Open Water Diver part 1
Pool and Classroom
Referral Diver Program

Book Now!

To see all available session dates and times:

  1. Click "Book Now" to access the booking page.
  2. Select your desired start date and click "Book Now" again.
  3. Click "Continue" to view the full course schedule.
Required Personal Gear

For this program, you must have your own mask, fins, snorkel, and boots. These are personal-fit items essential for your comfort and success in the course.

Before proceeding, please review the "What’s Included" and "Required Equipment" sections to ensure you have everything you need.

**please note: our May pool session locations and times are not determined yet. The Atkinson Pool will be closed for maintenance the month of May and we are working on booking at an alternate location**

ECD offers both PADI and SSI Open Water Diver programs. Please check the course schedule through the “book now” tab to view course dates and see which agency option is available for each course.

The Open Water Diver program with either agency is a globally recognized certification program, providing you with the skills and experience to begin your underwater adventure as a certified diver. Whether you choose PADI or SSI, students must complete their certification dives with an instructor or shop affiliated with the same agency as their Referral Diver course. Students must be at least 10 years old to enroll in an Open Water course.

At East Coast Divers, our Open Water certification program combines academic training, in-water practice sessions, and open water dives to ensure you’re fully prepared to explore the underwater world. The program is broken into three parts:

  1. Classroom learning (via Zoom)
  2. Pool training (typically at the Atkinson Pool in Sudbury, but location may vary depending on course dates)
  3. Certification dives (completed locally with ECD or on one of our group trips, or arranged at another dive shop of your choice in warmer waters).

Course Options and Pricing

  • SSI Open Water Diver Course: $925, including online learning materials.
  • PADI Open Water Diver Course: $825, plus the cost of eLearning materials, which is paid directly to PADI.
    *Students choosing the PADI option must affiliate their elearning with East Coast Divers or an additional fee of  $100 will be due.

About the Referral Diver Program

Our Referral Diver program covers the first two components: academic learning and pool sessions. Over three weeks, you’ll:

  • Attend three evening Zoom classroom sessions to learn about safe diving techniques, dive planning, equipment use, the physics of diving, and marine environments.
  • Participate in an equipment session at our shop to learn how to assemble, check, and care for your scuba gear.
  • Develop confidence and proficiency during three pool sessions, where you’ll practice skills like neutral buoyancy, controlled movement, and problem-solving underwater.

Upon completion, you’ll qualify as a Referral Diver, eligible to complete your SSI certification dives with us locally, on one of our group trips, or at another PADI or SSI dive shop.

Important Note: Pool times and locations may vary, please look at the location and time listed for the course you sign up for.

Why Train with East Coast Divers?

  • Neutral buoyancy training: Our students practice skills while hovering in proper diver position, making them more comfortable and efficient in real-world dive scenarios.
  • Small class sizes: With a maximum student-to-instructor ratio of 5:1, every student gets personalized attention and ample time to master skills.
  • Comprehensive training: Our program includes 9 hours of instructor-led academic sessions and 15 hours of pool training, significantly more than most programs, ensuring thorough preparation.
  • Top-quality gear: We provide well-maintained, comfortable, and adjustable equipment tailored to fit you for the duration of the course.
  • Proven success: Divers trained by ECD consistently receive praise for their comfort, skill, and competence. Many new students choose us based on glowing reviews across Yelp!, Facebook, or Google.

At East Coast Divers, we’re committed to not just certifying divers but creating confident, competent, and passionate lifelong divers. Our training program undergoes annual reviews to incorporate the latest in teaching methods and skill development. Start your underwater adventure with us today!

 

Standard Schedule:

Open water courses start every third week with a Tuesday evening Zoom session and run for 3 weeks. The typical schedule is below, although pool session times may vary due to pool availability.

Zoom 1 First Week Tuesday 6pm – 8pm
Equipment Workshop First Week Saturday 8am – 12pm
Pool 1 First Week Sunday time varies
Zoom 2 Second Week Tuesday 6pm – 8pm
Pool 2 Second Week Sunday time varies
Zoom 3 Third Week Tuesday 6pm – 8pm
Pool 3 Third Week Sunday time varies

Important Notes:

Please check over the “Diver Medical Statement Participant Questionnaire” Medical Form ahead of time and get a doctors’ sign-off as necessary. If you answer “YES” to any of the questions on the second page of the form, or any of the starred questions on page 1,  a physician’s sign off is required.

