| Overview
During the seven-day, certification program, participants fulfill all the requirements necessary to complete their SCUBA Diver certification, and partake in a complement of workshops that relate their diving experiences to learning, challenging themselves, building confidence, and thinking differently about their own potential.
Stay-Focused participants stay at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort, which is also where they will learn their confined-water skills and attend workshops. Stay-Focused’s diving operations partner, Red Sail Sports, provides all the necessary equipment and the dive boat, which leaves from the beach in front of the former Courtyard Marriott (now closed for renovation due to Hurricane Paloma).
Among the finest diving destinations in the world, Grand Cayman offers superb dive sites with easy access, dive operators with extremely high safety ratings, warm water, excellent visibility, limited current, and first-rate medical facilities.
Most Stay-Focused participants are thirteen-to-seventeen-years-old, use wheelchairs, and are actively involved in swimming, track and field, basketball, and other athletic programs. Candidates for Stay-Focused programs are assessed on their ability to contribute to the program and complete the program successfully.
Participants in Stay-Focused programs have had the following conditions: Amputations, cerebral palsy, epiphysial dysplasia, osteogenesis imperfecta, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, transverse myelitis, and others. |
Seven-Day Schedule
Upon arrival in Grand Cayman, participants settle into the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort on Seven Mile Beach. That evening, participants and staff socialize, have their first meal as a group, and learn about the week's agenda.
Days Two and Three
Following breakfast on days two and three, participants spend their mornings in academic sessions, working through the diving modules associated with their SCUBA certification. Typically, participants will complete their final exam at the end of the second morning. The afternoons are spent in the pool learning confined-water skills. If time permits, part of the second afternoon may be spent riding wave runners and hanging out on the beach.
Day Four
During breakfast on day four, the Program Director works with participants to develop their Responsibility Code - a set of rules all participants agree to abide by during the trip. Day four is also the first day of diving in the sea. Immediately after breakfast, participants head out to the dive boat for their first two dives. Following lunch, participants often visit Boatswain’s Beach, otherwise known as Cayman’s Turtle Farm, and participate in a late afternoon workshop that brings meaning to the acronym DIVER, and sets the stage for participants to create their Legacy Logs.
Day Five
On day five, participants complete two morning dives and celebrate the completion of their SCUBA certification! In the afternoon, participants learn about coral reefs and marine life in a workshop offered by the Ambassadors of the Environment Program at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.
Day Six
Day six is a long day, starting with two morning dives (if possible, visiting a submerged shipwreck on one of the dives), and an afternoon dive at Stingray City, one of the world's top-10 dive destinations. In the evening, following dinner, participants share their completed Legacy Logs with the group, which serves as a memorable and fitting way to bring closure to an extraordinary week of fun, learning, and achievement.
Day Seven
Day seven is a travel day as participants prepare to head home. The good news is participants leave Cayman knowing they will be coming back one year later for their “reunion” trip, which will enable them to refresh their diving skills and have even more fun … as certified divers!
Mentoring Program
Stay-Focused initiated a mentoring program in 2007 that enables Stay-Focused alumni to return to Cayman to mentor first-time divers. This is an excellent opportunity for alumni to maintain their diving skills while assisting new divers in overcoming their concerns and achieving success.
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