SSI Instructor Crossover Course

Book Now!

To view all the session times/dates click on "book now" to enter the booking page, choose the start date you're interested in, then click "book now" and "continue" to bring up the course schedule.

Once you book your course, our team will register you for class materials. You will receive an email with a link to your materials from the agency (SSI or SDI/TDI). Our training team can be reached at training@ecdivers.com if you have any questions about the course.

An SSI instructor crossover is a program that teaches Scuba Schools International (SSI) philosophies, procedures, and training standards to dive professionals certified initially by other agencies. Our program, which will be completed through a combination of online, virtual Zoom seminars, and in-pool training, includes academic study with digital materials, workshops covering SSI’s specific teaching methods, and water skills workshops to demonstrate an understanding of SSI’s in-water training, enabling instructors to teach SSI courses worldwide.  

What is the SSI Instructor Crossover?

The SSI Dive Professional Crossover program is designed for certified, active instructors from other training agencies who want to become SSI professionals. It provides the necessary knowledge and skills to conduct SSI-equivalent programs and offers a pathway to work with SSI’s vast global network of training centers, including us here at East Coast Divers.

What does the program involve?

The program typically has three phases: 

  1. Academic Study: 
    You’ll study SSI’s philosophy, business practices, the MySSI System, and specific training standards and materials for your program level through a digital course kit and online exams.
  2. Academic Workshops: 
    You’ll attend virtual seminars via Zoom that cover a review of the SSI Education System, business philosophy, and details of the MySSI System and app.
  3. Water Skills Workshops: 
    This phase involves a review of the required skills at your target training level, including in-water teaching presentations and demonstrations of rescue skills, to ensure you meet SSI’s standards for quality instruction.

How do I get started?

    1. Sign up For the Course! Click the red “BOOK NOW!” button on the right to join our next course. If there isn’t a course currently scheduled, email alex@ecdivers.com for more info. 
    2. Complete the Digital Manual, take the Online Exam, and download the MySSI App. Create an account to access the step-by-step crossover tools. Begin your academic studies for the instructor rating you wish to crossover to. 
    3. Attend the Crossover Events: Complete the academic and water skills workshops with East Coast Divers.
    1. Attend the Instructor Evaluation:, Once you complete the Cossover Course, you can complete your Instructor Evaluation to officially become an SSI instructor! NOTE: As an SSI Instructor Development Center with an Evaluator on staff, we can schedule IEs based on our students’ needs. Find more info on the IE here. 

What are the benefits?

  • Become an Instructor with East Coast Divers: We always need enthusiastic, motivated, and safety-conscious instructors on our team. We have more demand for courses than we have staff to accommodate.
  • A Team Teaching Approach. Did you earn your instructor certification with an agency that handed you your instructor certification and then sent you off to figure out how to do it for real on your own? Providing equipment, finding students, managing pool and class rentals, and managing students is hard work, not something that is taught well enough in most instructor programs. At ECD, we have a team teaching approach. You can be as much or as little involved in the background of the course structure as you want. If you wish to just show up to teach… You can do that with East Coast Divers. Leave all the other work to us.   
  • Competitive Compensation: Our Dive Pros are among the best paid in the Northeast. We pride ourselves on a well-compensated professional training staff that performs at the highest possible level and knows its value

Before Class

TEST IN PROCEDURE:

All candidates applying to an ECD professional training course must EITHER have an ECD instructor vouch for the candidate on skills and fitness, OR the candidate can complete the OW skill circuit (Skills at the instructor's discretion) and one lap swim (to prove they can swim).

In-water test-in procedure can be scheduled with Alex (alex@ecdivers.com)

COURSEWORK WITH EDPUZZLE:

  • precourse - Instincts and Habits (Video with "Quiz")
  • Mid CourseAS5 - Your Career with SSI (Video with "Quiz")
  • You will receive the link & instructions before the start of the course

 

Before attending your class, you will need to complete some paperwork. The forms will be emailed to you for your review and can be completed by Eversign prior to your class.

Before enrolling in a class, you should take time to read and review the Diver Medical Statement Participant Questionnaire. The first page has If you have any YES answers on that page, review the associated section on the Diver Medical Statement | Participant Questionnaire Continued. NOTE: All professional candidates must also have a completed Physicians Approval to Dive form before you can participate in ANY in-water activities. It’s important to note if a physician’s signature is required, only a medical doctor’s (MD) signature will be accepted.

This class also has a helpful online training component hosted by SSI. Please complete your online training prior to your classroom session. If you have not already registered with SSI, look for an email from divessi.com. You can access online training materials, certification cards, and more at my.divessi.com or the MySSI app on your iPhone or Android.

