Kids Scuba Week
(Pool & Classroom)

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.

Kids Week 2026– August 24th-28th
Pool sessions will be at the Bentley University Pool at the Dana Sports Center in Waltham

Looking for an exciting summer experience for your child? Our Kids Week Scuba Program (sometimes called Scuba Camp, though we’re not an official “camp” due to licensing requirements) is a week-long open water diver program! This program follows the SSI or PADI Open Water Referral Diver course and is designed to help kids develop confidence and skills in the water. Successfully completing the program will result in Referral Diver status and  being eligible to become certified by completing Open Water checkout dives.

Who Can Join?

  • Ages 12-17: Open enrollment
  • Ages 10-11: Limited spots available—please contact training@ecdivers.com before signing up to confirm availability.

What’s Included?

This program combines academic learning and hands-on pool training to ensure students feel comfortable and prepared for real-world diving.

  • Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
  • Morning session (9:30 AM – 12:30 PM): Classroom learning and activities at ECD, with a lunch break from 12-12:30
  • Afternoon session (1:00 PM – 4:30 PM): Pool training at a local facility (MIT Alumni Pool, 32 Vassar St Cambridge).
  • Transportation: Families are responsible for transportation between ECD and the pool (we will connect families a few weeks before the program if they want to arrange to carpool)

 

Course Overview & Certification

This course covers the academic and pool training portion of scuba certification:

  • Classroom learning: Dive safety, planning, equipment use, physics of diving, marine environment education, and more.
  • Equipment training: Hands-on practice setting up and checking scuba gear.
  • Pool sessions: Mastering underwater movement, buoyancy control, and handling common diving challenges.

After completing this course, students will be certified as Referral Divers—meaning they are ready to complete their Open Water checkout dives to be (Jr) Open Water Divers. Checkout dives can be done through:

  • ECD in New England (SSI students): students can sign up for any of our Open Water dive weekends and we often coordinate specific weekends for kids wanting to do their dives together after the Kids Week program
  • A dive shop at another location (must match the agency used for Part 1)

Note: Checkout dives are not included in the program cost but can be arranged through ECD or another instructor/shop.

Choosing SSI vs. PADI

The training from ECD is identical for both agencies, but students must complete their checkout dives with the same agency they choose for the Referral Diver course.

  • Traveling for checkout dives? Check which agency is more common at your destination.
  • Staying local with ECD? SSI is the more cost-effective option.
  • Switching agencies for checkout dives? Possible, but it requires extra cost and time.

Pricing

  • Scuba Camp Cost: $850
  • Online Training Materials:
    • SSI: $100 (paid to ECD at registration, we provide the materials)
    • PADI: $251 (purchased separately directly through PADI.com)

 

What to bring 

  • Provided by ECD: All required scuba gear.
  • Students should bring:
    • Bagged lunch
    • Water bottle
    • Swimsuit & towel
    • Personal fit gear (mask, fins/boots, snorkel) – available for purchase at a discount (~$250 per package), or students receive 10% off individual gear purchases during the course.
    • Personal gear must be scuba-quality (e.g., glass-lens mask, proper scuba fins).

Why send your kids to ECDs Kids Week?

  • Our course is staffed by scuba instructors who are passionate about and experienced working with kids.
  • Our program is designed at a slower pace with more breaks than a traditional Open Water course to accommdate the attention spans of younger divers
  • ECD teaches the whole pool program with students maintaining neutral buoyancy, hovering in the diver position rather than kneeling on the bottom. Our divers come out more comfortable and efficient in the water and are better prepared to apply the skills they learned during their real-world dives. 
  • We maintain small student to instructor ratios (typically 4:1 for kids week, maximum 5:1 for teens) so every student can get the attention they need to be successful as well as have plenty of time underwater to practice skills multiple times.
  • More face time with an instructor. We include 10+ hours of academic training and hands on workshops with an instructor to ensure your kids understand all the important information and can get any questions you have after reviewing the online materials answered. 
  • More pool time. Our course provides 15 hours of time at the pool, 10+ of it in the water. This is significantly more than most programs, and ensures your child  has plenty of time to get comfortable in the gear, learn and practice skills, and have some free time to practice the things you’d like to work on independently. 
  • Newer, well maintained and comfortable equipment. We’ve tested all kinds of equipment and chosen the most adjustable, stable and streamlined gear for our courses. Kids will use a gear set fitted just for them  for the duration of the course so they have the perfect fit for each session. 
  • Our reputation. Students, instructors we send referrals to and dive operators consistently praise the skill level and comfort of the open water divers we’ve trained after seeing them in the water. Local divers also report seeing a big difference in the comfort and competence of divers trained by ECD. Many of our divers come to us after reading all of the 5-star reviews on Yelp!, Facebook, or Google.

The East Coast Divers training team is dedicated  to developing the highest quality Open Water Diver program in the industry. The program undergoes annual evidence-based review and the instruction team is updated with the latest techniques in training methods and skill development. Our goal is not just to certify people, but to make them confident, competent and passionate life-long divers!

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, a physician’s sign off is required.

Once your Pool & Class training is complete you are eligible for the 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.

 

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.

Open Water Diver Students must meet the following requirements

  • Students 12+ can be signed up online for the program. Email kim@ecdivers.com for inquiries about 10-11 year olds participating. We welcome 10-11 year olds to participate once we've chatted with their families about the program availabiltiy for younger divers (spots are limited) and how their younger divers can be successful in it.
  • 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 eligible equpment purchase while enrolled in a course! We will also be offering a mask, fins, boots and snorkel package for the course for $250 (not eligible for the 10% discount)

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 programs .
    • Lifetime access to SSI’s Digital learning system, and digital certification card archive
    • Your SSI certification fees are covered wherever you chose to complete your open water dives
    • PADI programs include the referral paperwork. Elearning is purchased directly from PADI
  • Internationally trained/certified instructor.
  • Use of all scuba equipment for the course
  • All scheduled group academic/pool sessions

Standard Schedule:

9:30-12:30@East Coast Divers (213 Boylston St Brookline) academic sessions and lunch

1:00-4:30@  pool sessions at a local pool (within a 30-40 min drive)

 

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. Because of the nature of the Scuba Camp program, it is not possible for a student to miss a pool session and continue on with the camp as the in water skills are progressive and build on each other. It may be possible if known in advance to pre-schedule a private make up session for a student with additional costs associated. If a student misses an academic session it may be possible to continue with the rest of the program and do a private make up session at a later time. Students missing a session that prevents their continued participation in the program will be rescheduled to a regular ECD Open Water course with the standard rescheduling fee (50% of the course cost)