How to Engage Younger People in Diving?

[KathyV]

I am thrilled that subscribers to this thread have stopped snipping at each other regarding generational and cultural differences and have started sharing ideas about attracting and supporting new and less experienced divers, thank you!

@diversteve this discussion has revealed that cost may be the biggest deterrent preventing interested individuals from seriously pursuing diving. Suggestions have been made for the creation of a new SB forum where members can post information about ways to support and encourage new divers, along with examples of cost-saving opportunities to experience diving.

This doesn't mean sharing info about sales and specials and equipment deals, thanks to SB we already have opportunities to post that type of valuable information. This would be more like success stories for recruiting and encouraging new divers and examples of less expensive ways to enjoy diving. Diving opportunities for parents and families would also be helpful.

Would you remind us of the requirements for creating a new forum or sub-forum and provide some assistance? See the quotes below for examples of the types of information suggested.

FYI, I suggest that we avoid using the terms "younger" and "older" for the new forum because that was an unfortunate choice of mine that sparked a lot of aggression and defensiveness. terms such as "interested", "new", and "less experienced" might be better choices.

Thanks in advance for your help!

View attachment 558648 ...Our local dive group just arranged a Discovery Dive offering at the high school pool with a dive shop and had a good number of interested young people and newbies show up. We posted notices at the school, online and at the local YMCA. Takes some effort and footwork, but recruiting can work!

The Chicago Scuba Meetup, of which I’m a member, usually does local charters that are deep and for experienced folks. I suggested a charter on shallow wrecks for the Great Lakes newbies. They filled every seat (16!) on the boat and folks had a great time.

...Teen scuba diving camps or parent/kid pool dives would be awesome!..

..introduce the whole of both sexes of that age group (above) to diving. High school in the US. No cost, three gym credits towards graduation. There are at least 15 personality types, not all are suitable to become divers. Many will drop out, some will never forget the experience of breathing underwater.

...tie snorkeling excursions to discover scuba to attract people that are already comfortable in the water and interested in marine life. Something like "Book a 2-stop snorkeling trip with us and get a Discover Scuba experience for half-price!"

...Time to start a new thread that begins with an extraction of the gold from this one, and asks some targeted questions...like maybe, "What are some success stories on bringing in young folks to the hobby?"

...invite people to do a Discover Scuba. Some may poopoo DSDs being done in a pool, but in the depths of a Midwestern winter, it can be a fun couple of hours..

Pools are fine for DSDs. That’s all we have around my place because everything else is frozen half the year. I’v seen some shops do themed pool sessions too..

I arranged a DSD for my scout troop.. It was in a pool, basically 2 lanes wide and the kids still had a blast. So much so that I think we're getting 8 more people certified, and next summer we have two crews (20 youth and adults) doing scuba adventures at BSA Sea Base. If you can work out a good rate with the dive shop, a DSD is a great activity for any youth group.

Cost is a thing clearly...the main famous example is Blackbeards live-aboard cruises. They have somehow held the line at around a grand...and you can get 18-19 or so dives? I wonder if this is a business model that ought to be propagated elsewhere. For land-based operations, more 'dive hostels.' Morehead City, North Carolina has Olympus Dive Center, which had a dive lodge where one can stay quite cheaply. Utila is known for a 'backpacker culture.' Cozumel has some cheap options. Anyone know how the cheap, basic businesses associated with diving are doing in the region?

My first scuba instructor has a group that goes on organized trips; they periodically go to Panama Beach, Florida (here's a link to one such past trip; leave Friday, back Sunday; about $300 for a place to stay, 2 ocean dives and there's an optional freshwater spring dive...They've had an $845 Blue Angel Resort Cozumel trip...The local dive quarry's dive operation does Roatan trips...Their next offering is for about $1,100 dual occupancy, around 17 dives for the week, meals and 'unlimited drinks...And there are some monthly payment options! Maybe it'd be useful to compose websites profiling fairly low budget, high value trips and strive to get the word out.

Great idea! Maybe Scuba Board would consider adding a forum where members could post good dive and travel values?Safe, clean, lower-priced accommodations near dive destinations would also be useful information to share...

Some old coworkers of mine rent out rooms of their houses as AirBnBs specially geared towards divers. Close to dive shops and sites so it's convenient to crash there for a night and go diving in the morning (or vice versa). Some type of moderated spreadsheet could be good where members suggest or name places with info so they can be contacted to verify prices and availability. I guess that's what yelp is for, but a list on here would be nice

It might also be useful to compile some information on what you can expect to spend to get certified in various places, both to help budget-conscious students/ young folks just starting out to get a sense of the all-in cost, and also to help them identify a good deal (vs. one too good to be true) and figure out how to trim off a little (e.g. when to buy used.)..

