Course Fee
The $365 course fee includes your lifetime PADI Open Water certification, annual membership in the Hoofers SCUBA club, Open Water classes, instruction, books, dive tables, pool and checkout site fees, and all Scuba equipment and tanks needed for pool sessions and checkout dives. The fee is paid when you sign up for the course.

Prerequisites
Course participants should have basic swimming skills and be comfortable in the water. They should also be a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, faculty/staff, or Union member. Wisconsin Union membership is open to everyone. Call 608-262-2263 or visit www.union.wisc.edu/membership to sign up.

Locations, Dates & Times
The Open Water course is offered 3 times in 2009. Each class consists of a 5 2-hour Thursday evening classrooms, 5 Monday evening indoor pool sessions and 2 full weekend days of checkout dives. The course schedule can also be reviewed on the Hoofer SCUBA calendar.

Spring 2010 Dates
Classroom - 5 Thursdays (March 25, April 8, 15, 22, 29)
Pool - 5 Mondays (April 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3)
Checkouts - 2 Sat & Sun (May 8-9 & May 15-16)

Classroom Location
Social Sciences Building, 1180 Observatory Dr, Madison (west of the Memorial Union)  (map)
Check TITU (Today in the Union) for classroom location www.union.wisc.edu/cro/reslist.asp

Pool Location
UW Natatorium, 2000 Observatory Dr, Madison  (map)

Checkout Dive Location
Clyde Quarry (aka Ledge-N-Lake Quarry), Silver Creek Rd and Hwy 26, Watertown, WI  (map) (carpooling to and from checkout dives available) The dives will take most of the daylight hours each day of your checkout dives.

The Open Water courses are offered in the Spring, Summer and Fall of annually. Please subscribe to the club's calendar for scheduling details.

Equipment
Hoofers SCUBA club provides tanks, regulators, BCDs, weight belts, mask, fins, and snorkel as part of the class cost. New divers are encouraged to use this opportunity to experiment with the many types of equipment available. We also recommend that anyone wishing to purchase their own equipment wait until after the first classroom session, when the instructor will discuss the properties of good dive gear.

Instructor
Our PADI certification course is instructed by Gaye-Lynn Clyde. Gaye-Lynn has been an area SCUBA instructor for over 15 years. She prides herself on providing SCUBA certification courses that produce safe, competent divers. Considered an Underwater Education Specialist, she offers entry-level through assistant instructor certifications and also offers 14 different dive specialty classes.

Signing Up
Visit or call the Hoofer Outdoor Program Office to secure your spot in a class.

• Hoofers Outdoor Program Office
  Memorial Union (lower level)
  800 Langdon St, Madison, WI
  Tel: 608-262-1630
  Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Further Information

• Read Frequently Asked Questions about Classes & Certifications
• Read more about Hoofer SCUBA Classes