People who want to explore the ocean might be interested in going scuba diving. Novices can enjoy this activity as introductory courses allow beginners to experience a scuba tour without a certification. However, if you’d like to advance, it’s important to become certified so that you can keep yourself safe during a dive.

What You Need to Know About Scuba Certifications

What’s a certification?

Becoming certified means that you’re trained to use diving equipment properly and understand the basic techniques of navigating underwater. After obtaining your first certification, you can rent or purchase scuba gear, go to dive centers for air fills, join professionally led groups, and dive independently.

What types of certifications are available?

The first level of certification is offered by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, and their course will approve you for open water dives. The class includes three academic phases that cover the basics of scuba diving, like caring for your equipment.

Having an advanced open water diver certification indicates that you can successfully navigate underwater and dive up to 100 feet safely. The rescue diver certification course will teach you to prevent diving emergencies as well as assist panicked and unresponsive divers.

How do you become certified?

Each certification has a unique set of academic and hands-on training. Basic and advanced open water diver courses include an online portion that students can complete at their own pace, followed by water training exercises. For the other certifications, instruction takes place solely in the water. After completion of the full course, students earn their certification.

If you want to achieve subsequent certifications, you must first earn your open water diver credentials. From there, you’re permitted to move on to the next level. Advanced courses usually have prerequisites, like easier certifications and training, to ensure students are learning techniques in the proper order.

What are the most vital techniques people learn?

Basic courses will teach you how to use the gear properly, navigate underwater, kick effectively, determine visual markers in the water, and handle challenges you might encounter. As you advance, you’ll learn how to deal with more critical issues, such as helping beginners who are scared in the water or learning how to lead and care for a dive group.

 

If you want to take a scuba diving certification course, contact the knowledgeable team at Banzai Divers in Honolulu, HI. These professionals help novice and experienced swimmers advance their underwater diving skills. Students can enroll in their basic and advanced open water classes as well as rescue, specialty, and divemaster courses. Learn more about their beginner certifications online, or call (808) 462-8290 to ask about pricing and scheduling.