...We also try to lend people kit, especially cylinders and lead, as buying it and particularly storing it is a problem with today’s housing...encourage young instructors so that young people are not faced with taking a course from someone older than their father...

 

[drrich2]

This doesn't mean sharing info about sales and specials and equipment deals, thanks to SB we already have opportunities to post that type of valuable information.

If you do such a thing, and want to make it inclusive and not sound patronizing to the whippersnappers, I'd suggest perhaps calling it 'The Budget Diver.' After all, it's be presumptuous and off-putting to assume everyone 30+ grosses 50 grand+/year and has few expenses. Not everyone is equally materially blessed, and many people have less cash in retirement.

I think letting people post about cheap trips would be useful. Yes, they can post elsewhere, but those posts are mixed in with more high-end offerings. And the trip reports will be posted in their regional sections (e.g.: Cozumel sub-forum), so this section otherwise is in danger of being dead.

Showing people who you can do on a budget would be valuable. They might like to see price tags for:
1.) 3 Day weekend trip to Panama City Beach, like I linked earlier.
2.) Stay at Dive Lodge with Olympus Dive Center in NC.
3.) Blackbeards.
4.) Suites Bahia and Dive with Martin (included gear rental I think?). Is there a hostel option?
5.) Turquoise Bay Resort, Roatan.
6.) Utila - maybe a hostel.
7.) Shore diving California - if you live there. And California live-aboard and day boat options.

If I were 20 years old, and considering whether scuba was worth my time and effort to pursue, I'd want price tags for those options (with airfare), and the time and training to get OW, AOW and maybe Nitrox cert.s. That might answer my answer. If everything else is great about scuba, but I can't afford it, so what?

 

[Esprise Me]

@drrich2 Did you mean to write "and not sound patronizing to the whippersnappers"?

 

[chillyinCanada]

If you do such a thing, and want to make it inclusive and sound patronizing to the whippersnappers, I'd suggest perhaps calling it 'The Budget Diver.' After all, it's be presumptuous and off-putting to assume everyone 30+ grosses 50 grand+/year and has few expenses. Not everyone is equally materially blessed, and many people have less cash in retirement.

I think letting people post about cheap trips would be useful. Yes, they can post elsewhere, but those posts are mixed in with more high-end offerings. And the trip reports will be posted in their regional sections (e.g.: Cozumel sub-forum), so this section otherwise is in danger of being dead.

Showing people who you can do on a budget would be valuable. They might like to see price tags for:
1.) 3 Day weekend trip to Panama City Beach, like I linked earlier.
2.) Stay at Dive Lodge with Olympus Dive Center in NC.
3.) Blackbeards.
4.) Suites Bahia and Dive with Martin (included gear rental I think?). Is there a hostel option?
5.) Turquoise Bay Resort, Roatan.
6.) Utila - maybe a hostel.
7.) Shore diving California - if you live there. And California live-aboard and day boat options.

If I were 20 years old, and considering whether scuba was worth my time and effort to pursue, I'd want price tags for those options (with airfare), and the time and training to get OW, AOW and maybe Nitrox cert.s. That might answer my answer. If everything else is great about scuba, but I can't afford it, so what?

Ya, but why would you want to go to Turquoise Bay? 20ish year olds would want to be in West End or Utila. And that can easily be done for very little, not including airfare.

 

[KathyV]

If you do such a thing, and want to make it inclusive and sound patronizing to the whippersnappers, I'd suggest perhaps calling it 'The Budget Diver.' After all, it's be presumptuous and off-putting to assume everyone 30+ grosses 50 grand+/year and has few expenses. Not everyone is equally materially blessed, and many people have less cash in retirement.

I think letting people post about cheap trips would be useful. Yes, they can post elsewhere, but those posts are mixed in with more high-end offerings. And the trip reports will be posted in their regional sections (e.g.: Cozumel sub-forum), so this section otherwise is in danger of being dead.

Showing people who you can do on a budget would be valuable. They might like to see price tags for:
1.) 3 Day weekend trip to Panama City Beach, like I linked earlier.
2.) Stay at Dive Lodge with Olympus Dive Center in NC.
3.) Blackbeards.
4.) Suites Bahia and Dive with Martin (included gear rental I think?). Is there a hostel option?
5.) Turquoise Bay Resort, Roatan.
6.) Utila - maybe a hostel.
7.) Shore diving California - if you live there. And California live-aboard and day boat options.

If I were 20 years old, and considering whether scuba was worth my time and effort to pursue, I'd want price tags for those options (with airfare), and the time and training to get OW, AOW and maybe Nitrox cert.s. That might answer my answer. If everything else is great about scuba, but I can't afford it, so what?

