Activities for a Discover Scuba Dive Course

[chachee99]

Hi. I am not sure if this is the right forum but I am looking for some advice. I just finished my Assistant Instructor course through PADI and qualified to run Discover Scuba Dive programs. The company I work at does Discover Scuba Courses in a 5 meter pool. I want to make sure that new divers not only get educated on diving, but want to make their their first diving experience to be fun. In order to do this I want divers who take the course participate in fun activities that will help increase their basic skills. I believe that new divers who have a fun time will want to further their training and attend an open water course in the future.

Here are a few activies I already have planned.

Swimming through hoolahoops. - I have a few large weighted hoolahoops that can secured to the bottom of the pool. Divers will take turn swimming through the hoops.

Pass the ball: I give divers large metal spoons and a golf ball. The take turns passing the golf ball to each other using only the spoon. I thought about making this in a relay race for larger groups.

Pass the torpedo: I have an underwater solid rubber torpedo that can passed to divers underwater. Divers make a circle and pass the torpedo around.

Matching game: I want to buy several pucks. Some of the pucks will be painted white on one side. The other pucks will be painted yellow on one side. Divers are given a color and have one minute to match up as many pairs of pucks as possible.

I also thought about doing this same activitiy, but the pucks would be placed at opposite ends of the pool. Divers pick up one colored puck then swim to the other side of the pool and find another puck that is the same color then swim back. This can also be used as a relay race.

Buddy search: Pairs of icons are placed around the pool. Each diver finds one icon then must find their buddy who has the same icon.



If you have any critiques about my activity ideas, please let me know.

If you have any other suggestions for actitivies for a Discover Scuba Diving Course. Please share them. It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fjpatrum]

Forgive me, but where are you in Korea? I'd suggest a better "Discover Scuba" option than playing games in a pool would be to take them where they can see real fish and coral etc. I personally wouldn't be interested in a "discover" class that spent the whole time in a pool and I don't think any of my friends in Korea would be either unless the pool was a salt water aquarium.

Maybe consider a "scavenger hunt" for some specific item along the pool. Place some "identify this object/fish" type things around the pool or other similar games that would teach them situational awareness in the pool and get them to slow down and really look around them. Don't time the dive in the sense of "you have 1 minute to do this many", but see whether the class agrees on what things were when they surface. Maybe place water-proof images of fish and see how many they can identify from a chart on the wall after a 30 minute dive?

That said, the activities you list seem like decent, fun, activities that might get people into the pool but I wouldn't expect them back for an OW class afterward just because the pool experience, no matter how entertaining, isn't going to be like truly discovering scuba.

 

[j.doe]

Hey

I would avoid the hoolahoops. I have seen this done for open water and advanced classes and even for the open water students they found it VERY difficult not to mention an entanglement hazard. The AOW course did Ok with it, as they were taking their peek bouyancy course but you need people that are going to be calm.

With a discover scuba course you want to keep it simple so that those that are hand walking on te bottom and that have crappy bouyancy control can participate easily.

A couple of other activities that I have used. Use a ping pong ball and balance it with the spoon above it and swim across the pool. Teaches slow and carefull underwater. You can make it even harder by making the students swim upside down. PS. You may need a weighted bucket as the average student will use 10 or so before they make it to the other side

Also you can buy underwater frisbees that the younger kids seem to just love playing with. And they can play, in a over weighted mode on the bottom.

All in all, you just want to make sure that you keep the games calmer as a newb that is sucking really hard to begin with plus the exercise they do not expect has the ability to over demand the reg for air and then feel like they can't get enough air. It will not be fun for them nor will they want to get in the pool ever again.

As well you can not count on any bouyancy skills other than the BCD elevator as it takes more than the first pool session to evolve in my experiance. I have seen open water guys after 4 pools sessions and 4 ow sessions that only have a tentative grasp of how it is to be properly done at best. Basically I would not play anything that would have students have to play around in the mid water column, as it would be too much to expect in the discover scuba.

Keep in mind that in a pool that is 5m deep it is possible to cause lung expansion injuries. I have seen this happen before with another dive shop where a diver paniced on the bottom and shot to the surface holding their breath. To counteract this I have played bubble games where they remove the reg blow streams of the smallest bubbles from their lips trying to hit a target on the surface with the bubble stream. That or have a contest to see who can blow the best bubble ring. After 5 minutes of this game they will no longer be worried about loosing the reg from their mouth.


Just a few thoughts, but let us know how it goes.

