Woman Divers Conference

[paula paz]

Hello girls !!!! (and boys too)

Here in Chile i'm the manager of a woman scuba divers club, totally amateur, and for the next weekend i'm invited to give a conference about "Woman and Diving" for a diving fair
I'm a really scare because i never did something like that.
i'm all ready working in issues like pregnancy, Breast feeding, breast implants, menstruation during diving activities (DAN has been very helpful) but only in a Physiological way.
Would you help me with some ideas? Gear is a relevant issue? what about family?

TKS!!!

 

[CUunderH2O]

Regarding gear issues, women tend to get colder faster than men do, so adequate exposure protection (wetsuit or drysuit) is important, as is the proper fit of both. For some petite women, standard-sized tanks are too big and they prefer the smaller steel tanks. Some women have trouble finding comfortable BC's because of anatomical differences from men (narrow shoulders, breasts, small waist), so it helps to try out different brands or brands that are fully adjustable to be able to fit you.

Hope this helps.

 

[Firediver]

Different dive accessories for the drysuit.. men definitly havethe upper hand for longer dives because of a little device called a pee valve.. not fair.. .. Other equipment issues I ran into that were mentioned above is mask fit, and mouth piece on the reg being too big.. even tough it's a standard size. Also bouyancy issues woman may have diving as we tend to need more weight then most men.

 

[bubblelogist]

wow I would love to have that kind of conference nearby. There is many topics that could be interesting... I would love to hear about women divers that made a contribution for the sport. that could be really interesting.

 

[kittyjg]

In regard to family - tell women to not feel guilty if they take time to do something they want to do. The family is important, but Mom needs to be herself as well. Not just Mom and Wife. Remember, "if Mom ain't happy, no one is happy". It took me several years to accept this premise. My husband is totally behind me in this regard.

 

[nauifins73]

I agree with kittyjg about no guilt feelings - a tough one to get over. Another issue I have found is weighting. So many guys don't think we (or I) don't need as much wieghts as I use. We are different. I would rather fin up than fight staying down.

Please let us know how your conference goes. Hey ladies wouldn't that be fun to put together one here in the states or maybe regional ones or part of some the area dive shows???

Becky