You are going to read everything you want to know about our Open Water Diver course here, but first, there are two things you may want to check:

It's normal to have some concerns about diving. We all feel that when we step into something unknown to us. If you want to try scuba diving before investing in a course, you can read about our Discover Scuba Diving program.
If you have a specific question and looking for a fast answer, you'll probably find your answer in our Frequently Asked Questions section. 
Now let's talk about the beginner level course. First, you are in the correct place to start your diving life with solid training. You need to learn all the rules and practice all skills to make your diving experiences fun and safe.

You can read the topic you're interested in:

Course Prerequisites

Course Sections

Certification

Prices

Course Dates and Duration

Course Prerequisites

The most important prerequisite is probably the willingness to attend the course. But, other than that, there are some things you need to consider before enrolling, because the course and the certification you'll receive after the course bring some responsibilities.
Age: There is a minimum age limit of 14 to enroll in the course. This limit has been set by Turkish Underwater Sports Federation and applied to every scuba diving student without any nationality exceptions. The original age limit for PADI Open Water Diver course is 10, however, the local rule is binding all dive centers. Therefore if you are 14 years old, or older you can enroll in our course.
There aren't any maximum age limit for scuba diving. However, (as we will discuss shortly) you should be medically fit to participate in scuba activities. If you have any doubts about your medical fitness, it is best to consult your physician before enrolling. There are many seasoned divers in the world who are actively diving for more than 30 years. Therefore diving has nothing to do with old age if you are medically fit.
Water Skills: During your training or experience dives, you need to be comfortable enough to float on the surface, to swim and maintain balance underwater. There are no special swimming styles or particular distances to be accomplished in order to be eligible for diver training. However, your instructor will check if you are comfortable to stay in the water without any swimming aid. So, during your confined water training, you will be asked to:
1) demonstrate that you can comfortably maintain yourself in water too deep in which to stand by completing a 10-minute swim/float without using any swim aids,
2) complete a 200 meter/yard continuous surface swim or a 300 meter/yard swim with mask, fins, and snorkel.
These two water skills are enough to show that you have the necessary swimming skills and fitness level to be able to cope with water conditions during your dive. If you have any concerns about these skills, please do not hesitate to contact us for further explanations.
Medical Fitness: As we have mentioned in the age section, there are some medical conditions that may cause problems during diving. Therefore, if you have medical conditions that you think is a problem for diving, you should consult your physician before enrolling in a course. But please remember, not all medical doctors are experts on the physiology of diving, so it may be useful to seek additional advice. You can always ask your instructor to find the right person on specific health problems.
Also, even if you have no medical conditions, there is a mandatory form to be filled by every student before entering the water. This Medical Statement Form asks you to state that you have none of the listed medical conditions. It is very important to carefully read all listed conditions and be honest about your health. If you have any questions, you can always ask your instructor/physician. If you confidently write "NO" for every condition, you don't have to do anything else. However, if you state that you have one or more of the listed conditions, then you need to bring medical clearance from your physician before getting in the water.
In general, serious respiratory, circulatory and nervous system conditions prevent some people from diving. Also, people who get tired too quickly may find it harder to swim even in a calm diving site. Therefore, it's always best to keep a good diet and exercise routine and stay fit to feel comfortable during dives and enjoy them.

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Course Sections

This course has 3 sections:
1. Knowledge Development: This section can be completed in the classroom or with home study. It's always an option to study at your own pace with our home study kit to decrease the amount of time you will spend in the classroom. In order to complete the knowledge development section, you need to complete five chapters (either at home or in the classroom), answer knowledge review questions from the book, complete 4 quizzes and a final exam with a score of min. 75/100. Please contact us for the timing of this section.
2. Confined Water Training: Initial water training is completed in the pool or a confined dive site (similar to pool in terms of depth and calmness) in the sea. If we have the time, one option is to complete the pool sessions in Ankara. Pool session takes a total of 5 hours in an afternoon. If this option is not possible due to logistical problems, we have another option: to complete them in the sea.
There are differences in the pool or confined sea dives in terms of timing and dive site, so your instructor will inform you of both.
3. Open Water Trainings: The important practical section of the course is open water training, therefore this section is mandatory. We are organizing more than 20 dive trips in a year and they are on weekends and holidays, so you can complete this section of your training by attending one of our trips. 
Open Water training contains 4 dives. In order to complete these dives, we need a minimum of 2 days. So, we generally make 2 dives a day and complete the training. Scheduling may be different, so please contact us for specific details of the trip you will attend.
There are performance requirements for every skill in confined and open water training. Your instructor will assess your skills in terms of mastery. You will be briefed for each skill before the dives.
Once you complete all course requirements including knowledge development, confined and open water requirements, you will be certified. It is not an option to skip any skills and be certified. This is very important for your safety and comfort underwater, and also for our legal liabilities and reputation as a dive center. Please don't ask for any exemptions. We're always ready to do the extra work, adaptations for special needs and try different teaching techniques to help you succeed. Our mission is to train confident divers who are trained in global standards.

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Certification

We are the only 5-Star Instructor Development Center of PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) in Ankara. Here is a brief introduction to the PADI certification you will receive at the end of this course:

PADI

The world's most popular diver training system is PADI. It was founded in 1966, USA and issued more than 25 million certifications as off 2016. As Aqua Club, we are training more than 500 PADI divers in a year.
You will receive PADI Open Water Diver certification card at the end of the course. This certification will give you the right to dive until 18 meters/60 feet. You can dive in different countries with your card in confidence since you have completed a global training program. Also, PADI's Open Water Diver certification card gives you and your buddy to dive together without any leader's or instructor's supervision, which means you become an "Autonomous Diver" after the training. Of course, you don't have to use this right or feel ready for it right after the training dives. You may need some time to get familiar with dive site, dive conditions or the local rules may make it mandatory to dive with a leader. If any of these apply, it is always best to dive with a dive professional.
In our dive center, we always provide a dive leader with dive students or certified divers. This service is included in the dive trip price.

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Prices

VAT is included in all the prices. We accept VISA and MASTER CARD.

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Course Dates and Duration

You can complete your Open Water Diver training in a week (If you haven't read the sections of the training, you can here).

Knowledge Development: You can complete the knowledge development section in a short time. All you need to do is to take your training material and read the material in your own time. There are 5 chapters but the material is fun to read, so most students finish reading in 2 - 3 days. An additional session of 2 hours would be more than enough to complete the quizzes and exams. (You can always contact us to schedule your knowledge development session or you can enroll in the course directly from the button below.)

Pool Session: The pool session is conducted on a weekend day and it takes 5 hours. We generally prefer afternoons. It is best to complete the pool session on the weekend prior to the dive trip you want to attend. That way your skills are fresh to repeat or develop in open water. We schedule the date and hours of the session together with our students.

Open Water Dives: To complete this section all you need to do is to attend to one of our dive trips (we organize 20+ dive trips all year round!) and complete the skills of the training. Trips are organized for weekends or national holidays. We visit different dive locations and all dive locations are suitable for beginners. Our annual trips calendar is published here. Standard weekend trips contain 4 dives (2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday) and you complete all 4 dives and regarding skills, you will receive your certification email on Monday.

So, if you can spare 1 - 2 weeks, you will become an Open Water Diver. But the training doesn't have to be compressed in 2 weeks, you can take your time to focus each section. You have up to 6 months to attend a trip and complete your training. If you couldn't find the time to complete it in 6 months, you need to take a refresher course. 

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