 

[chachee99]

I am in Seoul. The reason why we use the pool is for training purposes. It is where we do the confined water training for new divers. We take students to either the east coast of Ganwondoh or Jeju Island for their open water dives. You have to remember that the water in Korea is a lot different than in the tropics, besides Jeju. It has different seasons usually a lot colder, stronger current, and sometimes less visibility. Taking new divers to one of those sites can result in a bad experience about diving. However, with the proper training students are much more prepared for the dive sites in Korea. Only in the fall, during our camp sessions, is when we will do discover scuba dive courses in the ocean. Mainly because that's when the water is the warmest and has the best visibility.

Also, you must remember that the shop is located in Seoul, so a trip to the ocean takes a few hours by car to reach. Meaning that taking students on a discover scuba course to the ocean can be really expensive in order to cover the extra expenses transportation cost, food, and accomodations.

The purpose of the discover scuba dive program is to train students in the basics. How to set up gear, clearning their mask, breathing underwater, and how to equlaize properly. The goal of our discover scuba dive program is to get students used to being comfortable underwater and show them a good time. Because the pool is only 5 meters, many students will have a lot of air time underwater. This is where the activities come into play. I want the students to have fun experience about scuba diving. I believe that if the students have a fun time they will be more interested in learning more about diving.

Also this their first experience breathing underwater, which is scary for most people, but adds the rush of excitement of a feeling they've never experienced before. I want them to take that experience and have as much fun as possible.

People can go in the aquarium in Busan, city far south of Seoul. The experience there is great because they are immerced in with several different kinds of aquatic life. However, the students are only allowed to walk around the edge of the aquarium because swimming and the use of fins are prohibited. The experience is quite short, about 15 minutes, and quite expensive again considering transportation and hotel.

We have done trips to the Busan aqarium, but it must be done in larger groups in order to save on costs. So, I figure that the pool session is a great option to learn about diving for new people and having a bunch of activities will only add to the experience. Don't worry, I always hope that students are interested in us taking them to the ocean.

 

[chachee99]

Hey

I would avoid the hoolahoops. I have seen this done for open water and advanced classes and even for the open water students they found it VERY difficult not to mention an entanglement hazard. The AOW course did Ok with it, as they were taking their peek bouyancy course but you need people that are going to be calm.

With a discover scuba course you want to keep it simple so that those that are hand walking on te bottom and that have crappy bouyancy control can participate easily.

A couple of other activities that I have used. Use a ping pong ball and balance it with the spoon above it and swim across the pool. Teaches slow and carefull underwater. You can make it even harder by making the students swim upside down. PS. You may need a weighted bucket as the average student will use 10 or so before they make it to the other side

Also you can buy underwater frisbees that the younger kids seem to just love playing with. And they can play, in a over weighted mode on the bottom.

All in all, you just want to make sure that you keep the games calmer as a newb that is sucking really hard to begin with plus the exercise they do not expect has the ability to over demand the reg for air and then feel like they can't get enough air. It will not be fun for them nor will they want to get in the pool ever again.

As well you can not count on any bouyancy skills other than the BCD elevator as it takes more than the first pool session to evolve in my experiance. I have seen open water guys after 4 pools sessions and 4 ow sessions that only have a tentative grasp of how it is to be properly done at best. Basically I would not play anything that would have students have to play around in the mid water column, as it would be too much to expect in the discover scuba.

Keep in mind that in a pool that is 5m deep it is possible to cause lung expansion injuries. I have seen this happen before with another dive shop where a diver paniced on the bottom and shot to the surface holding their breath. To counteract this I have played bubble games where they remove the reg blow streams of the smallest bubbles from their lips trying to hit a target on the surface with the bubble stream. That or have a contest to see who can blow the best bubble ring. After 5 minutes of this game they will no longer be worried about loosing the reg from their mouth.


Just a few thoughts, but let us know how it goes.

Thnk you for the advice. I think I will drop the hoolahoop activity. I will look for an underwater frisbie, and some ping pong balls. I have shown the OW and AOW students how to blow rings underwater. However, many new students who are diving for the first are really scared to take their reg out of their mouth underwater. Many are still not used to blowing or making an ahh sound and instead will hold their breath because they think they'll swallow water. I guess I can find a way to try and use it as an end activity. It is a good way for students to prepare themselves for reg recovery.

Once again, thanks.

