Open Water Diver
Training that focuses on your safety
Get Certified
Becoming an SSI Open Water Diver is the best way to start your scuba adventure due to worldwide recognition!
Adventure, tropical islands, a rainbow of color beneath the sea. All this and more awaits you in the underwater realm. The Open Water Diver program by High Plains Scuba Center (HPSC) & Scuba Schools International (SSI) is specifically designed to make you confident, comfortable and safe in the water. Our flexible home-study format makes learning both easy and fun. In addition you have the choice of participating in the online training program as well. Just ask a staff member for more details.
With personalized training and taking enough time, we make sure you are truly comfortable under water with the skills and equipment you will use. In general, an Open Water Diver course consists of 2 phases: Class Work and Pool Training, and Open Water Sessions.
Phase I: Class Work and Pool Instruction
During the first phase of the scuba certification process your instructor will review the information you learned from the on-line course in our classroom, and then teach you the necessary water skills in our pool. Class size is limited to six students per instructor, with twelve students being the maximum class size. If there are more than six students in the class then half the students will be in the classroom with their instructor while the other half are in the pool with a second instructor. Students must be able to snorkel 300 yards and float for 10 minutes, something that even novice swimmers can accomplish with relative ease. Our goal is that every student becomes a safe, comfortable and confident diver. This cannot be accomplished in a “quickie” 2 day course, but takes several days to train your mind and body to become comfortable and confident with your new underwater environment.
We offer four training schedules to meet your needs:
- A weekend class that meets three times, Friday 6 – 9 PM, Saturday and Sunday from 8 AM to 4 PM over one weekend. This class schedule is more compressed, allowing students who feel more comfortable with water to complete the class and pool training in a single weekend. Students ages 15 and older can attend this class.
- A Sunday evening class that meets four times from 4 to 8 PM. This class schedule allows for more time in the pool, allowing students to feel more comfortable with their water skills prior to advancing to the open water portion of the certification process. Students ages 12 and older can attend this class.
- A Monday/Wednesday class that meets 4 times from 5:30 to 9:30 PM. This class schedule also allows for more time in the pool, allowing students to feel more comfortable with their water skills prior to advancing to the open water portion of the certification process. Students ages 12 and older can attend this class.
- Private classes are available for those who are not able to attend our regularly scheduled classes, those preferring more personalized attention, and students ages 10 and 11, because of the personal attention they require.
Phase II: Open Water Certification
During the second and final phase of the scuba certification process your instructor will review your scuba skills in an open water environment. This requires the completion of skills during four dives and one snorkeling session, over the span of two days; this is a requirement of all scuba training agencies. Your open water certification must be completed with six months of your class and pool training.
There are four ways of completing your open water certification:
- During the summer months we perform open water certifications at Horsetooth Reservoir. This requires two days, usually Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 1 PM. The water locally tends to be on the cold side and visibility can be very limited. We provided thicker wetsuits to help keep you warm, as part of the certification package.
- Throughout the year we also perform open water certifications at Homestead Crater, a 94 degree hot water spring located near
Heber City, Utah. This requires a seven hour drive and an overnight stay in Heber City. The hotel stay is included in the price of certification, but transportation and meals are not. The benefits of going to the crater are clear warm water and an opportunity to socialize with your fellow students and the instructor staff. - Several times a year we have instructor led trips to exotic destinations around the world. If you join us on one of these trips the instructor can complete your open water certification during the first couple of days, allowing you to explore the wonders of the underwater world during the remainder of your vacation.
Want to know more first?
Try Scuba
Have you always wanted to swim with the fishes but you weren’t sure if it was for you? Try Scuba is your chance to experience scuba and to see what the underwater world is really like. Come give scuba diving a try! Kids 8 and older are welcome.
Already certified? Expand your skills.
Specialty Training
The fun doesn’t need to stop here! With just a little more training, you can go even further – imagine diving in underwater shipwrecks, with sharks, or becoming an underwater photographer! Check out all of the exciting Specialty Courses you can get involved in.