Once your Pool & Class training is complete you are eligible to complete your Open Water Certification dives, Part 2 of the Open Water Diver Program. The cost of the certification dives is not included in the price of this program. Make sure you can schedule your certification dives within six months of the completion of your program, otherwise you may need to enroll in additional training, (i.e. a Skill Update/Refresher) at additional expense. For PADI students, open water dives must be completed within 12 months of your referral being issued . ECD’s local dives are conducted from May-October. SSI students are eligible for our group option. PADI open water dives are conducted on a private basis, or a group option may be available if we have enough students.

If you are planning checkout dives in another location you will need to do them with an instructor/dive center of the same agency as your referral diver program. It may be possible to cross over to another training agency to get certified, but crossing over will add cost and time to your certification process and not every dive shop will be able to accommodate it. If you need assistance finding a dive center please email us at training@ecdivers.com

 

Before Class

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 second page. If you have any YES responses on page 2 you’ll just need to get a doctors’ sign-off (on the 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 or DO) signature will be accepted per agency rules (no NP or PA signatures).

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

Referral Diver Students must meet the following requirements

  • Diver must be 10 years or older to start the program.
  • Provide a clear Diver Medical Statement Participant Questionnaire or a physician (MD) sign-off prior to your first pool session.
  • Demonstrate basic in-water comfort during your first pools session via
    • a 300-yard swim (with a mask, fins, and snorkel).
    • a 10-min surface float.

Students are required to own their own mask, fins, snorkel, and booties (if needed for the fins). These basic pieces of equipment should be personally fit for you and your body type. This will create the most enjoyable and productive training experience. If you already own your own and are unsure about fit or are borrowing from a friend we’d be happy to check the fit. We also personally fit many of our students to their gear and keep many different sizes, styles, and prices in stock at the shop.

Student Special

Open Water Pool & Class students receive 10% off any equpment purchase while enrolled in a course!

You can take advantage of the discount by booking a free private appointment with a product specialist today or purchasing equipment during your scheduled Equipment Workshop session.

The course fees include the following:

  • All online training, registration, and certification fees for SSI courses.
    • Lifetime access to SSI’s Digital learning system, logbook, and digital certification card archive
    • Your SSI certification fees are covered wherever you chose to complete your open water dives
  • 3 web-based classroom sessions
  • 1  practical session (Equipment set up workshop)@ ECD
  • 3 Sunday group Pool Sessions with your class as scheduled for your course
    • ECD provides all required gear for in the pool (except Mask, Fins, Snorkel, Booties, Bathing suit, and Towel).
    • Contacts or a corrective mask are recommended for those needing vision correction.
  • Internationally trained/certified instructor.

Missed Classes Policy

When you sign up for an open water course all of the scheduled sessions need to be completed in order to finish part 1 and be eligible for Open Water checkout dives. We understand that sometimes life happens and a student may be prevented from attending a session so we have options for making up sessions. Since it’s important to do your pool or classroom sessions in order, if you miss a session during your course you’ll usually need to either make up the session before the next class or delay your training. Please read our course cancellation policy here for details about course cancellations prior to the course start date.

Missed Class/Workshop Sessions

Classroom Zoom 1 must be completed before the equipment session and pool 1, so in order to continue with your scheduled training dates you’d need to schedule a private classroom session for the same week. The equipment session needs to be completed before your first pool session, so missing that one can be difficult to make up and typically delays training unless you plan for it in advance. Classroom 2 or 3 can usually be made up by attending those sessions with the next OW course, or you can schedule private sessions. Private classroom sessions are $100 each, a private equipment workshop is $200. 

Missed Pool Sessions

Make up sessions are all on a private basis, and are available during our regularly scheduled pool sessions  or off schedule, which would incur pool rental fees. If you’d like to catch up and continue with your original course schedule, you can opt for a private off schedule session before your next scheduled session for $525  for the first session and $625 for further sessions. Make up sessions during regular pool time are $275 for the first session, and $375 thereafter.

Make ups can be scheduled by emailing training@ecdivers.com

Nitrox Add-On

As a certified diver, you will learn that nitrogen is responsible for limiting the amount of time underwater for each dive. Typically the first course divers take after certification is a Nitrox program, BUT as an ECD student you have the opportunity to complete this dive extending cert before you complete your open water dives.

NITROX GIVES DIVERS MORE TIME UNDERWATER WITH MINIMAL TIME OR FINANCIAL COMMITMENT!

As an open water student of ours, you’re eligible for a $50 discount off of our Nitrox program, saving you both money AND extending your bottom time!

We will get you registered for the materials and a class date. As soon as you complete your Nitrox session and your open water dives you’ll officially be both an Open Water and a Nitrox diver, how cool is that!

This $50 discount is just for currently enrolled ECD Open Water students, so don’t miss out on the chance to save some cash and take advantage of Nitrox diving.

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.