|
What
is entailed in a dive certification course
Each dive course, no matter which school, will combine two
days of classroom and pool instruction. In the classroom you will be taught
the terminology and concepts that are necessary to be a safe diver. In
the pool you will become familiar with the dive equipment and it’s
use, as well as practice the techniques you will use in the ocean, but
in a safe, controlled, and enclosed environment.
Top of Page
Is it actually a class?
Is there a test?
Yes, a scuba certification course is a class, it is essential
that students gain the knowledge and learn the proper techniques needed
to enjoy diving safely. There is both written and a series of skills tests
given during the course, and to become certified students must past both,
and nearly all do.
Top of Page
How often are dive
courses starting in Cairns?
Courses in English are starting daily in Cairns, in fact most
days you can choose between as many as 10 different course options. Courses
given in foreign languages are not quite as common, courses in Japanese
start daily, German dive courses 4 days per week.
Top of Page
Why is Cairns such
a great place to get learn to dive?
We can think of a number of reasons that Cairns is a great place to learn
to dive. Here are just a few:
- There are four dive schools operating here, and tens of thousands
of students get certified here every year. These operations have extensive
experience training divers. What’s more is that the competition
between these schools keeps the price low and the value high.
- Learning to dive here means that you do your training dives on the
Great Barrier Reef, an easy and comfortable place to dive. The water
is warm, the visibility good, and the ocean life diverse and colorful.
- Cairns itself is a great place to holiday. There is a huge range of
places to stay, lots of interesting things to do, and nearby are beautiful
beaches, lush tropical rain forests, and the rugged outback, all begging
to be explored.
Top of Page
How should I go about
selecting a dive course?
How do
all the many dive courses in Cairns differ?
That is a hard one answer, as the differences between courses
and dive schools are pretty subtle. The biggest differences that are important
to students might be the following:
- Nearness of dive school to your lodging: You might like to save time
for other activities by staying near the campus of the dive school you
choose. If you will let us know your desire to do be close to your dive
campus, or if you have already selected a place to say, we can help
match you up with a school/lodging combination that suits you.
- Boat trip: The boat trips that are a part of each dive course differ
greatly between dive schools, and even between different dive courses
offered by a given dive school. Read over the dive trip descriptions
carefully, to make sure the trip suits you well.
- price: Price does vary between the courses, and is clearly marked
on the dive school description page. Generally the difference in course
price reflects the different length and service levels of the boat trips
associated with each course.
- Certifying association: For those of you already hooked on the idea
of diving, getting certified by an association that operates in your
home area may make taking advanced courses easier, but the trend lately
has been for dive shops to consider all basic dive certification courses
as equal. Still, if you are concerned, find out which association your
local dive shop works under.
Top of Page
How old do you have
to be to take the course?
In Australia you must be 14 years of age or older to take a
dive course.
Top of Page
How active or physically
fit do you have to be to take a dive certification course?
Fitness helps make diving much more comfortable and easy. However,
peak or elite levels of physical fitness are not required. The minimum
is to be able to swim 200 meters and tread water for 10 minutes. Improving
your fitness will make you a more effective, and therefore safer diver.
If you can increase your daily level of exercise in the weeks prior to
taking the course you will enjoy the course more.
Top of Page
How healthy do you
have to be to pass the medical exam?
The Australian government has set it’s own medical standard
for dive medical exams, called the Australian standard 4005.1. While stricter
than other countries, it is intended to assure that dive school students
not have medical conditions that may be aggravated, or endanger their
lives, while diving. Most reasonably healthy persons pass the medical.
Top of Page
What kinds of medical
conditions would prevent you from taking a dive course?
We are not doctors, and cannot explain all the medical terminology.
Generally, any medical condition that may be aggravated by the exercise
or underwater environment of diving to the point where it impairs your
health or ability to dive safely would be of concern to the dive doctor.
The best review of medical
problems make diving unsafe we have found online is at the NAUI
website (www.naui.com).
If you have a specific medical condition we recommend you talk with a
doctor who knows diving, try your local dive shop for a recommendation.
Here are some other diving medicine websites you may find informative:
DAN (Divers
Alert Network)
Diving Medicine Online
Doc’s Diving Medicine
Homepage
Diving Medicine by Dr.
Fred Bove
Scuba
Diving Explained
Top of Page
What is the difference
between a PADI, SSI, and NAUI certification course?
If there is a $64 question in diving this is it. PADI, NAUI,
and SSI are all organizations that train and certify dive certification
courses. Each intends to devise dive courses and training methods that
produce safe scuba divers, with minimal risk to the students and instructors.
A certification card from a dive course by any of these three organizations
will entitle you to take a dive vacation, or to fill a tank at a dive
shop.
PADI is the biggest of the three; around half of the divers certified
in the world take a PADI course. In Cairns three of the four Dive Schools
offer PADI course, while the fourth offers both PADI and SSI courses.
