Scuba Diver and Advanced Adventurer

In September of 2006, SSI will be launching two new programs designed to help SSI Facilities worldwide meet customer requests and needs. Both programs are primarily for the resort market but SSI Dealers should be aware of them and how they can help their business.

This program is designed to be used mainly by resorts. It is a way to help students that want to become certified but don’t have enough time during their trip to complete an entire Open Water Diver program. Once they have completed the Scuba Diver course they will be given a recognition card for their accomplishment. This is also a great program for students that are not ready to dive on their own. This program allows them to continue diving and gaining experience while under the care and guidance of a dive leader. At the point they are ready to proceed to a full certification, it can be done easily.

The Scuba Diver program is basically half of the Open Water Diver program. The student uses the same materials as the Open Water Diver program but completes only academic sessions 1-3. The instructor reviews those sessions and administers the Scuba Diver Final Exam. They must also complete pool/confined water sessions 1-3 including snorkeling and the watermanship evaluation. Once they have completed the academic and pool/confined water sessions they must complete open water dives 1-3 which includes the snorkel dive.

With a Scuba Diver rating the student can only dive with a dive leader to a maximum depth of 40 feet/12 metres and have no more than 4 divers in the group. When they are ready to complete their Open Water certification all they will need to do is complete academic sessions 4-6, pool sessions 4 & 5 and open water dives 4 & 5.

Advanced Adventurer is a recognition program only and is not replacing the current SSI Advanced Open Water Diver program. Students in the Advanced Adventurer program will be recognized for their experience and can apply the dives to their Advanced Open Water certification in the future.

This program is designed for use in resort locations and is specifically for students that have completed their open water referral dives and want to continue their training experiences. It is a simple way to introduce them to a variety of specialty areas and keep them interested in diving. The student chooses five specialty areas from a list of approximately ten that they would like to experience. They must complete an academic overview and one dive in each specialty area to receive their recognition card.

To upgrade to the SSI Advanced Open Water Diver level they must complete a thorough academic review in at least four of the specialty areas, complete one more dive for each of those four specialties and log 24 dives.