SCUBA Diving Certification

What diving certifications you can get?

Matt is a PADI Staff Instructor with many specialty instructor ratings. You can do:

Certification:

• Open Water Diver
• Advanced Water Diver
• Rescue Diver
• Dive Master
• Assistant Instructor
• Tec 40/45/50
• Normoxic Trimix Diver
• Hypoxic Trimix Diver

Specializations:

• Aware Coral Reef
• Emergency First Response with CPR and Care for Children
• Deep Diver
• Diver Propulsion Vehicle
• Dry Suit
• Emergency Oxygen Provider
• Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox)
• Ice Diver
• Equipment Specialist
• Full Face Mask
• Night Diver
• Peak Performance Buoyancy
• Project Aware
• Search and Recovery
• Self Reliant
• Underwater Photography
• Wreck Diver

All certifications are PADI only! We do not certify in any other organization. All these certifications are without expiration and will serve you for life!

Later, you can also apply for some advanced training. Below, you can find a PADI flowchart for technical, rebreather, and other trainings.

More information at PADI website

Where will be the training course held?

DeepSpot in Mszczonów, Poland. Around 30 min drive west from Warsaw. More information at DeepSpot website

Do I need to have a PADI certification before applying?

No. All recognized organizations are based on the ISO 11121:2017 standard. This means that if you have a lower-level certification in one organization, then you can apply for an advanced-level certificate at another. You do not have to redo your course. Certificates can have different names and procedures, but skills mastered during the training course are standardized and essentially the same. If you have any questions, ask Matt.

Who will be teaching you?

Matt is a PADI IDC Staff Instructor and Hypoxic Trimix Technical Diver Instructor. He was awarded the PADI Elite Instructor Award in 2022 and received the PADI certificate of excellence for outstanding customer service and professionalism in September 2022. Matt is the lead instructor for EVA105 (Fundamentals of Underwater Analog EVA), EVA106 (Engineering for Underwater Environments) and the "Scientific Diver Course" for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (formerly known as Project PoSSUM). He is currently involved in the development, neutral buoyancy, and parabolic flight tests of the Advanced Crew Medical Restraint System for commercial astronaut ACLS and CPR procedures. Matt is also a First/Secondary Adult and Child Care Emergency First Responder instructor.

More about Matt's credentials (not only related to diving) here

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you issue an invoice?

Yes. We can issue both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) invoices.

Do I need to have insurance?

No. Matt has DAN Pro Insurance, which covers all students during the training course with him. On your own, you can choose to have additional extreme sport insurance, but this is entirely optional.

More information about DAN Pro insurance: here

Do I need to know how to swim?

Diving is not dependent on strong swimming skills, and to dive, such skills are not required. However, to complete your course and be certified, you must successfully complete a non-stop swim for 300 meters with a mask, snorkel, and fins.

What are the medical qualifications I must meet?

PADI standards define health criteria that you must meet. In case of any problems, you need a doctor's written approval to dive. No exceptions to these rules! Make sure you comply (or have written approval from a doctor) before traveling to Poland.

The Divers Medical Questionnaire and Medical Statement form are available at:

• PDF
• Online form

Before you enter the water

At the beginning of the course (and before any in-water activities), student divers must:

• Pass the e-learning course
• Successfully complete a quick review
• Sign the PADI Release of Liability/Assumption of Risk Acknowledgment Form
• Sign the PADI Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding
• Sign the PADI Medical Statement

No signature, no diving. No exceptions!

How will the training day be organized?

The more time we have, the more we can do. We start as soon as DeepSpot opens and finish one hour before closing.

DeepSpot has a maximum limit of 4 people at a time per instructor. Matt is teaching alone, and there will not be any additional instructors. The group will rotate every hour, but Matt will be in the water all the time. The group can plan their lunch break right after dives, but only if there are three or more groups (with at least a two-hour gap in between). For two rotating groups, a 1-hour break is not enough time to dry, dress, eat, undress, prepare equipment, and conduct a buddy check.

Don't worry; Matt has already done tens of such whole-day trainings, and it has been proven that he can handle this.

How is it possible to squeeze so many things into such a short time?

All the necessary equipment is waiting for you at the poolside. There is plenty of it, which eliminates wait time between dives. All tanks are always full, and if you are low on air, just take another tank and dive.

The water is clean with a 100m visibility rate. DeepSpot has 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) water, so no dry-suit or even wetsuit is needed. You can stay much longer in a warm pool than in open water anywhere else.

Is this according to PADI standards?

Absolutely! We don't do anything that even remotely stresses PADI limits. No exceptions to that. Period.

PADI defines a training dive as:

During open water dives, have divers spend the majority of time at 5 metres/15 feet or greater, and breathe at least 1400 litres or 50 cubic feet of compressed gas or remain submerged for at least 20 minutes.

PADI Instructor Manual 2024, General Standards and Procedures, page 25

This means that if well-organized, we can do two, and in extreme cases, three training dives during one DeepSpot hour. Note that PADI also has a maximum limit for a day, which is three open water dives. This limitation does not apply to confined water dives (the first training dives for OWD). Therefore, it means that we can complete the entire PADI OWD course in two days at DeepSpot. Furthermore, we can have some additional practice as well. If you stay for three or four days, we can also do AOWD and some specializations.

Specialization without diving:

Recreational (age 10-15):

Recreational (age 15+):

Specializations:

Technical:

Professional:

Summary of PADI Courses and Programs, PADI Instructor Manual 2024 (pages 32-38):

Where will I stay during the course?

There are several places to stay around DeepSpot. Our favorite is Hotel Panorama. It is not the cheapest option, but it has large rooms and includes breakfast in the price. With larger rooms, you can share among students and split the costs of accommodation. Panorama Hotel is also within walking distance from DeepSpot.

Hotel Panorama at Booking.com

Are there any other things to do?

• Warsaw (the capital of Poland) is a 30-minute car drive.
• Suntago (the largest aquapark in Poland) is a 10-minute car drive from DeepSpot.
• Mszczonow Aquapark is a 2-minute walk from DeepSpot.

Payment

There are three options:

• Diving Introduction - a single 60-minute dive under supervision
• Certification - basic training at various levels
• Specialization - additional training after you complete certification

If you want:

• just to try nothing else, then a dive introduction is for you.
• to get certified, then you need to start with Open Water Diver (OWD) certification, optionally with Enriched Air (Nitrox).

OWD is must have if you want to dive in the future. Nitrox is optional but highly recommended. In most places, you can get Nitrox gas at the same price as regular air. Nitrox has many benefits for your body, and it is also a requirement for more advanced technical courses.

All these certifications are without an expiration date, and they will serve you for life.

Both OWD and Nitrox will take:

• 5 confined water diving sessions (each session lasting at least 20 minutes)
• 4 open water diving sessions (each session lasting at least 20 minutes) theory + gas analysis (for nitrox)