Learning to scuba dive with Academy of Scuba and PADI is an incredible adventure! With PADI as your training organisation, your path to breathing underwater is accomplished in three exciting phases:

1. Knowledge Development – Learn the lingo.

During the first phase of your PADI Open Water Diver scuba certification, you develop an understanding of the basic principles of scuba diving. You learn things like how pressure affects your body, how to choose the best scuba gear and what to consider when planning dives. You briefly review what you have studied in the five knowledge sections with your instructor and take a short quiz to be sure you’re getting it. At the end of the course, you’ll take a longer quiz that makes sure you have all the key concepts and ideas down. If there’s anything that is still unclear, you’ll be able to review it with the instructor, who will be happy to go over any information with you until it’s clear.

2. Confined Water Dives – Scuba Skills Training.

This is what it’s all about – diving. You develop basic scuba skills by scuba diving in a pool or body of water with pool-like conditions. Here you’ll learn everything from setting up your scuba gear to how to easily get water out of your scuba mask without surfacing. You’ll also practice some emergency skills, like sharing air or replacing your scuba mask. Plus, you may play some games, make new friends and have a great time. There are five confined water dives, with each building upon the previous. Over the course of these five dives, you attain the skills you need to dive in open water.

3. Open Water Dives – Locally or on Vacation.

After your confined water dives, you and the new friends you’ve made continue learning during four open water dives with your Academy of Scuba PADI Instructor at a dive site. This is where you fully experience the underwater adventure – at the beginner level, of course. You may make these dives around Melbourne, on the Mornington Peninsula, or at a more exotic destination while on a group trip with Academy of Scuba.

Yes. All our Open Water diver students need to have obtained a full dive medical prior to starting this training. For a list of diving doctors please go to www.spums.org.au. This is to ensure maximum safety for everyone involved.

All training carried out by Academy of Scuba exceeds industry and national safety standards. Our instructors are all put through a rigorous internship program before they teach courses for us, and we constantly check with their students to ensure that Academy of Scuba maintains the highest of standards.

We have a huge support network available to you after you successfully complete your course so that you can keep diving. We want you to have as many great experiences with us as you can so we organise reunion dives for your class, our extensive dive club has regular guided dives, and we can even match you up with a dive buddy of similar ability to help you see all the great diving Victoria has to offer.

We are passionate about our diving. Diving is something we live and breathe every day, and want to share it with you.

If you have an appetite for excitement and adventure, odds are you can become an avid PADI scuba diver. You’ll also want to keep in mind these requirements:

Minimum Age:

• 12 years old
• Students younger than 15 years, who successfully complete the course qualify for the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, which they may upgrade to PADI Open Water Diver certification upon reaching 15. You must be at least 13 years old to take scuba lessons online with PADI eLearning, due to international internet laws. If you’re younger, you can still learn to dive – just have your parent or legal guardian contact ACADEMY OF SCUBA.

Physical: For safety, Academy of Scuba requires all our students to have a current valid Dive Medical before they can join the Open Water Diver course and do any in-water training activities. For details of appropriate diving doctors, please go to www.spums.org.au and click on the ‘Diving Doctors’ tab.

Waterskills: Before completing the PADI Open Water Diver course, your instructor will have you demonstrate basic waterskill comfort by having you:

• swim 200 metres/yards (or 300 metres/yards in mask, fins and snorkel). There is no time limit for this, and you may use any swimming strokes you want.
• float and tread water for 10 minutes, again using any methods that you want.

About Physical Challenges: Any individual who can meet the performance requirements of the course qualifies for certification. There are many adaptive techniques that allow individuals with physical challenges to meet these requirements. Individuals with paraplegia, amputations and other challenges commonly earn the PADI Open Water Diver certification. Even individuals with more significant physical challenges participate in diving. Come into the store and chat to Kat or one of the staff about any concerns you may have.

Learning Materials : Unless you choose PADI eLearning, you’ll need and use the following training materials during the PADI Open Water Diver course, and for your review and reference after the course:

• The PADI Open Water Diver Manual
• PADI Open Water Diver Video on DVD
• You will also need your PADI Log book and Recreational Dive Planner (Table, The WheelTM or eRDPTM).

• Theory session – at our shop in Rye
• Pool session – conducted in Hastings or Merricks
• Shore dives – usually conducted at Rye Pier
• Boat Dives – usually departing from Portsea Pier

All locations and timings will be confirmed with you prior to your course starting. Please get in contact with staff for more information.