The County of Los Angeles Underwater Unit maintains and provides educational services and experience programs to train and educate SCUBA divers, freedivers and dive leaders in local oceanographic patterns and processes for safe exploration of the coastal and offshore island waters of Los Angeles County. Certification programs emphasizing critical watermanship skills, repetitive acclimation and exposure to the differing seasonal turbulence patterns are also offered with no particular affiliation to any agency.
The Lifeguard Division of the Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation has responsibility for the direct oversight and management the following Los Angeles County Parks & Recreation Underwater Unit programs:
- Rocks, Rips, and Reefs (3R’s)
- Basic Scuba Course
- Advanced Diver Program (ADP)
- Underwater Instructor Certification Course (“UICC”)
3R’s (Rocks, Rips and Reefs)
Program Information
The 3R’s (Rocks, Rips and Reefs) is a public service designed to educate and update free dive & scuba divers on the seasonal environmental awareness considerations for diving in Los Angeles County to site specific shore based diving considerations, current year swell & surf patterns and safe practices for popular local dive sites in Los Angeles County. This program offers several sessions, from May through September at various county beaches
A key program goal is to assist participants in identifying and recognizing the precipitating events that cause accidents in shore based diving environments so they can be avoided or mitigated.
Each Ocean Session begins with a short land based educational seminar covering the local dive site bathymetry, shore based entries and exits, certain aspects of the local marine environment, and other valuable, site-specific information. Conditions permitting, the seminar is followed by an in-water demonstration and practice session for qualified participants that includes a skin diving tour of the actual dive site.
Local on duty Lifeguards also provide a briefing on EMS and local hazards observed and at selected sites, there is an opportunity for Baywatch boat boarding, briefing and tour at selected locations.
How to Utilize Forecasting Tools in Dive Planning
The presentation centers on current year weather, swell and surf patterns and safe practices, with examples of popular dive sites in Los Angeles County utilizing NOAA and CDIP forecasting tools and real time data feeds from NOAA & CDIP buoy arrays.
If the list is empty, our 3R’s programs have concluded for the year. New dates are posted in December.
ADP (Advanced Diver Program)
Program Information
Recognizing the need to provide a comprehensive continuing education and training program for the recreational SCUBA diver in the Southern California area, the Los Angeles County Underwater Unit Department of Parks and Recreation, established the Advanced Diver Program in 1964.
The program objective is to provide participants with an opportunity to individually improve their diving skills and expand their diving knowledge, with an emphasis on the Southern California diving environment. Combining lectures with pool and ocean labs, the divers are provided with a comprehensive learning environment. The main objective of the training is to increase the student’s safety, education and fitness in our local ocean surroundings. The ADP program is conducted annually from the end of June to September with participants receiving over 100 hours of quality training including a minimum of 12 open water dives.
Lectures may include:
- Oceanography & Forecasting Ideal Diving Conditions
- Navigation
- Rescue
- Physics
- Physiology
- Physical Fitness & Nutrition
- Diving equipment
- Medical aspects of diving
- Marine life ID
- Dive planning
- Dive tables & computers
- Basic decompression theory concepts
- Skin & Free Diving
- Altitude diving
- Freshwater diving
- Night diving
- Search and recovery
- Shore based & boat-based diving.
- Introduction to Technical diving
Registration for the program requires a successful tryout, click below to view the dates.
If the list is empty, our ADP program has concluded for the year. New dates are posted in December.
Basic Scuba Course
Beginning in the 1950’s, LA County has provided comprehensive scuba training to explore the underwater world off our coast. The Basic Scuba Course is conducted annually during the month of November with participants receiving 40 hours of quality training over 6 days, including a minimum of 4 open water dives.
Registration for the program requires a successful tryout, click below to view the dates.
If the list is empty, our Basic Scuba program has concluded for the year. New dates are posted in December.
Underwater Instructor Certification Course (UICC)
Comprehensive Leadership Instruction in Skin (“Recreational Freediving”) & SCUBA Diving Sciences. The primary objective of this program is to promote and encourage, through top diving science educators, rescue professionals & instructors, the training of the general public in the safe techniques of participating in underwater recreation activities in the Southern California Environment.
This is the renowned Los Angeles County Underwater Instructor Certification Course, is a non-profit public program committed to continue training and developing the highest caliber diving instructors anywhere. The program features highly demanding watermanship training and rigorous academic curriculum over a 3 ½ months of weekend training in the Greater Los Angeles County area and surrounding coastal waters. The primary objective of this program is to promote and encourage, through top diving science educators, rescue professionals & instructors, the training of the general public in the safe techniques of participating in underwater recreation activities in the Southern California Environment.
Registration for the program requires a successful tryout, click below to view the dates.
If the list is empty, our UICC program has concluded for the year. New dates are posted in May
Interested in volunteering?
County programs are led by certified Los Angeles County Scuba Instructors (UICC). There are also other volunteers who help out in various ways. These volunteers often consist of instructors from various agencies, past ADP participants, rescue certified divers, divemasters, and assistant instructors.
A weekend of comprehensive staff training is mandatory for all new and returning volunteers and there is no charge for this training. Divers with at least rescue training level and above certifications are invited to apply to the Underwater Unit for the limited number of volunteer positions available each year.
Email LACOUnderwaterUnit@parks.lacounty.gov to apply.
Questions, Program Information, Volunteer Recruitment, etc.
- Contact the Underwater Unit:Email: lacounderwaterunit@parks.lacounty.gov