Open Water Course

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Why train with us?

  • Our retail centre is located on Queen Street in Leslieville, Toronto.

  • Our training pool is only 1km from our retail centre in Leslieville.

  • We offer open-water certification dives from June through September near Hamilton.

  • We are a PADI 5 Star Dive Centre, offering the full PADI range of courses.

  • Classroom and eLearning options.

  • We have our own in-house TICO certified travel agency, ScubaGetaway.

  • We teach children 10 years and older.

  • Diving courses available year-round.

  • Private courses available.

  • Passionate team of Instructors and Divemasters who love to teach.

All instructors at TSC are PADI and SSI Scuba Diving Instructors. When making your selection, if you wish to receive a PADI certification instead of an SSI certification please select the ‘PADI Certification’ option. Due to the higher cost of the PADI eLearning materials, TSC has to charge more to supply them to you. 

Course Description

Diver certification begins here. To enrol in the ‘Open Water Diver’ scuba diving course with Toronto Scuba Centre you must be 10 years old or older. You need adequate swimming skills, but no prior experience with scuba diving is required. During your course you will learn all the scuba skills required to be a safe and competent diver and complete your open water certification. On completion of the full course you will be issued with your certification card and will be allowed to present your card anywhere in the world and dive to a depth of 18 metres (60 feet).

What You Will Learn

At Toronto Scuba Centre you will learn how to safely use the very latest scuba diving equipment including a scuba mask, snorkel, fins, regulator, buoyancy compensator device and a tank. You even get to use a dive computer during your certification dives. Wetsuits are available to rent if you are concerned about temperature.

The Open Water Diver course consists of three main components, all of which need to be completed to receive your full certification:

1. The Academic Component

The first step in your scuba training is the academic component, where you learn about the science of scuba diving, equipment selection and care, and various safety considerations. Your academic component will be delivered to you online followed by a scheduled classroom session held at the TSC Dive Centre. The classroom session will include some paperwork and a quiz ( just to make sure it was you who completed the online course:), followed by a gear presentation and fitting session which will get you ready to head to the pool.

2. The Pool Component

You’ve completed your academic component and are now heading to the pool. During the two in-pool sessions your instructor will teach you all the scuba skills required to be a safe and competent scuba diver. Here is where you will learn skills like breathing from a regulator, buoyancy, and how to clear your mask.

3. The Certification Dives

Four certification dives are conducted after the academic and pool components have been completed successfully. This course is completed over 2 days, typically mornings, on weekends, but can also be completed privately mid-week. TSC is happy to enrol any student who presents a referral form dated within the past 12 months from another training facility or organization. Certifications dives take place at Gulliver’s Lake (Sun Retreats RV Park), in Millgrove.

Download and complete the Gulliver’s Lake park waiver before your visit

Academic and Pool Only Option

If you are planning to complete your open water certification dives abroad, you can choose to complete your academic and pool training locally with TSC. This means more time for relaxing and fun diving while on vacation. Academic and pool training is available all-year round. This course is completed over 2 days, on a weekend. TSC provides paperwork indicating that you’ve completed this training; give this paperwork to your PADI dive centre abroad and they’ll finalize your certification. Private courses are available on weekends at our public pool, or anytime in a student’s private pool with a deep end.

The Full Course Option

The full course option includes all three components of your Open Water certification training: the academic component, pool component and certification dives. You will log your open water training dives and upon completion of all requirements, your Open Water certification card will be issued. Pool training is available all-year round, open water certification dives are available from June to September. The full course is completed over 4 days (two weekends). Date changes can be accommodated, subject to availability, if you provide at least 2 weeks’ notice. Private courses are available.

The certification dives must be completed within 12 months of the pool training. If this time lapses, you will need to refresh your skills with additional pool training.

TRAVEL AND COMPLETE YOUR OPEN WATER CERTIFICATION WITH TSC

Scuba Getaway is a travel agency owned and operated by Toronto Scuba Centre. If you’re looking to complete your open water certification dives in a more tropical climate, join us on one of our group trips accompanied by TSC instructors and get certified on vacation! All trip details can be found at ScubaGetaway.com.

ScubaGetaway

Prerequisites

Absolutely no prior experience with scuba diving is required!

  • 10 years of age or older (divers under 15 years will receive a Junior Open Water certification)
  • Ability to swim and comfortable in deep water
  • Medically fit for diving.

BUDDY SPECIAL: Having a buddy, someone to train or dive with is not required as divers will always be ‘buddied’ up if alone but there are discounts available for more than one student signing up. The discount is applied by ‘adding a buddy’ at the bottom of the sign up process.

What does TSC Include – The most asked question.

TSC includes all scuba gear for in-pool training. Mask, fins and snorkel are considered personal items in diving but TSC does include these for the pool training so students can experience a high quality product before committing to purchasing. Wetsuits are optional for the pool, but recommended and available for rental. Students will, however, be required to rent or purchase these personal items for the Open Water certification dives. Due to our class sizes, students are required to take their equipment to the pool and lake.