Very true, we are not young but we are always interested in knowing how much things will cost and don't say No to a bargain, thank you!

 

[Bigbella]

@diversteve this discussion has revealed that cost may be the biggest deterrent preventing interested individuals from seriously pursuing diving. Suggestions have been made for the creation of a new SB forum where members can post information about ways to support and encourage new divers, along with examples of cost-saving opportunities to experience diving.

I find it vaguely humorous the popular spectre of cost. Teenagers of today, have far more disposable income than I ever had at that age; and every trek into the local downtown or airport, reinforces that view. Thousand dollar phones; 2K laptops; sneakers in the hundreds of dollars; three hundred dollar headphones -- all far more than I ever paid for regulators and wetsuits, even adjusted for inflation. It's more about priorities and an increasingly sedentary culture, regardless of the number of outdoorsy bumper stickers and REIs spied from the interstate . . .

 

[Jcp2]

I think people in downtown San Francisco tend to have more disposable income that most other people, teenagers or not.

 

[Sean Walberg]

Teenagers of today, have have far more disposable income than I ever had; and every trek into the local downtown or airport, reinforces that view.

I'm skeptical of the cost thing too. As a relative beginner to this hobby, who has a teen that dives with me too, there's a convenience and familiarness aspect that's being ignored. Ask him if he wants to go diving, he's all in. Ask him to do some planning, well then...

Even as an adult who does OK financially and is willing to do research, there's a lot of inside knowledge needed to book even a local dive trip. Where to get gear? Which is the charter I want to go through? Do I meet their vague list of requirements (I'm AOW certified, but do I have "deep diving experience"? How do I get that experience if not?) If my son weren't going with me, would I know anyone there and get paired up with someone who won't like a newbie? Having an organized group of people I know, or at least know one of, removes a lot of those barriers.

IMHO people need to put themselves in the beginners mindset and make sure that the likely objections are addressed.

 

[Bigbella]

I think people in downtown San Francisco tend to have more disposable income that most other people, teenagers or not.

I am not in SF any longer; wasn't referring to SF; and not all of California is the Silicon Valley. I was visiting FLA last year, and a bunch of kids in Riviera Beach -- definitely, the wrong side of the tracks, and the locale of most dive shops -- were sporting very expensive Nikes and iPhones, just outside of the projects . . .

 

[drrich2]

Ya, but why would you want to go to Turquoise Bay? 20ish year olds would want to be in West End or Utila. And that can easily be done for very little, not including airfare.

Good example. The resorts are what we see more trip reports about. What you describe sounds great, but a newbie wouldn't know of it or to inquire about it.

Teenagers of today, have have far more disposable income than I ever had; and every trek into the local downtown or airport, reinforces that view. Thousand dollar phones; 2K laptops; sneakers in the hundreds of dollars; three hundred dollar headphones --

Teens aren't likely to independently book dive trips, and a lot of people don't live close to local oceanic diving. Quarries and lakes alone won't cut it for most. Parents may pay for those things you listed (to be fair, phones are part of the social functional platform in modern society, computers and the Internet likewise plus a lot of work, including school works, is done on them), but they're not likely to send their minor out of the country to dive in 'shark-infested' waters - and they won't get certified to go with him, either.

The cost thing is big for college students and millennials, who will be traveling on their own dime. Some of them bearing around 30 grand in student loan debt on top of other expenses.

As a relative beginner to this hobby, who has a teen that dives with me too, there's a convenience and familiarness aspect that's being ignored. Ask him if he wants to go diving, he's all in. Ask him to do some planning, well then...

Great point. Again I say it's young adults achieving financial independence who are the target demographic, not teenagers, but laying out a trip plan with costs and logistics is important.

That's why I've added itemized and total trip costs to my trip reports. Before anyone gets excited about doing a trip like mine, look at the price tag. Look how I got that figure and how it'd differ for you (e.g.: airfare). And part of why I'm pretty shameless about asking practical questions of other's trip reports - what if I'm chubby/not in great shape, air conditioning mandatory, only speak English, is toilet paper availability really a thing in the Philippines, is the ice in your drink gonna make you sick, etc...

I think we should push southeastern Florida diving more; most U.S. citizens don't own a passport, and I doubt know how they're used or the process for getting one. Might help to mention destinations you don't need one for (e.g.: Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands).

If you get a forum section going for this, consider what you want in a 'sticky.' Maybe a discussion of passports, how to get, approximate cost, passport book vs. passport card, and what it's like to go through Customs (including that ridiculous 'pick up your bags on the carousel, then take them through Security and turn them in again...at the same airport). The need to allow a couple ours between flights coming back when you've got to clear customs.

I think most new divers are best served going with a dive group, dive club or relative their first time or two. Or a cruise ship.