Click here to register:SSI - Scuba Schools International - my.divessi.com - Register Now

If you have any questions give us a call at the store on 617-277-2216 or shoot our Professional Training Director an email  alex@ecdivers.com

  • Minimum age | 18 years old.
  • Current Active Instructor Certification with a globally recognized Scuba Training Agency.
  • Minimum of 100 Open Water Dives and 1 year since certification

 

Scuba Diving

Minimum Student Equipment

During all in-water scuba training, each student must be equipped with a properly fitted Total Diving System:

  • Mask
  • Snorkel
  • Fins
  • Buoyancy compensator with power inflator
  • Weight System
  • Delivery System with cylinder, primary regulator and alternate air source
  • Information System with submersible pressure gauge, depth gauge, and timing device (a dive computer is recommended)
  • Exposure suit appropriate for the environment
  • Logbook

Note | There must be a sufficient amount of removable weight to make the student positively buoyant at any depth. Students must be able to achieve enough positive buoyancy so their head floats above the surface.

Note | At the instructor’s discretion, the use of the snorkel during in-water training is optional for all certification programs other than Snorkel Diver, Scuba Diver, Referral Diver, Indoor Diver and Open Water Diver.

Note | Specific program’s training standards may require additional student and/or dive professional equipment.

Minimum Scuba Professional Equipment

During all in-water scuba training, each SSI Professional directly supervising training must be equipped with a properly fitted Total Diving System.

  • SSI Professionals must have experience with the equipment they use while conducting SSI programs. They must be able to perform all required skills at a professional level, including rescue and resuscitation skills.

Recommendation | SSI Professionals that use dry suits or full face masks during SSI programs must have practical experience using these types of equipment (at least 10 logged dives) before using the equipment.

During all open water training, each SSI Professional must be equipped with at least all student equipment, plus:

  • A dive computer
  • A delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB)
  • A surface emergency signaling device
  • A cutting device
  • A compass

Professional Training

  • Candidates must use a professional-level Total Diving System.

ITC Schedule 2026:

* Are crossover Sessions - Crossover Candidates are welcome to join all of the ITC session but only the sessions marked with * are required. Other sessions are in RED

 

ITC Zoom 1*

July 6, Monday 6p - 10p

(4hr)

Orientation(.5hrs)

AS7 The OW Diver Program (2hr)

ECD Skills Review(1.5hr)

 

ITC Zoom 2*

July 8, Wednesday 6p - 10p

(4hr)

AS8 OW Instructor Specialties (2hr)

AS9pt. 1 Diver Stress & Rescue / Dive Guide (2hr)

 

ITC DiveDay 1 (Pond)

July 12, Sunday 9a - 6p

(6hr)

Events:

*PA1 - Water Fitness - Tread for 15 min while neutral, Swim 400 yards without stopping (no aids), Swim underwater 80ft (mask fin snorkel), Rescue with 100 yard swim in 8-minutes or less (will be added into next workshop) 9am - 10am

*PA7 - Rescue Workshop - Perform all skills from the Stress & Rescue program at demo quality 10am - 12pm

*PA8 - Emergency Skills - Perform all emergency skills from the OW Program in confined water at demo quality 12pm - 2pm

Open Water Cert Dive Workshop - operating as an instructor - we will simulate modified Open water certification dives and prectice OW Skills at demo quality. 2pm - 5pm

 

ITC Zoom 3*

July 13, Monday 6p - 10p

(4hr)

AS9pt. 2 Diver Stress & Rescue / Dive Guide (2hr)

ECD Review Evaluation Criteria(45min)

ECD Review New Evaluation Topics(15min)

ECD Review Introductions for Academic Presentations(1hr)

 

ITC Zoom 4*

July 15, Wednesday 6p - 10p

(4hr)

*PA2 Academic Presentation - OW (2.5hrs)

ECD Educational System Presentation (1hr)

ECD MySSI Review & Quiz (30min)

ITC Zoom 5*

July 22, Wednesday 6p - 10p

(4hrs)

PA5 Academic Presentation - Nitrox and/or Science of Diving, and/or Stress & Rescue (2hrs)

PA6 Academic Presentation - Divemaster (2hr)

 

ITC DiveDay 2

July 26, Sunday 2p - 6p

(6hr)

Events:

PA9 - Stress & Rescue Skills (2p - 4p) - Teach skills from Stress & Rescue in a confined water environment.

PA10intro - Open Water Skills (4p - 6p) - Practice run at OW skill teaching evals

 

ITC DiveDay 3

August 2, Sunday 9a - 3p

(6hr)

*PA10 - Open Water Skills (9a - 1p) - Eval skills for Open Water cert dives as an Open Water Instructor (OWI)

ITC EXAM - (1p - 3p) - ITC exam and review

 

CANDIDATES WHO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE ITC ARE ELIGIBLE TO ENROLL IN AN INSTRUCTOR EVALUATION (IE)

Class Forms

Below you will find links to REQUIRED class forms. These forms must be reviewed in their entirety before participating in any ECDivers in-water program. Arrival to class with incomplete documents may result in a forfeiture of that class date. If you have any questions or need assistance in completing the class forms please email our training department at training@ecdivers.com.