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
Devils Lake Dive Gear and 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 one dive with a picnic afterwards. 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.
**Unfortunately, the visability in the area lately has been really bad, so stay tuned on the status of this event, as it may be cancelled if conditions don't turn around.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10
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 Thursday, August 21st at the dive locker in the Memorial Union. Make sure to bring your certification card as we will require it before checking out any gear.
What: Hoofer SCUBA Devil's Lake dive
Where: Devil's Lake. Meet at the Memorial Union Park St. loop by 9
When: Saturday, August 24th from 9AM to 3PMish. If you are driving separately, meet in the North Shore parking lot near the train tracks around 10:30am. If you have trouble finding it you can email or call (608)335-3727. Gear checkout will be Wednesday (the 21st) starting at 5:00PM.
Who: Current Hoofer SCUBA members. Minimum open water certification required to dive. Bring proof of certification with you to gear checkout or the dive site if you do not need gear.
Devils Lake Dive 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 one dive with a picnic afterwards. 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.
**Unfortunately, the visability in the area lately has been really bad, so stay tuned on the status of this event, as it may be cancelled if conditions don't turn around.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10
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 Thursday, August 21st at the dive locker in the Memorial Union. Make sure to bring your certification card as we will require it before checking out any gear.
What: Hoofer SCUBA Devil's Lake dive
Where: Devil's Lake. Meet at the Memorial Union Park St. loop by 9
When: Saturday, August 24th from 9AM to 3PMish. If you are driving separately, meet in the North Shore parking lot near the train tracks around 10:30am. If you have trouble finding it you can email or call (608)335-3727. Gear checkout will be Wednesday (the 21st) starting at 5:00PM.
Who: Current Hoofer SCUBA members. Minimum open water certification required to dive. Bring proof of certification with you to gear checkout or the dive site if you do not need gear.
Devils Lake Dive No Rentals
Join us for a Devil's Lake dive and picnic. The bass will be hungry and need you to feed them. We'll do one dive with a picnic afterwards. 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.
**Unfortunately, the visability in the area lately has been really bad, so stay tuned on the status of this event, as it may be cancelled if conditions don't turn around.
Costs for the event are as follows:
-
Gear rental 1 tank of air = $15
-
1 tanks of air (if you already have your own gear) = $10
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 Thursday, August 21st at the dive locker in the Memorial Union. Make sure to bring your certification card as we will require it before checking out any gear.
What: Hoofer SCUBA Devil's Lake dive
Where: Devil's Lake. Meet at the Memorial Union Park St. loop by 9
When: Saturday, August 24th from 9AM to 3PMish. If you are driving separately, meet in the North Shore parking lot near the train tracks around 10:30am. If you have trouble finding it you can email or call (608)335-3727. Gear checkout will be Wednesday (the 21st) starting at 5:00PM.
Who: Current Hoofer SCUBA members. Minimum open water certification required to dive. Bring proof of certification with you to gear checkout or the dive site if you do not need gear.
Fall Open Water Class
Description
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 Fall 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 September 10th!