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The ScubaSkool dive programme takes place in the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea surrounding the idyllic island of Utila. The full ScubaSkool Divemaster programme has been designed in conjunction with the team at the Utila Dive Centre (UDC) – Utila’s most celebrated scuba dive school. We can take a complete beginner to PADI Divemaster in seven weeks but we recommend students stay on and experience the four-week conservation project that will take place after the training is finished. With modules in whale shark and dolphin research as well as coral reef protection, it is an experience that you will never forget and one that will provide invaluable learning skills. THE SCUBASKOOL PROGRAMME The ScubaSkool programme has been designed in conjunction with and will be supervised by Andy Phillips, UDC’s Director of Professional Training. Please see below for full details about the Utila Dive Centre. The full programme, taking you from beginner to divemaster, will last for seven weeks and include the following certifications: Open Water Diver Certificate (Week One)
The Open Water Diver Certificate is the first complete PADI certification and the most recognised in the world. This licence allows you to scuba dive, without professional supervision anywhere in the world to a depth of 18 metres.
The Open Water Diver Certificate will take four days to complete. Advanced Open Water Diver Certificate (Week Two)
The Advanced Open Water Diver Certificate represents the next rung on the ladder. This allows you to scuba dive, without professional supervision, anywhere in the world to a depth of 30 metres. With ScubaSkool, this licence allows you to choose five dives from night dive, deep dive, navigation dive, cavern dive, wreck dive, search & recovery dive and underwater photography dive.
The Advanced Open Water Diver Certificate will take three days to complete. Emergency First Responder Certificate (Week Two)
This certification is a pre-requisite for all PADI courses beyond the Advanced Open Water. It is a non-diving certificate teaching the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation: learn how to assess illnesses, injuries and splint wounds. You will also be given an orientation into using an “automated external defibrillator”, providing oxygen and dealing with choking adults.
The Emergency First Responder Certificate will take one day to complete. Emergency First Response “Care For Children” Certificate (Week Two)
This certification is essential for anyone who comes in contact with infants or children in a working or supervisory capacity. The licence is also non-diving and teaches Emergency First Responders how to administer CPR/ 1st aid and secondary care to infants and children.
The Emergency First Response “Care For Children” Certificate will take one day to complete. Rescue Diver Certificate (Week Three)
This programme consisting of 10 in-water exercises will dramatically improve your scuba diving skills and is designed to give you the ability to deal with distressed, tired, panicking and missing divers. As well as this, you will learn about diving first aid, emergency management and dive equipment problems. This is an extremely worthwhile course and one that is fun to learn. It is a pre-requisite to the PADI Divemaster.
The Rescue Diver Certificate will take four days to complete. Divemaster Certificate (Week Four-Seven)
The PADI Divemaster consists of three separate modules; knowledge development, waterman-ship and practical training. ScubaSkool students will complete an ‘Internship’ with the Utila Dive Centre Instructors working on their theoretical knowledge of the physics of scuba diving, the environment they are in and improving their strength and skills in the water to an amazing extent. As part of the internship, you will assist the Instructors as they conduct PADI training programmes with student divers and gain invaluable experience working as a dive guide by guiding certified divers on recreational scuba dive trips to Utila’s famous North Side sites.
The Divemaster Certificate will take 4 weeks to complete. Specialty Courses
Specialty courses have been developed so that you can explore particular interests in specific dive activities. Choose your own particular type of dive from cavern dive, deep dive, night dive, research dive, underwater hunter dive, navigator dive, underwater photographer dive, wreck dive, fish identification dive and so many more.
Specialty Courses will take 1-2 days to complete. They will be interspersed throughout the full programme.
THE CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
Utila Centre for Marine Ecology (UCME)
The Conservation project was developed exclusively for ScubaSkool by Steve Box PhD. Steve holds a doctorate in Marine Biology and heads up the Utila Centre for Marine Ecology. The objectives of the ScubaSkool/ UCME project are two-fold: 1) To produce a programme that appeals to scuba divers interested in environmental awareness and in gaining additional dive experience.
2) To make a positive contribution to the marine environment of Utila by utilising the efforts, ideas and energy of participants and creating a long term sustainability project for Utila.
The Course Content - 5 Specialty Courses:
National Geographic Specialty
Project Aware Specialty
Beautiful Oceans Science Diver Specialty Program
Project Aware ‘Whale Shark’
UDC PADI Distinctive ‘Dolphin Awareness’ specialty
- DAN Oxygen provider course
- 3 additional Dolphin survey trips
- Unlimited diving around programme (time and spaces permitting)
- Sponsorship of participant independent project (to budget of $150 for 3 participant team) in last week
- Reef surveying workshop Utila Dive Centre
The Utila Dive Centre (UDC) is the most professional of the many dive shops on Utila. Founded in 1991, it was the first dive school and dedicated full service facility in Utila and, after years of growth and hard work, UDC became a PADI Gold Palm Resort and Career Development Center. PADI Career Development Centres are scuba dive facilities that were previously registered as either PADI 5 Star IDC Centres or PADI Gold Palm Resort IDC Centres and who also offer professional development training. The status of PADI Career Development Centre is an award of excellence and recognition of services to the scuba dive community, it is not a level of membership and it is the highest rating a PADI facility can achieve. UDC is one of just two such facilities in Central America. PADI Career Development Centres are dive resorts that excel themselves in terms of the dive experiences, education and scuba equipment that they can offer to dive consumers and are places where Instructor candidates receive training to prepare them for their careers in the dive industry. PADI Career Development Centres are dive facilities that were previously registered as either PADI 5 Star IDC Centres or PADI Gold Palm Resort IDC Centres and who also offer professional development training. The status of PADI Career Development Centre is an award of excellence and recognition of services to the dive community, it is not a level of membership and it is the highest rating a PADI facility can achieve. UDC is one of just two such facilities in Central America. PADI Career Development Centres are dive resorts that excel themselves in terms of the experiences, education and equipment that they can offer to dive consumers and are places where Instructor candidates receive training to prepare them for their careers in the dive industry.
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The Programme 
