Essentials of Recreational Diving

Have you been looking for that certain something in your dive training, but haven’t been able to pinpoint what it was you were missing? Look no further. The Essentials class pushes you further and holds you to a higher bar, giving you the knowledge and skill proficiency needed in order to have effortless dives, enabling you to have FUN – the reason you got into this activity in the first place. 

Essentials is a personal skills development class focusing on perfect buoyancy control, precise propulsion and positioning techniques, second nature personal and team skills, and effective team communication. We help you develop these skills through a combination of dry runs, in-water repetition, and video review. Emphasis is also placed on a proper ascent planning and a thorough understanding of gas consumption and gas planning.

A typical course schedule consists of 3 class sessions and pool sessions followed by a weekend of dive training in open water. There is also opportunity for supplemental instructor-led training sessions or self-guided practice sessions as needed.  

Class and Pool portion - $595

• 3 Class Sessions - approximately 3 hrs each including classroom, equipment configuration, dry runs 
• 3 Pool Sessions* 

Open Water Training Days (2) - $250 - additional skill development and evaluation in open water

*everybody learns at a dfferent pace. Some stuents may require additional self-guided pool practice sessions ($35 each) and/or additional instructor led training sessions ($95 each) before being ready to go to open water.

$99 - digital online course materials (purchased directly from UTD)

Does not include gear rental if needed, dive site admission / boat charter fees if applicable.

Recreational 2 is the first level of scuba training in the UTD curriculum in which you will move beyond simply performing skills. In this class you and your dive buddy will use your skills to solve a variety of problems simulated by your instructor (gear problems, situational problems). You will gain experience with natural and compass navigation, night diving, and deep diving. You will also learn how to use Nitrox32 during this course. The goal is that you will leave this class with the knowledge and confidence you need to be able to solve problems that may arise underwater in a calm and controlled manner. What may have been an "emergency" will be more like an "inconvenience" after you complete this class.

A typical course schedule consists of two class/dry runs sessions and 3 days of dive training in open water (1 warm-up/skills review dive, 2 navigation dives, 1 night dive, 2 deep dives. Critical skills will be incorporated into select training dives.)

$525 for the standard course structure

$119 - digital online course materials (purchased directly from UTD)

Does not include gear rental if needed, dive site admission / boat charter fees if applicable.

Additional training days (2 dives) if needed: $125 + any gear rentals needed

Additional self-guided pool practice if needed: $35 + any gear rentals needed