Your local group: what meeting topics?

[DaveO]

Over in the Mid-Atlantic Bottom Feeders forum we're putting together a monthly face-2-face meeting of local divers to discuss diving. The general theme so far has been about continuing education, altho we're not above general discussion topics. The ultimate goal is to meet divers in the area so people have a list of potential buddies to call.

Another thing we're not above is: plagiarism. Do you have a local group? What meeting topics have been successful?

Your thoughts and ideas, especially "what went wrong / what went right" comments, greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
DaveO

 

[dotyj]

I'm really new to our group and at the moment the only non-certified member. I've been to one meeting since deciding to take up scuba diving, our next is day after tomorrow.

The topic of discussion at our last meeting was tides and currents in the Puget Sound and how important it is to know them. The DMs and instructors were quick to point out the mishaps they'd had in the past due to current problems.

It was a fun night. I'm looking forward to the next meeting.

 

[shellbird]

We meet to dive and are having our first official "get together" soon but I think diving is the topic of conversation anyway. Good food and good beer also seems to be popular!

 

[AquaTec]

what a great discussion idea. i ran a dive club for years and finding topics was always very difficult.


any ideas out there from other club members

 

[MechDiver]

AquaTec once bubbled...
what a great discussion idea. i ran a dive club for years and finding topics was always very difficult.


any ideas out there from other club members

You being in the same boat as I am (cold water, no, not that Calif wimp stuff, COLD water) we have had a couple good discussions on argon. Got together 3 or 4 different styles of bottles and attachments and went over pros/cons of each.

Again, for drysuit diving, aluminum tanks vs steel. And a sure hit, say you no longer dive with a snorkle!

Phil

 

[seaangel]

Being in the Nursing profession, I would recommend a meeting agenda that we sometimes use, a journal club. We review particular topics in Nursing Journals and discuss them. Why not something along that line from some of the Dive Magazines?

 

[art.chick]

Because the main focus of my nifty club is diving on wrecks, topics of preservation and salvage are always interesting during the meetings. There is talk of law, as the person who discovers a wreck, the local governing bodies, & other parties often have to decide who the booty may belong to. (FYI, the club does not, to my knowledge, salvage from wrecks that are considered dive sites. THere are lots of wrecks, however that are NOT usually diveable because they are in shipping ports & other places recreation divers can't go w/o permission.) Our group obtains permission to dive these wrecks, salvage & preserve historical items. The artifacts are presented to the public with information for educational purposes.)

There are videos & slide shows of wreck diving & salvage. The meetings are always stimulating fodder for conversation even among non-divers! There is no club I would rather dive with.

 

[otter-cat]

My dive club sometimes has one or more of the more experienced members put together a short presentation on something related to diving for the less experienced members to learn from. These aren't major lectures, just brief discussions on a topic, followed by questions.

Some of the topics we've covered are:

Local spearfishing/crabbing laws & regulations
Save-a-dive kits
Underwater cameras
Tides

I must confess that sometimes the presentations can go on a little too long for my taste, but they've all had good information. I think that the key is keeping them short, so the meeting doesn't seem too much like a classroom lecture.

And of course, we discuss upcoming dives and ideas for more dives!

 

[MSP Rescue Diver]

I've only been to a couple of meetings so far, but the dive club meetings I've been to have featured guest speakers.

You can an idea from their website of the type of speakers and activities that go on.

Marc

 

[chiara]

How to get rid of our alcooholic instructor?

Is that a good enough subject?

Unfortunately I'm not joking, and some of the regulars, at least those who are already certified, are trying to organize a big "closed-doors" meeting in order to decide what to do.

Some of us have already moved to a new club (will post a report later on).