Camp Arifjan Dive Club

Camp Arifjan Dive Club

This page is for non-members to get information on the dive club here at Arifjan. You are required to attend a meeting before you can be added to the Facebook group so this is your source of information prior to your first meeting. You will not be given access to the Facebook page before you attend a meeting and complete the paperwork.

Open Water Diver

Get your scuba diving certification with the PADI Open Water Diver course – the world’s most popular and widely recognized scuba course. Millions of people have learned to scuba dive and gone on to discover the wonders of the aquatic world through this course.

165 KD plus cost of mask, fins, & snorkel to get certified here in Kuwait

When are meetings?
Every Wednesday at 1900 in Room 44 - Zone 1 PX

What does the club actually do?
We host weekly meetings where you can get together with other divers and talk about past dives, plan future dives and generally meet people that share an interest with you. We provide transportation off post along with the off-post memo, written risk assessment and all required paperwork. We coordinate with a local dive shop who provides training, equipment rental, and offers dive equipment at a discount to members. We drive to the pool at the resort and to the boat launch site. We also offer in house purchase of equipment at unbeatable prices. Can't get it locally? We have discount codes for major online scuba retailers. We also provide access to purchase embroidered clothing items with our club logo from a local vendor.
We do not get involved in any business relationship you make with the dive shop and don't have access to assist you with any e-learning difficulties, although some members may be able to help you if you are having trouble. The shop is easy to contact by email or Facebook and can assist you with training issues. When the club has a member who is also an instructor, this instructor can usually provide some local training (within constraints of available equipment) but still will not have access to assist with e-learning or certification issues for training started or completed with a different instructor.

Can I get certified to dive here?
We coordinate training at the Palms Beach Resort Dive Shop. The cost for certification is currently 165 KD. You can pay in cash or with a credit card that has a chip in it. The current conversion rate means 165 KD is around $543.71 US. This fluctuates so check current exchange rates. You will also need to take some KD cash with you to get something to eat.

Do I have to know how to swim to get certified to dive?
YES! You must pass a water skills assessment that includes a 200M swim (without stopping) and treading water for 10 minutes. While you don't have to be a great swimmer, meaning the 200M swim is not timed, you must be able to swim and be comfortable in the water. Yes, you can be comfortable and slow or even slow and tired but you must be comfortable, Your instructor is not required to give you a passing score on the assessment, even if you complete the swim and tread, if at any time during the assessment you look like you are having extreme difficulty (panicking or nearly drowning). Scuba is supposed to be a fun activity. If you are not comfortable in the water, to include putting your face in the water, scuba training is going to be a high stress and unenjoyable activity for you. You will also negatively impact the training for everyone else in your group.

How long does it take to get Open Water certified?
The certification program is performance based, not time based. It will take as long as it takes for you to master all the skills. The absolute minimum time it could take to accomplish this is 3 dive days (3 weeks) and the amount of time it takes you to complete the e-learning on your own. You start out with 5 confined water lessons in the pool. This is designed to take 2 days but if you and everyone in your group is comfortable in the water and you master the skills quickly, this can be completed in one long day. Following this pool session, you must start your e-learning immediately so you have completed the first 3 lessons, at a minimum, before your first open water dive day. The Sunday following completion of all 5 confined water dives, you will go to the boat for Open Water dives 1&2. If you signed up for the discounted AOW package you will also do AOW dive 1 that day. Students may complete a maximum of 3 training dives per day so there is no way to accomplish all training dives in one day. The following Sunday will be Open Water dives 3&4 (plus AOW 2 if you are part of that program) and you must have your e-learning 100% complete to include the final exam before going on these dives. At the end of your 4th open water dive your open water training is complete and your instructor will decide if you are a safe diver or not. If you meet the requirements you will take a final written test (I hope you remembered to bring your log book and your eRDPML) and upon passing the test you will be a certified Open Water Diver. If you do not meet the performance requirements you will be given a choice to be certified as a Scuba Diver, and you will be able to dive with professional supervision or you can continue working on your skills until you meet the requirements to be certified as an Open Water Diver. If you are out of time and will be leaving the country before you are signed off on OW dives 3&4 you have a choice of a referral or Scuba Diver certification. A referral allows you to complete your training with another instructor within 12 months. A Scuba Diver certification basically allows you do the same thing but it is an actual certification that does not expire. I recommend the Scuba Diver certification for anyone in this situation.

E-Learning:
Once users sign in, they have the option to confirm or change their address. Now the icon in the top left changes from PADI to PADI eLearning®, confirming users are in the eLearning™ Environment where all their courses reside. (A My Courses subhead confirms this). A panel identifies each course. Users can either click on the panel image or the View Courses box to access everything in their certification paks. All this content is clearly listed and seamlessly accessible, with user-friendly links and, there is now only one single login to access the eLearning environment.

In their eLearning materials, users can see all the components in their certification paks: the tablet product, the low-resolution manual, the eRDPML™ and the eTraining Dive Log complete with a link straight to ScubaEarth where they log lives (instead of having to login yet again for ScubaEarth). Obviously, the components vary with the course.

