From year-round trips and training sessions to socials with other divers, Scuba Club members (both certified and not) explore life beneath the surface.
Dive right in with the Hoofer Scuba Club! We are one of six clubs that make up the Wisconsin Hoofers, otherwise known as the largest student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since our founding in 1976, our mission has been to bring certified divers together, educate divers of all levels, and explore the underwater world together. We offer dive trips to local lakes, long distance dive trips, certifications, and social events for divers of all levels.
How to Join
1. Create your Account!
When you're ready to join, head over to our member site at https://members.hoofers.org to create your account! You must be a Union Member to join. Note that UW-Madison students are automatically granted Union membership.
2. Sign Up for Events!
Once you've joined the club, you can search for events and sign up from the member site. Pick your favorite event, sign up, and get ready for an adventure!
For more information, click the button below!
Contact Us
Hoofer Scuba Club
Memorial Union, Lower Level
800 Langdon St.
Madison, WI 53706
(608) 262-1630
info@hooferscuba.org
Contact Us
News
Upcoming Events
Summer Open Water Class
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. If you successfully complete this 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 Spring Hoofer Open Water SCUBA certification course consists of a self-paced eLearning web classroom where you will learn about diving physiology and safety and the equipment and skills needed by every diver. This is followed by two 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 direct supervision of the instructor and divemasters. Once you complete the training you’ll be a fully certified PADI Open Water diver and ready to take on the underwater world!!
Course Fee: The course fee of $360 includes your lifetime PADI Open Water Certification, open water check out dives, professional instruction by PADI instructors, all course materials including access to eLearning, dive log and training record, and the use of all Scuba equipment and tanks needed for the class. You will also need to purchase a membership in Hoofer Scuba which costs $44 per year for students and includes heavily discounted gear rentals once certified. The fee is paid to the Hoofer Scuba Club online or at the Outdoor UW Service desk at the Memorial Union when you sign up for the course. There are no additional hidden fees or costs, and our courses include all education and dives required to become a PADI certified diver. The total cost for students is $404. Sign Up can be done online or at the Outdoor UW office.
Prerequisites and Enrollment Conditions
You must attend all classroom, pool and open water checkout sessions to become certified. No make-up sessions can be offered. If during the course under special circumstances you find you cannot attend one of the dates, please let us know ASAP so we can work something out.
We follow the PADI health requirements, a copy of all the medical conditions that may require a physician's approval to be cleared for diving can be found here, or on line under PADI medical form. Note, if you have one of these conditions, it does not necessarily bar you from diving, it does mean we would need a doctor to sign off that you are medically cleared for diving. If you are not cleared, but have already started or completed the online portion, we can only offer a partial refund.
It is essential that course participants have strong basic swimming skills and be comfortable in the water. PADI requirements include a basic swim test and tread-water test. If you do not pass the swim test we can only offer partial refunds of course fees. See below for more details.
eLearning must be completed according to the schedule directed by your instructor.
Course Refunds: Once the course has commenced, we do not offer any refunds past the first pool session, eg. if you decide that you can't make one of the dates! If you decide after the first pool session that SCUBA is not for you, then we can offer you a partial refund of the course cost less the cost of materials, and a prorated fee for the portion of the class that you attended.
For safety, individuals not able to satisfactorily perform all required skills in the pool will not be permitted to participate in the open water training. Our instructors will make every effort to assist you in becoming a certified diver, but certification is not guaranteed.
Participants must be a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, faculty/staff, or Wisconsin Union member. Union membership is open to everyone. Call 608-262-2263 or visit www.union.wisc.edu/membership to sign up for Union Membership.
Last day to sign up is July 16th!
Devils Lake Dive One Tank Rental Only
Join us for a Devil's Lake dive and picnic. The bass will be hungry and need you to feed them. We'll do 2 dives with a picnic afterwards (the second dive is optional). We'll depart from Memorial Union at 9am. Feel free to bring something to share for a potluck style picnic. Enjoy one of Wisconsin's best parks both under- and above-water. We do offer transportation if needed.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Make second event with no payment for those that already have their own tank and gear but are planning on joining us diving
-
Gear rental 2 tanks = $25
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
- 1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10
Gear checkout will be from 6:30-7:30pm Thursday, July 18th. Come to the SCUBA locker room loocated down the hallway from the bathrooms in the Hoofers hallway (down from the wheelhouse leading to Outdoor UW).
