The Owatonna Dive Club has offered classes for new divers for over 30 years! We pride ourselves training and preparing new divers to be safe, confident, and knowledgeable about the sport of scuba diving. These classes have been conducted by club member instructors from several organizations over the years. Open water (O/W) scuba diving certification classes have been offered through the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), YMCA, National Association of SCUBA Diving Schools (NASDS), and currently from PADI.
The Owatonna Dive Club classes are held in ten (10) week sessions, one session per week. Students and instructor meet every Wednesday, at the dive club, for a classroom session before going to the pool at 6:30 pm. The class session is where the students obtain the knowledge of SCUBA diving that is necessary to dive safely and confidently anywhere in the world!
After the classroom session, at 8 pm the class makes the five minute drive from the dive club on Front Street to the Owatonna Junior High School pool, on St. Paul Road. In the pool the students are shown and then practice the skills necessary to achieve a high level of confidence in the water with SCUBA equipment as well as snorkeling equipment. Students are expected to have basic swimming skills and water safety knowledge, but are not expected to be life guards, Navy Seals, or Rambos with fins!
Classes are conducted in the fall and winter months from November through April. The first session, the “fall session”, typically begins the second Wednesday in November. The second session, the “winter session”, typically begins the second Wednesday of February. The first Wednesday in November and February is dedicated to a “Discover SCUBA” night. On the Discover SCUBA nights, ANYONE can come down to the Junior High and learn a little about the sport of SCUBA and actually get into the pool and try it FREE OF CHARGE! Pre-registration and a spirit of adventure is the only major requirement. There is, of course, a break the week of Christmas, and of course for any “snow” or “bad” weather days.
For students to earn their “c-card”, or certification card, they must complete five open water dives with the instructor staff. The club has an open water check-out weekend at a local. The open water weekend dives will include three dives on the Saturday (one snorkel and two SCUBA) and two dives on Sunday (both SCUBA). Upon successful completion the new open water diver will receive a diploma and their well deserved and highly coveted “C-Card”! Should you not be able to attend the open water check-out or you are going to be taking a trip to a location with a dive shop you can do your open water check-out with another dive shop, after completion of the class.
To sign up for either Discover Scuba or the Certification Course, please our contact instructor Corey Monahan at monahan.corey@gmail.com or (507) 271-2623. The cost for the course is $275. All scuba equipment (tank, regulator, etc) are provided.
Advanced courses in SCUBA are conducted by the club based on desire of students to learn more about the sport of SCUBA and the desire to expand their horizons.