Can I get additional classes such as Advanced Open Water, Rescue, specialties?
Yes, all levels of training are offered at the dive shop and specialties offered vary from time to time. The primary limitation on how much training you can complete here is mainly limited by how much time you have here. Someone arriving uncertified can comfortably complete Open Water, Advanced Open Water, and also get some fun diving in. It is possible to complete rescue as well but there are minimum class size requirements so you and several of your friends need to be very dedicated to doing a lot of training. If you arrive as a Rescue Diver you should be able to obtain your Master Diver certification while you are here. Contact Scott for info on having your Master Scuba Diver requirements verified remotely and have the certification issued from the US where it is much less expensive than having it issued in Kuwait.

Is there a discount for signing up for Open Water and Advanced Open Water at the same time.
Currently, yes. You must sign up for both at the same time because some of the training for AOW is conducted along with your OW training as an integrated program. You can not start OW then sign up for AOW and expect the discount because you will now require additional days of training at additional cost.

Why can't training be conducted in the Arifjan pool?
The main problem is equipment. We don't have any here. We don't have a way to fill tanks here and bringing pressurized cylinders full of a gas that cannot be easily verified as safe on to post is a problem. If there is an instructor active in the club then the water skills assessment can be done on AJ and some specialty training can be done on post as well. Some popular specialties are Project AWARE, AWARE Coral Reef Conservation, Enriched Air Nitrox, Emergency O2 Provider, and the academic portion of Boat Diver can be done on post with the boat dives being completed on a fun dive. Instruction completed through your club instructor usually costs much less than going elsewhere.

Do you offer a chance to try SCUBA? I can't really afford 165 KD.
Discover SCUBA is offered for 36 KD. Instructor availability may be limited on Sundays.

I am a certified diver. Can I just dive for fun?
Sure! We dive every Sunday if weather allows. The cost is 28 KD for 2 boat dives. If you need to rent gear it is an additional 5 KD. The 5 KD rental fee includes as much or as little gear as you need. Tanks and weights are included with the boat fee and are not considered rental gear so if you have everything else you can save 5 KD per day.

I haven't been diving in years. Are there any requirements prior to diving?
If you have not logged a dive in the last 12 months you will be required to take a ReActivate course in the pool at a cost of 37 KD prior to going out on the boat.

Why is the Facebook page private and why am I required to attend a meeting before being added?
OPSEC. You must attend a meeting and you must make contact with someone at that meeting who will vouch for you when you request membership in the closed Facebook group. You must answer the membership questions or your request will be denied. You must attend a meeting and complete the paperwork before you request membership on the Facebook page. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Is the club for US military only?
No, but you need to check with the rules of your service. Military from some countries are not allowed to SCUBA while here and others are not allowed off post at all. Civilian contractors have also joined us.

It looks like this is a PADI club. I am certified by XYZ agency, can I dive with you?
Although we are currently working with a PADI shop that conducts PADI training and most of our members are PADI certified, this is not a PADI club. All are welcome. The main advantage to having a PADI certification is that we can verify your certification if you lost your card or forgot to bring it with you. If you are certified through any other agency, you will need to provide proof of your certification. Your agency likely has a way to verify this on their website. If your agency does not exist anymore, you don’t have your card, and you didn’t get a replacement card from the agency that took them over during the period they were offering replacement cards then you probably haven’t been diving in years and it would be good to take the Open Water course again and learn about the new equipment and techniques. A lot has changed.
Be careful ordering replacement cards from a website that offers replacement cards from "any agency" for $45. It is a scam. Their online training is also not accepted by anyone. You have to get a replacement direct from your agency.

Is it possible to complete any paperwork in advance and bring it to the meeting with me?
Absolutely! Print the documents below, complete, sign and hand them in at the meeting. Can't make it to a meeting? Ask to meet with a club officer in person at another time.

Medical information form If you answer any with a yes you must have a doctor sign off.

New Member Form If you don't know your sizes at least put your shoe size on the form. CPR certification not required to dive but is required for Rescue Diver training and above.

I lost my certification card and I would like to get a new one. How do I do that?
If you need to replace a PADI or NASE card you can contact Scott to get one at a discount or pay retail price at the following links:

PADI

NASE -- All NASE students recieve an electronic card free and there is no charge to view or download. Link takes you to purchase plastic card.

YMCA

SEI

CMAS

NAUI

SDI

TDI

SSI

NASDS -- (USA) This orginization is defunct and was taken over by SSI in 1999. SSI stopped replacing NASDS cards January 31, 2012. If you lost your NASDS card prior to converting to SSI you would now be considered "uncertified" and would need to take an Open Water course to get certified.

NASDS Europe

GUE -- Cards expire every 3 years and you must show proof of 25 dives in the last 3 years to renew.

ACUC

IDA

IDDA

IDEA

IDEA Europe

FSDA

FAUI (aka NQS or NASDS Australasia from 1960s to 1980s)

IANTD

BSAC

PDIC

SAA

ANDI This site was down on last check. Possibly temporary

LA County SCUBA

SNSI

RAID

IAC

NADD

PSS

If you have additional links for an organization not listed or find a broken link please let me know.

Why is this page hosted on the web site of a Pennsylvania dive shop?
The shop owner is a former member of AJ Dive club and donated the space for the page so there would be publicly available information for those who do not yet have access to the Facebook group. This is also the shop that sells equipment to members at great prices.