Scuba

Description

This 2019 Winter Open Water Referral class includes an academic online training and two indoor pool sessions only. At the completion of this class, each student will receive a PADI referral form. 

Each student needs to complete PADI's four (4) open water dives on their own within 6 months in order to become PADI Open Water certified. Students will need to show the referral form to any PADI course provider to schedule their own open water dives. Traditionally, Florida Keys has been a good warmer destination during winter break to complete the open water certification.

Another option would be to complete the four open water dives in Spring 2020 locally in Wisconsin. The cost to do this through Diversion Scuba is $75.

Course Overview  

The Winter Hoofer Open Water SCUBA referral course consists of a self-paced eLearning web classroom where students 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 students are able to apply your new knowledge in a controlled environment.  Students must complete the eLearning prior to the pool sessions (no exception). Once the eLearning and the pool training session are completed, each student to receive a PADI referral form to be taken to any PADI course provider to complete the open water certification by completing the four open water dives.

Course Fee  

The course fee of $323 includes your PADI Open Water Referral, 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 $367. Sign Up can be done online or at the Outdoor UW office.

Prerequisites and Enrollment Conditions

You must attend all classroom and pool sessions to gain a referral.  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 online 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 November 18th!

Class session: 11/20/19 6:00 PM - 8:30 PM at Memorial Union

Pool Sessions: 12/03/19 & 12/04/19 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM at Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel

Join us for our annual winter break trip! We will be going to California January 11-18, 2020!  We will be diving the kelp forests of the Channel Islands and Monterey Bay, where we may see sea urchins, garibaldi, seals, lobster, moray eels, sunflower stars, sea otters, and much more! We are planning on diving up to 8 times and will be visiting Monterey Bay Aquarium for a dive operations tour. In addition to that, we will be volunteering our time in a beach cleanup activity. 

Trip briefing and a pool refresher dive will be scheduled for late November/early December. Full trip itinerary will be provided when price is finalized. 

This sign up is a waitlist to create a running tally of those interested in attending the trip. We will officially open the event once the cost is determined (expected mid-late November) and will be a first come, first serve basis based on the waitlist order. 

Waitlist is not a full commitment and no money is needed at this time. We currently have 7 open spots on this trip. 

What: California Winter Break Trip

When: Saturday, January 11th - Saturday, January 18th, 2020

Expected Cost: ~$800