Scuba a Winter Sport?

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icechip

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Location
Maine
# of dives
200 - 499
Our community's local high school cancelled their regular winter sports seasons this year and the building's AD (Athletic Director) wants to try and offer some things to keep the kids active (but in an individual or socially distanced way, of course!) He approached me about the idea of having scuba pool training and certification courses offered. The school is considering other programs/certifications too such as wilderness first aid, kayak rescue skills, offshore cold water survival, lifeguard training, CPR, cross country skiing, basic climbing and mountaineering, and snowshoeing.

Got me thinking that other LDS/Instructors might approach schools in similar situations to offer something like that. The AD here said that there were funds available (either saved from no uniform purchases, bus travel, paying officials, etc to COVID-school-related $).

Just a thought to maybe bring in some more to the sport.
 
I dive in the winter. Pool work for new students is easy.

The issue is the OW part of it. Some can dive winters in wetsuits but most combine OW with drysuit when doing full certs. It is doable assuming you can find a shop that rents drysuits and has the right sizes for high school aged kids.

And of course extra class for each and extra rental equipment raises cost.

With that said, I like it.
 
Like formernuke, I too dive year round. Winter diving is a relative term though. to me winter water is 36 - 38 degrees which is drysuit temps for sure. (done in a 7mm semidry up until this year) as you're in maine I will assume you're also talking same temps. might be better to offer an intro to scuba and keep new divers in a wetsuit, inside, in a pool.
 
I got certified in the 90s through my high school in southern California. A local dive shop provided the gear and instruction. The school provided the pool, a classroom, and PE credit.

Everything was paid for by the parents as part of a package which included beach certification dives and gear rentals. My class had 20+ kids in it.

The shop is still in business and still partnering with high schools. I was on one of their trips with 20+ kids and the biggest issue is that kids don't own their own wetsuits so just about every one of them came up shivering and blue in mid-50's sea water.
 
I dive year round at Midwestern quarries. Has to be drysuit unless you are very hardy. You also have to account for keeping warm in between dives, making sure divers have a warm boat coat or some way to keep the wind off them while changing, etc.
 
Winter diving may suck majorly if you dive wet. Particularly during the SI.

In a DS, it's just a question of choosing proper undergarments. And in green water country, the viz is so much better during the cold season that it's worth the occasional brainfreeze.
 
Dive season just started here. Summer is like diving in pea soup. Good idea re school activity!
 
Like formernuke, I too dive year round. Winter diving is a relative term though. to me winter water is 36 - 38 degrees which is drysuit temps for sure. (done in a 7mm semidry up until this year) as you're in maine I will assume you're also talking same temps. might be better to offer an intro to scuba and keep new divers in a wetsuit, inside, in a pool.

That's what they're doing. It would be a certification class at the school's classrooms and pool to replace their regular winter sports seasons like wrestling or basketball. The open water portion of the course would likely be completed the following spring or summer.
 
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