The PADI Open Water Diver Course

OPEN WATER COURSE (1st scuba beginner course)

Confined Water Dives:
Confined water training serves two purposes. First, it establishes the basic
skills that all divers need (or may need in the unlikely event of a problem)
in a relatively low stress environment. Second, it reinforces and supplements Knowledge Development training by having student divers practice and apply what they learn from reading the manual and watching the videos.

There are five confined water dives that correspond to the five knowledge
development sections.

Knowledge Development:
The Knowledge Development portion establishes a foundation of principles,
procedures and general information fivers need. There are five sections, each of which is normally accomplished through independent study with the PADI Open Water Manual and Open Water Diver Video, or with the Open Water Diver Multimedia. Liquid Heaven students answer exercise questions within reading, and complete a Knowledge Review for each section that you check for completeness and understanding. Students demonstrate mastery by completing the appropriate PADI Quiz, or, following the fifth section, a comprehensive Final Exam, then they receive a brief elaboration during which you answer questions and apply the material to specific student needs and local environments.

Open Water Dives:
The Open Water Dives complete the integration of the principles learned in
Knowledge Development and the skills learned in the Confined Water Dives by having student divers apply both in the open water dive environment. By practicing skills mastered in the Confined Water Dives, students continue to
learn as they use these skills in the open water.

Scuba Equipment (NEW) is provided for Liquid Heaven students except for mask, fins and snorkel as this is considered personal gear and must be purchased and professionally fit for the utmost comfort and enjoyment prior to the course start up. We have the largest selection of masks on Vancouver Island and Liquid Heaven professionals will spend much time individually with you to get the best fitting mask for comfort. Please stay away from cheap knock off masks that appear to look the same as a name brand mask. They are not, they usually are made of inferior products that give a very short life span and usually leak. Stick with reputable name brands that have been in the dive industry for a long time. These name brands have exceptional warranties and life spans. You get what you pay for!

Accommodating Motor Skill Development Abilities and People with
Disabilities:
To earn the PADI Open Water Diver or Scuba Diver certification, student
divers must demonstrate mastery of each performance requirement. As in the
confined water dives, we have the latitude to accommodate individual needs
by modifying techniques to meet requirements. In the open water environment, we may need to assist individuals with physical challenges to accommodate access to boats, shore and other facilities.


PADI Open Water Divers are qualified to:

  • Dive with a buddy independent of supervision while applying the knowledge and skills they learn in this course, within the limits of their training and experience.
  • Obtain air fills, scuba equipment and other services.
  • Plan, conduct and log open water no stop (no decompression) dives when properly equipped and when accompanied by a buddy in conditions with which they have training and/or experience.
  • Continue their dive training with a specialty dive (Adventure Dive), in the PADI Adventures in diving program or in PADI Specialty courses.


 Part of the Liquid Heaven PADI Open Water Diver course includes informing student divers that they are responsible for diving within limits of their training and experience. Students read and sign the relevant PADI Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding and by explaining to Scuba Divers the limitations of their certification.
The minimum age for Open Water Diver or Scuba Diver Certification is 15, which must be reached by the end of the course. We also train individuals under the age of 15 according to the Junior Open Water Diver and Junior Scuba standards given by Padi. Student divers in the Junior Open Water Diver and Junior Scuba Diver courses must be 10 years old prior to the start date of the course.

Performance Based Training
The PADI Open Water Diver course builds upon the concept of performance-based learning. This means student divers progress through the course demonstrating that they meet measurable learning objectives. The courses instructional design sequences these objectives from simple to complex, so students built upon previous learning as they progress. Attempting to learn something without mastering prerequisite objectives can complicate and interfere with development and development and learning. For this reason, students must satisfactory demonstrate meeting knowledge development and water skills performance requirements (objectives) in their required sequences. Satisfactory demonstration is called “mastery”.