DIR Mentoring Group formation?

[DocWong]

Hi,

I'd like to know if this would be a desired thing. I'm considering starting a mentoring program for divers, in the SF Bay Area, that are either thinking of doing Fundies or have signed up for Fundies or need any encouragement or support to pass Fundies and would like some mentoring from other divers.

The vision I have is that anyone is welcome to come to periodic meetings where we can answer questions, help with gear selection and setup, offer support and encouragement, etc. Also have pool sessions and ocean dives so divers can get used to new gear and dive with other DIR divers.

I know this helped me a lot before I took Fundies and the support I got from friends was invaluable.

Case in point, a friend of one of my dive buddies, just took Fundies and would have failed miserable except for the support she had and with the super understanding of her instructor, Beto Nava...incredible guy!!!! Anyway, this gal came into Fundies, never having dived a backplate and with a new drysuit and apparently not much time ever diving in a drysuit. She came to the class with her backplate still in the wrapper! By day 2 in the pool, she was just about in tears. With some more gear changes, she did much better during Day 1 in the ocean. Beto let her not do Day 2 in the ocean, otherwise she would have failed the class and gave her a respite so she could get her skills up to par. My buddy and I have taken her under our wing and will be doing pool sessions and some ocean dives with her to get her up to speed.

When our team did Fundies, we were already pretty solid...or so we thought yet we cried "uncle, go ahead and send us back to NAUI open water" a few times. So I can only imagine what it would be like for others.

I took Fundies just over a year ago, so it's all still new to me and I certainly remember what it was like being a newbie-fundie

After Fundies and even after passing Fundies with a Tech Rating, it all still wasn't very natural for me, I thought I'd never get to the skill levels I observed in others. Now I don't even think about it and it's been a whole new world of divng for me. Getting these benefits, I certainly want others to experieince that too.

 

[TSandM]

Doc, I think this is a super idea. I tried to start something like this on the DIR Explorers Board, which was a list of DIR resources in various areas, but it never really took off.

I think a lot of people get on a board like this and start reading and seeing references to this thing called "DIR" and "Fundies", and they may even have enough curiosity to do some searching and read some threads and think, "Wow, that sounds interesting . . ." But they don't know any DIR divers, don't know how to find any, and they never pursue things any further.

If various areas had stickies of "DIR-curious friendly" divers who could be contacted just to talk, or to dive with people who are intrigued with the system, we might make it more accessible.

I try to watch for anybody who looks like they are intrigued but needing some support, and I do what I can to reach out to those people. If they're local to me, I get in the water with them; if they aren't, I try to put them in touch with whoever I know from the board might be close to them. But it would be better if people identified themselves as being interested in spending the time to do some mentoring.

Good luck with your project.

 

[redrover]

Were I anywhere near SF I would be very interested in the getting mentored.

 

[jeckyll]

Great idea Doc. I'm glad that you're taking the initiative to set up something like this.

 

[DocWong]

Thanks, in our area, there are quite a few divers getting more and more interested in this and with the help of other divers, I think this may be popular!

Doc, I think this is a super idea. I tried to start something like this on the DIR Explorers Board, which was a list of DIR resources in various areas, but it never really took off.

I think a lot of people get on a board like this and start reading and seeing references to this thing called "DIR" and "Fundies", and they may even have enough curiosity to do some searching and read some threads and think, "Wow, that sounds interesting . . ." But they don't know any DIR divers, don't know how to find any, and they never pursue things any further.

If various areas had stickies of "DIR-curious friendly" divers who could be contacted just to talk, or to dive with people who are intrigued with the system, we might make it more accessible.

I try to watch for anybody who looks like they are intrigued but needing some support, and I do what I can to reach out to those people. If they're local to me, I get in the water with them; if they aren't, I try to put them in touch with whoever I know from the board might be close to them. But it would be better if people identified themselves as being interested in spending the time to do some mentoring.

Good luck with your project.

 

[DocWong]

Were I anywhere near SF I would be very interested in the getting mentored.

Hm...you're in Kona, Hawaii? I could be persuaded.

 

[DocWong]

Great idea Doc. I'm glad that you're taking the initiative to set up something like this.

Thanks, I'll keep everyone updated on how it's going here in the SF Bay Area.

 

[DIR-Atlanta]

A couple of guys in the Atlanta area started a DIR group for exactly the same reasons as you. They took Fundies together in 2003, and decided that a DIR "support group" was something that the Atlanta area needed badly. DIR-Atlanta was formed on March 1, 2003 with just three members, and now we have about 6-8 "active" members who all dive together on a regular basis, plus a mailing list with perhaps 30 or so others who are interested in DIR diving.

We're not restrictive about who joins the group. The only requirement is that they must have some interest in DIR diving, whether they are just "tire kickers" or have taken formal training. We do encourage all our members to get DIR training at some point, and have even occasionally arranged to bring in GUE instructors to do Fundies courses in our area. We try to arrange pool practice sessions and local dives whenever we can to help people with their skills. I think a similar type of group might work in your situation as well.

I do have one question though - isn't BAUE still around? Would that group not fill this need, or are you after a different target audience? I'm sure SF is probably big enough to support more than one DIR group, but you might try hooking up with the BAUE group first, if they are still active as a club.

 

[frankmzd]

Great idea! I'd definitely be interested in participating in something like this (as a mentee (if that is a word?!) to start with ).

 

[yangnome]

Sounds like a good idea Doc. I've found a number of the Monterey DIR crew to be very welcoming and help with gear suggestions, big brother dives and such. It's good to have that kind of support and exposure to DIR-type diving. Prior to diving with them, I was interested in the system, but the expense in changing out gear and paying for the class was a bit intimidating. Some people took me out, lent me gear, and worked with me, which made that transition a lot easier (if not easier on the wallet).