How to Get Scuba Certified for Free


How I got scuba certified for free

Dive shops will charge for their time and of course you will need diving equipment. However, I took the diving class taught at a community college. There was a small lab fee. The local dive shop offered a discount for equipment and besides, I got credit for the class. I became scuba certified (almost) for free. Here’s how I did it.

There are many parts of Diver Certification that do not cost anything. You must be at least 10 years old, healthy, comfortable in the water and able to swim at least 200 yards/meters without aids or 300 yards/meters with mask, fins and snorkel. You must be able to float/tread water without aids for 10 minutes. Also, you can practice in shallow water at a swimming pool.

The first two steps in scuba diving is to make sure that you are a reasonably proficient swimmer and you get medical clearance from your physician to use up the sport. It should not take you too long to get scuba certified. Also, know where the closest decompression chamber is located before you need it, just in case.

How can I get scuba certified for free?

There is no way to get certified that is completely free. Most programs will cost between $200 and $500, but you can save money. Prices can be kept low by looking for a local dive shop providing classes, buying your own scuba gear instead of renting it, and looking for coursework textbooks online. Organizations such as Scuba Schools International can provide free online training, while some centers offer an internship program for free scuba certification.

How can I get scuba certified for free?

The class I took met regularly at the community college swimming pool and was actually quite fun. There were less than ten students, so we all got individual personal attention. We did some of the beginner exercises, like breathing from an air hose, in the shallow end. I was really surprised at how easy that was! Just that one exercise gave me added confidence in the water and I knew I would enjoy diving.

You can study the written test. Don’t worry, the test is multiple choice and the pass mark is 75%. If you do fail we will review your mistakes and give you exam B. If you fail that we explain your mistakes and give you Exam A again. It’s similar to driving a car, the more you do it the better you get.

How tough is the written test for the PADI open water diver?

The PADI written test is not difficult. It is designed for you to know the important dangers associated with diving. Mostly, you want to avoid the potentially serious problems with bubbles in your blood and running out of air. You really need to know how to calculate two things: how deep you can dive and for how long, and how to come back up to the surface slowly.

You only need to get 75% of the answers correct to pass. First, concentrate on the answers you know for sure. Guess the rest of the questions by eliminating the obvious wrong answer(s) and guessing between 2 or 3 responses. The rest is basic test-taking. “All of the above” is wrong if one of the first three is clearly wrong. There is no time limit. Studying for the scuba certified test was free.

How do I learn to scuba dive?

Before you can become dive certified, you must learn how to scuba dive. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) website outlines the process. There are several very simple steps. These are: you must learn how to plan a dive, how to choose the right gear, how to signal underwater, and how to dive. These are the basic principles of scuba diving. Once you learn this information, you can take the scuba certified test.

It’s a good idea to study this material because it can save your life. There are only a few things you really need to know. Learning them is important and getting this information is easy. There’s no reason not to know the basics. Many of the textbooks and information used for these tests are included online. The PADI and other diving textbooks are provided digitally or online. This part of getting scuba certified is free.

After the exam, you can begin “confined water dives.” Usually, these are done in a swimming pool like mine was or a in calm body of water. This way you will be able to get familiar with your gear and learn how to set it up, get water out of your mask, enter and exit the water, control your buoyancy, learn how to navigate underwater, and how to stay safe during the whole process.

Is it hard to get scuba certified?

Scuba Certification is not difficult. For the PADI Certification, you’ll make four dives over a span of two days. Others will have you do five dives over several days. You start right away, or you wait until you are on vacation. Your instructor can set you up with another instructor, upon request. Soon you can start doing open water dives.

Is it illegal to scuba dive without certification?

Strictly speaking, certification is not required to dive. However, no reputable dive center will allow someone to dive with them unless they are certified. Besides, diving isn’t difficult, it just requires some skills that you can learn easily. In addition, knowing how to dive safely is smart.

Improperly using diving equipment can be fatal. It’s recommended you don’t fly for at least 24 hours following a dive to prevent decompression sickness. Also, those skills are very easily acquired, if you don’t have them already. OK, getting scuba certified may not be totally free, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

Is it hard to learn to scuba dive?

Scuba diving is easily one of the best skills to learn. You’re happily enjoying one of three basic skills: floating, kicking and breathing. The necessary skills for diving are not tough for most people to master. This is one of the easiest active recreational pastimes there is. You will be gliding around enjoying the underwater sights instead of only looking at the surface.

How to Get Scuba Certified For Free

When you’re looking to get your scuba diving certification, what you’re looking for is getting open water certification. PADI, grants the open water certification. You’ll be able to dive at least 60 feet/18 meters below the surface.

While you do not have to get the open water certification, you can receive some education through the PADI Scuba Diver course. This isn’t necessarily certification, and you can only dive with a PADI Certified professional, but it is an additional step towards getting your certification. This training is shorter and leaves out some of the more challenging steps.

Regardless of what organizations you get your diving certification from, some sort of scuba certification is required before you do any scuba diving. I recommend that you do the free parts first. You can practice swimming, so you can easily pass the requirements. Then study the exam questions online so you have a good foundation for the diving principles. Then when you take the class, you can be nearly scuba certified for free.

What exactly is diver certification?

According to Wikipedia, the diving certification began in 1952 after two divers died while diving. The University of California restricted diving unless divers were trained at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Los Angeles county sent three divers to SIO for diver training and they developed the Underwater Instructors Program, the oldest diver training program in the U.S.

There are several other scuba diving education levels as used by the different certifying agencies besides PADI. These are ISO, CMAS, SSI and NAUI. The different PADI levels are Beginner, Advanced, Rescue, Guide and Instructor.

All PADI centers, scuba dive centers and resorts are independently owned and operated, and prices can vary depending on location, class size and other factors. Learning to scuba dive will require some knowledge and procedure. And, once you certified you can go scuba diving down to 60 feet/18 meters without instructor supervision. It’s totally worth it. Have fun!

Conclusions

I got scuba certified (almost) for free. It was easy and fun. I loved learning how to breathe from an air hose underwater. That alone gave me confidence in the water and also while diving. When you know some of the basic safety math, that also gives you confidence. You can get other special diving certifications if you choose, but honestly the basic depth was enough for me. I totally recommend it. If you want more information or you have a question, please leave feedback and I will get back to you.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diver_certification

https://www.padi.com/courses/open-water-diver

https://www.iso.org/standard/68275.html

https://www.cmas.org/en

https://www.divessi.com/en/

https://www.naui.org/

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