Scuba Certification & Advanced Training

Scuba Club Tucson, in partnership with Paragon Scuba Academy, offers a variety of training courses.

These include scuba certification for new divers as well as advanced training options.
You can get started as soon as you sign up. When you have successfully passed your final exam, we will hold a short classroom session to prepare you for dive training. You will then complete your in-water skill-development sessions in our heated pool followed by your checkout dives in open water (typically the Sea of Cortez). It’s that simple! Please contact us at steve@paragondive.com for full details regarding the below classes.

Scuba Courses

Discover Scuba

This is our introductory course if you’re interested in testing the waters. With this program, you’ll get a glimpse of what you can expect from scuba diving so you can determine if you’d like to proceed with certification. During this course, you’ll get an overview of basic scuba safety and equipment, followed by an underwater tour in a pool or aquatic environment. All of this takes place under the watchful eye of an SDI instructor.

Open Water

The Scuba Diving International (SDI) Open Water Scuba Diving Course provides entry-level certification. You can get started with the basic skills and knowledge online before moving on to your in-water skill development and open-water training dives. We complete most of our open-water dives for this course in San Carlos, a beautiful destination with warm waters and abundant marine life. We can also arrange for other local dives.

Scuba Refresher

If it’s been a while since your last dive, the SDI Inactive Diver/Refresher Program can help you update and review your skills. This course can be used to jumpstart continuing dive education, or if you want to be sure you are ready for your next dive after a long break. Some resorts or diving programs use this course to check the skills of a diver when they have questions about their diving history. One in-water training dive is required at the instructor’s discretion.

Advanced Adventure

If you’re ready to expand your knowledge after obtaining scuba certification, the SDI Advanced Adventure Course is an excellent next step. You’ll learn about five SDI specialties and can determine which of these you may like to pursue. Two specialties, Deep Diver and Navigation Diver, are required within this course. For the other three, you can choose from a variety of options including Marine Ecosystem Awareness, Computer Nitrox Diver, Boat Diver, and more.

Advanced Diver

The SDI Advanced Scuba Diver Development Program is designed to create truly advanced divers and includes four complete specialty courses. Examples include Photo, Video, Tender, Intro To Tech, Deep, and Navigation. You can choose the specialties that most interest you. With the exception of Computer Nitrox, only one course without dives can be counted toward completion. After these courses, you’ll need to log 25 dives in order to receive your advanced scuba certification.

Rescue Diver

This course will teach you the knowledge and skills to perform diver rescues and provide first aid in an emergency. Skills taught include buddy rescues, self-rescues, calming panicked divers, and conducting effective search patterns. After completing the SDI Rescue Diver Course, you can continue with the SDI Master Scuba Diver Development Program or sign up for the SDI Divemaster Course to start in the professional ranks.

Scuba Club Tucson Courses

With Scuba Club Tucson and our partner Paragon Scuba Academy, there are a variety of courses you can take to earn your basic scuba certification and continue to improve your skills. In addition to our SDI courses, we also offer private sessions to work on specific skills. This is designed to help you keep improving even after certification.

If you’re interested in taking one of our scuba classes or going to our scuba club,