Devils Lake Dive 2 Tanks Only
Join us for a Devil's Lake dive and picnic. The bass will be hungry and need you to feed them. We'll do 2 dives with a picnic afterwards. We'll depart the Memorial Union at 9am. Feel free to bring something to share for a potluck style picnic. Enjoy one of Wisconsin's best parks both under- and above-water. (Make sure to bring dive flags along, they are legally required to dive here). Last day to sign up for the event is Thursday, July 18th.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Make second event with no payment for those that already have their own tank and gear but are planning on joining us diving
-
Gear rental 2 tanks = $25
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10 (This is the exec price for a 1 tank dive as well)
Note: if you sign up for this event, you can either pay online or at the Outdoor UW office in Memorial Union
Devils Lake Dive 2 Tank and Gear Rental
Join us for a Devil's Lake dive and picnic. The bass will be hungry and need you to feed them. We'll do 2 dives with a picnic afterwards. We'll depart the Memorial Union at 9am. Feel free to bring something to share for a potluck style picnic. Enjoy one of Wisconsin's best parks both under- and above-water. (Make sure to bring dive flags along, they are legally required to dive here). Last day to sign up for the event is Thursday, July 18th.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Gear rental 2 tanks = $25
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10 (This is the exec price for a 1 tank dive as well)
Note: if you sign up for this event, you can either pay online or at the Outdoor UW office in Memorial Union
Gear checkout will be from 6:30-7:30pm Thursday, July 18th. Come to the SCUBA locker room loocated down the hallway from the bathrooms in the Hoofers hallway (down from the wheelhouse leading to Outdoor UW).
Devils Lake Dive No Gear or Tank Rental
Join us for a Devil's Lake dive and picnic. The bass will be hungry and need you to feed them. We'll do 2 dives with a picnic afterwards. We'll depart the Memorial Union at 9am. Feel free to bring something to share for a potluck style picnic. Enjoy one of Wisconsin's best parks both under- and above-water. (Make sure to bring dive flags along, they are legally required to dive here). Last day to sign up for the event is Thursday, July 18th.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Make second event with no payment for those that already have their own tank and gear but are planning on joining us diving
-
Gear rental 2 tanks = $25
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10 (This is the exec price for a 1 tank dive as well)
Note: if you sign up for this event, you can either pay online or at the Outdoor UW office in Memorial Union
Advanced Open Water
Exploration, Excitement, Experiences. They’re what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about. And no, you don’t have to be “advanced” to take it – it’s designed so you can go straight into it after Open Water Certification. The Advanced Open Water Diver course helps you increase your confidence and build your scuba skills so you can become more comfortable in the water. This is a great way to get more dives under your belt while continuing to learn under the supervision of your PADI Instructor. This course builds on what you’ve learned and develops new capabilities by introducing you to new activities and new ways to have fun scuba diving. You’ll hone your skills by completing five adventure dives that introduce you to underwater navigation, deeper diving, and a sampling of three additional adventure dives that may include night diving, photography, wreck diving, diving with underwater scooters, buoyancy skills, etc.
The $270 course fee includes a lifetime PADI AOW certification, the use of all equipment and tanks, and academic instructional material, including textbooks and dive slates that participants keep for later reference.All tanks and equipment (wetsuit, regulator, BCD, mask, fins, snorkel, weights and weight belts) are provided for use in the class. You’re welcome to bring any or all of your own equipment if you prefer. You will need to bring your dive log book. While there is no formal class for this course, the instructor will meet with the participants to hand out reading materials and give a dive briefing on August 12th from 6:30-7pm on the Terrace at Memorial Union, just look for the dive flag!
On Saturday and Sunday meet at Diversions Scuba, 5504 University Ave, at 9:00am. Saturdays dives will take place in Lake Mendota and Sundays dives will be up at Lake Wazee to complete the deep dive portion of the class. Sign-up will close on August 5th, if you have any questions you can contact the instructors of the course at Diversions Scuba, 608-441-2545, or email here at scuba@hoofers.org.
Open water certification is required for this class!