Industry standards dictate that we determine that an individual participant has some watermanship skills. All participants must be able to swim 300 yards (using mask, fins, and snorkel) and float or tread water for a minimum of 10 minutes. Most people have a fairly easy time with these requirements.

 I don't have anyone to take the course with. Where will I find someone to scuba dive with?

You don't need to have someone to take the course with. Scuba diving is the ultimate social sport. When you sign up for a class, there will be a group of people whose skill level is exactly the same as yours. Many of these people will be looking for dive buddies as well. "The" Dive Shop offers fun dives every Sunday during the local diving season and group dive vacations throughout the year. These activities are great ways to meet other people interested in scuba diving.

 There are a number of  locations that teach scuba diving. How can I choose the right place for me?

This is a question that lots of people ask. A variation of the question is how can I make a proper decision about learning how to dive when I don't know anything about diving. Our answer is that you may not know too much about diving but you are still a consumer and that's something that you do know something about. When choosing a school that teaches diving lessons, you should use the same standards that you use when shopping for other consumer goods. How convenient is the location to you? How convenient is the schedule? How much confidence do you feel when dealing with the school? How professional do they appear? Are they knowledgeable about their product? How long have they been teaching scuba lessons? If you're female, do they have specific diving equipment designed for women's needs? Does the school provide all of the scuba equipment that you will need for your lessons or will you have to buy a wet suit or buoyancy compensator?

 I just want to be a certified diver. There seems to be a lot of courses, do I have to take them all?

Actually no. The term "certified diver" usually applies to the Learn to Dive course. This is the class that teaches the fundamental skills of scuba diving. It entails some pool dives, some classroom work, and a minimum of 4 open water dives. Being certified as an Open Water Diver (or the equivalent) allows a diver to rent equipment and get scuba tanks filled with air.

Virtually all open water dives are conducted in very benign diving environments (i.e., calm water, clear water, etc). Divers who complete their open water dives have demonstrated their ability to dive in the open water in a relatively controlled environment. Divers who have become certified are usually encouraged to continue to dive in order to gain experience in a relatively controlled environment under similar conditions to the initial training dives.

A diver's Certification Card is similar to a driver's license. It is unrealistic and dangerous for a driver who completed the state driver's test on Tuesday to be driving 100 mph on a winding road on Wednesday night. New divers are often unaware of the challenges that different diving environments and new tasks (such as diving with a camera or after dark) can present.

There are a variety of specialty diving courses that can accelerate the experience process. These are available to the new diver but are never required. We usually recommend to new divers to follow this experience building path:

1. Complete the Learn to Dive course.
2. Complete a minimum of 4 self directed dives in an environment similar to that where the Open Water Dives were completed. 
3. Participate in some form of Specialty diver training.
4. Complete a similar number of self directed dives that were conducted during the specialty training before attending another scuba class. Participating in training dives and then reinforcing the skills with self directed dives is an excellent way to build skills. Please remember, self directed dives always require a dive buddy.