NAUI is primarily based in the USA.
Top of Page
How do I learn more
about these associations?
PADI http://www.padi.com/
SSI Australia http://www.ssiaust.com/
NAUI http://www.naui.com/
Top of Page
What proportion
of dive course students does not complete the course? Why do they fail?
In most dive schools less than 10% of the students do not pass
the course. The reasons vary but typically one or more of the following
are involved.
- The students never become comfortable underwater, despite the encouragement
and support of the instructor and class.
- The student does not take the time to learn the material during the
course.
- The student has a medical condition that prevents them from passing
the medical exam.
Top of Page
What does completing
the certification course entitle me to do?
Successfully completing the course earns you a dive certification card,
which entitles you to scuba dive worldwide. With the card you can take
a dive vacation, buy dive gear, and fill your tanks at dive shops, and
pursue advanced dive courses.
Top of Page
What kinds of advanced
certification are there?
The next course after basic certification is the advanced certification.
The intent of the course is to give you additional skills and knowledge
that will make you a more skilled and capable diver.
This course is usually a guided self-study course that combines reading
and discussions with actual diving. There is a range of topics to choose
from, many of which will make you a better and safer diver. These topics
include underwater navigation, deep diving, night diving, and underwater
naturalist. Five dives are typically required to complete this course.
Following advanced certification there are further courses, ranging from
dive master all the way up to dive instructor. One of the dive schools
is starting these courses each week, email us and we can send you a schedule
of these courses if you are interested.
Top of Page
How soon after being
certified can I take the advanced course?
You can take the course immediately after completing the course.
In fact, in Cairns all the dive schools offer a 6-day dive course that
includes both the basic and advanced certification.
Top of Page
English is not
my native language, what courses and materials are there to assist me?
Are there certification courses offered
in other languages in Cairns?
The answer is an emphatic yes! Courses in English are starting
every day in Cairns, and there are also courses offered in German and
Japanese starting weekly. Nearly every school has a collection of course
materials in other languages also, including French, Spanish, most maintain
a collection of materials in 14 languages!
Top of Page
What days of the
week do the courses given in foreign languages start each week?
Japanese: Tu, We, Fr, Sa, Deep Sea Divers Den
Daily: Cairns Dive Center
Daily: Down Under Dive
German: M, Th Deep Sea Divers Den
Tu, Fr. Pro Dive Cairns
Top of Page
What
is the refund policy if I decide that diving is not for me?
Each company has their own cancellation policy, but all offer full refunds
to those who do not pass the medical exams, or those who withdraw after
the first day of the course. Here is a summary of the cancellation policy
of each of the Dive Schools operating in Cairns:
Cairns Dive Center For cancellations after the first day of the course
an AUD$68 cancellation fee will be charged. For cancellations during the
second day of the course an AUD$132 cancellation fee will be charged.
There will be no refunds offered for cancellations after the second day
of the course.
Deep Sea Divers Den: Full refund will be given if a customer fails the
medical examination or if they feel they are not confident in diving.
On day 2, a cancellation fee of AUD$150 sill be charged if a customer
decides to cancel their course. After day 2 no refund will be given.
Down Under Dive: Cancellation of a dive course for any reason is fully
refundable up until the end of day one only. On very rare occasions all
cruise services or a single dive can be subject to the effect of weather
or unforeseen circumstances. All dives are weather permitting and Captains
discretion. No refund for in-complete dives. Should a cruise not operate
for any such reason passengers will be offered an alternative day or refund
for days lost only.
Pro Dive Cairns Course fees paid to Pro Dive Cairns are fully refundable
up to the end of day one of your Open Water Course for any reason
Top of Page
I don’t have four
days to spend taking a dive course, what options do I have?
You actually have two different options. The first is taking
the classroom and pool portion of your dive course at home, then doing
the dive portions of your course on the Great Barrier Reef. This would
save you two days on your holiday for other activities. The cost of referral
courses is a bit less than the full course, but then you still need to
pay for your course/pool work at home. What the extra expenditure buys
you is two days on your holiday in Australia.
The second option is to do what is called an introductory scuba dive.
An introductory dive (or many of them) will not lead towards your dive
certification, but it will get you a scuba experience.
An introductory dive is a highly supervised, limited depth scuba dive.
The dive will be preceded by an instruction session where you will learn
the basic techniques and skills. There will never be more than four introductory
divers assigned to a single dive instructor. Depth is limited for an added
safety margin. The upside to the depth limit is that the most abundant
and colorful reef life is seen in the uppermost 10 meters anyway.
An introductory dive will cost an additional AUD$15-40 per dive, depending
on the operator. (The cost is clearly listed in each reef trip description
on our site in the extra cost section.) It is possible to take up to two
introductory dives each day on most reef trips.
Top of Page
Do you have a question that is not answered here?
Send it to us and we will be happy to send you a personal reply.
Top of Page |