 

[chachee99]

Maybe consider a "scavenger hunt" for some specific item along the pool. Place some "identify this object/fish" type things around the pool or other similar games that would teach them situational awareness in the pool and get them to slow down and really look around them. Don't time the dive in the sense of "you have 1 minute to do this many", but see whether the class agrees on what things were when they surface. Maybe place water-proof images of fish and see how many they can identify from a chart on the wall after a 30 minute dive?

.

This is a good idea. However, the problem is the pool is not our personal property so it will be difficult to stick different fish around the pool. I think it is a good suggestion to do for the Fish ID course as well. But again, it is not our pool.

I also think that your suggestion of avoid timing the students is a good suggestion. I don't think new students should be rushed or face a time constraint.


Once again, thanks.

 

[fjpatrum]

I am in Seoul. The reason why we use the pool is for training purposes. It is where we do the confined water training for new divers. We take students to either the east coast of Ganwondoh or Jeju Island for their open water dives. You have to remember that the water in Korea is a lot different than in the tropics, besides Jeju. It has different seasons usually a lot colder, stronger current, and sometimes less visibility. Taking new divers to one of those sites can result in a bad experience about diving. However, with the proper training students are much more prepared for the dive sites in Korea. Only in the fall, during our camp sessions, is when we will do discover scuba dive courses in the ocean. Mainly because that's when the water is the warmest and has the best visibility.

Also, you must remember that the shop is located in Seoul, so a trip to the ocean takes a few hours by car to reach. Meaning that taking students on a discover scuba course to the ocean can be really expensive in order to cover the extra expenses transportation cost, food, and accomodations.

The purpose of the discover scuba dive program is to train students in the basics. How to set up gear, clearning their mask, breathing underwater, and how to equlaize properly. The goal of our discover scuba dive program is to get students used to being comfortable underwater and show them a good time. Because the pool is only 5 meters, many students will have a lot of air time underwater. This is where the activities come into play. I want the students to have fun experience about scuba diving. I believe that if the students have a fun time they will be more interested in learning more about diving.

Also this their first experience breathing underwater, which is scary for most people, but adds the rush of excitement of a feeling they've never experienced before. I want them to take that experience and have as much fun as possible.

People can go in the aquarium in Busan, city far south of Seoul. The experience there is great because they are immerced in with several different kinds of aquatic life. However, the students are only allowed to walk around the edge of the aquarium because swimming and the use of fins are prohibited. The experience is quite short, about 15 minutes, and quite expensive again considering transportation and hotel.

We have done trips to the Busan aqarium, but it must be done in larger groups in order to save on costs. So, I figure that the pool session is a great option to learn about diving for new people and having a bunch of activities will only add to the experience. Don't worry, I always hope that students are interested in us taking them to the ocean.

Wow, ChejuDo is a long way. I haven't spent much time in the water in Korea so I wasn't sure where there are and aren't likely to be "good sights". I figured Incheon might have something but wasn't sure. I've never been in the water there. Pusan is still a long way away from Seoul, so I can understand the issues with the added costs.

Your options for games are good and I'm sure you'll get more suggestions here.

 

[fjpatrum]

This is a good idea. However, the problem is the pool is not our personal property so it will be difficult to stick different fish around the pool. I think it is a good suggestion to do for the Fish ID course as well. But again, it is not our pool.

I also think that your suggestion of avoid timing the students is a good suggestion. I don't think new students should be rushed or face a time constraint.


Once again, thanks.

I wasn't thinking of permanent installations. If it's not your pool, just remove the "fish" at the end of the dive session. If they're just laminated paper pictures you can scatter them at the beginning of the dive and then have the students identify them on one dive and then spend a very short (few minutes) dive "collecting" the "specimen fish". That way the pool is clean, the students have had a couple of fun and interesting dives and they may come back again. If you want to really make it fun you can make them from foam and weight them such that they are at different depths in the water column, and look like they're swimming, rather than just resting on the bottom.

 

[chachee99]

Wow, ChejuDo is a long way. I haven't spent much time in the water in Korea so I wasn't sure where there are and aren't likely to be "good sights". I figured Incheon might have something but wasn't sure. I've never been in the water there. Pusan is still a long way away from Seoul, so I can understand the issues with the added costs.

Your options for games are good and I'm sure you'll get more suggestions here.

Incheon is located near the west coast. The west coast in Korea is extremely murky with hardly any visibility and an extremely dangerous place to dive most of the year.

 

[kasdeva]

Make them fetch coins from the bottom of the pool, when they bring a coin to the edge of the pool sucessfully, give them a shot of Jägermeister.