SCUBA Rangers

Kids 7 to 12 Learn to Scuba Dive

Learning to scuba dive is not just for the young at heart. Kids ages 7-12 can now join Denver Divers’ Scuba Ranger program and “dive” in our heated salt water pool. Rangers use all the same gear as their parents – just scaled to size. And Rangers learn the same scuba skills, but learn them through fun, interactive games. Working their way through five Ranger levels, your kids earn a pool-only certification card with rewards for each Ranger level achieved along the way.

Initial SCUBA RANGERS training is offered through five or six separate classroom and pool sessions of about three hours each.  During the school year, classes are every Thursday or Friday afternoon for six or seven weeks.  During the summer, Denver Divers hosts camps of about three hours over five afternoons.

The sixteen hours of instruction is $230 and includes all gear, snacks, Scuba Ranger card, and a party!  Scuba Rangers also must buy their student kit including a text book and homework, a Ranger Log, and DVD for $60.

Class 1 – Red Rangers review swimming skills and learn how to snorkel with a mask, a snorkel and fins.  Red Rangers learn surface rescue skills like fin push and use of a safety ring and resuce hook.  Red Rangers also learn to free dive from the surface.

Class 2 – White Rangers learn the reasons for each piece of dive equipment and begin equipment assembly.  White Rangers use BCDs, regulators, fins, masks, and wetsuits all sized accurately to their smaller frames – a critical step toward comfortable diving.  During the White Rangers class, Rangers wear their equipment on the ledge, learning how to breath underwater.

 Class 3 – Blue Rangers learn specific open water skills like regulator retrieval skills, mask-clearing, air-sharing, and taking off and putting on their BCDs underwater.  Blue Rangers are expected to demonstrate neutral buoyancy through fin pivot, “budha position,” and threading the obstacle course.

Class 5 – Silver Rangers learn about marine life and ocean activities in the classroom.  In the pool, Silver Rangers practice their skills to demonstrate to instructors, family members and friends.

 Class 5 – DEMO Rangers show off their skills to parents, other family members, and friends who can watch underwater on scuba or snorkeling gear.  In the Denver Divers’ pool, your child will show you what he or she has learned.  DEMO Rangers even graduate underwater!

Make sure you stay for the party.  This is a very fun graduation!

SCUBA Rangers Kid’s Club & Specialties

Once a month, Denver Divers hosts a Rangers club event.  Usually over two hours, Rangers learn some basics of advancewd speciality courses like underwater photography and night diving.  Club nights are $35 and are limited to eight Rangers.

Beyond Scuba Rangers, kids can earn three additional Recognition Levels in preparation for their Junior Open Water certification. At Denver Divers, Rangers Club activities encompass some of the nearly 20 specialty classes required to advance. Recognition Levels include:

	Intermediate Ranger recognition requires five Scuba Ranger specialties.
	Advanced Rangers complete ten Ranger specialties.
	To become a Master Ranger, Scuba Rangers must complete 15 specialties including Civics Ranger and Buddy Ranger.

Scuba Ranger Specialties

• Buddy Ranger - Invite up to five of your friends to try snorkeling or scuba in the pool. It’s a great time to demonstrate your skills and get your friends involved.
• Civics Ranger - Help in your home and community. Almost anything counts, such as cleaning your room, or participating in community events. After you get 12 sign-offs from the people you have helped, you get credit for the Civics Ranger specialty.
• Computer Ranger – Familiarize yourself with how computers are utilized in diving and diving research. Denver Divers will use our pressure pot and dive simulator to teach kids how to use a diving computer in the pool.
• Equipment Ranger – Gain additional knowledge, skills and experience with different types of diving equipment.
• Marine Life Ranger – Learn about aquatic fish, plants and animals that live in oceans, lakes and rivers. While no diving is involved, you get to see cool photos and take a “behind the scenes” tour of the Denver Aquarium.
• Maze Ranger – Test your buoyancy and scuba skills in an underwater “obstacle course.” Skill stations are set up in the pool. Each station has a specific skill for you to perform.
• Mile Ranger – The goal of Mile Ranger is to swim a full mile in the pool with the assistance of your mask, snorkel and fins. You have several sessions in which to complete the mile.
• Navigation Ranger – Learn how to use an underwater compass, and natural navigation techniques (navigating with no compass).
• Night Ranger – Practice your skills and play games – at night with the pool lights off! You’ll have an underwater diving light so you can see what you’re doing.
• Repair Ranger – will tour the Denver Divers Service and Repair shop to learn what technicians do to make sure regulators, BCs, and other dive equipment is working properly. Repair Rangers will learn a little about each tool and machine.
• Rescue Ranger – Learn what it takes to help your buddy if he or she is in trouble while diving. Denver Divers invites police and rescue professionals to tell you about their jobs and what they do to help people.
• Science Ranger – To earn this specialty, kids will listen to a medical professional talk about common diving problems such as nitrogen narcosis and decompression illnesses. The talk will be accompanied by a trip to a local hyperbaric chamber.
• Search Ranger – Learn the basic techniques for locating lost objects under water. It’s not exactly what you need to become a treasure hunter, but it’s a good start.
• Technical Ranger – Several Denver Divers affiliated instructors are technical divers who have used special equipment to dive deeper and stay longer than most recreational divers. Rangers who attend a technical briefing can earn their Technical Ranger specialty.
• Underwater Photography Ranger – Denver Divers pool has over thirty mosaic tiles depicting marine life. Kids can learn to photograph clown fish, butterfly fish, sting rays, dolphins, and an octopus. We also use moving props to teach students to photograph moving objects underwater.