How to start a High School Scuba Club?

[WartedEmperor]

I am thinking about starting a high school scuba club and I was wondering what we could do besides talk about dives and maybe plan one for the weekend. If you are in a High School Scuba Club can you please tell me what it is like and what you all do?

 

[Roko]

Howdy!

I was certified in High School, and in my last year was the president of our scuba club.

Best bet is to talk to an LDS and set up a course or something for students in the club (that way it's not exclusive to only certified divers, get more people into it who might not do it otherwise...). Maybe organize a trip with the LDS to somewhere with good diving.

For example, we did all the classroom and pool work in Edmonton over weekends during the school year, and then went on a week long trip to Vancouver over spring break. There we did our open water certification dives early in the week, and organized dives for the rest of the week. It was all on a live-aboard. Already certified divers were welcome on the trip as well.

The LDS got us a good deal on this charter/course/rentals and we all had a blast!

 

[WartedEmperor]

So have it like a certification program, but talk to the LDS to see if they will lower their price and maybe cut us a deal?

 

[stairman]

They will cut a group a deal.My LDS was suppose to certify a bunch of Hooters[restaraunt] girls.Not sure if it went through.The hard part is getting the parents to give their kids the money.It would be 200.00 each [ball park] with the group.Good luck!

 

[WartedEmperor]

Yeah that would be hard to get the parents to do that, and that is not even including mask, fins, snorkel or boots. So how do the scuba clubs do it then or what do they do?

 

[Roko]

Do it the good old fashioned way, get jobs.

Maybe do some fund raising events to help further offset the costs.

 

[ucfdiver]

Yeah that would be hard to get the parents to do that, and that is not even including mask, fins, snorkel or boots. So how do the scuba clubs do it then or what do they do?

My parents made me buy my own dive gear since I was 16. It's not cheap, but if a kid wants to bad enough, they'll make it work.

 

[robint]

Good Luck. We tried this 3 years ago at our daughter's High School. We got a sponsor (school required a teacher to be involved) and we did all the paperwork, my husband is an instructor so we had that covered and had no plans to certify students only do meetings and local trips, and then the school system said no way. The reason "liability insurance" didn't allow it. We tried to explain it all, got the runaround for months, then they said NO again. We gave up.

 

[drbill]

Yep, the ugly issue of liability will undoubtedly enter into the school administrator's mind. I've even seen that happen at university level. Unfortunately the only way to do it may be to have it fall completely under the "shield" and identity of the LDS rather than the school. The school will probably not even allow the group to meet on campus or use its name.

Such a shame we have come to this. Forty years ago I taught at a private high school where more than half our students were certified SCUBA divers and I conducted marine bio labs on SCUBA. The school was strongly supportive.

 

[nwhitney2003]

When I got certified in college I received a PE credit, maybe you can work something out. If you run into resistance from the admin. play up the education aspect. Also, unfortunately some people in admin. don't take students seriously so you may need to enlist the help of a respected, educated, & responsible adult (if you can find one). Perhaps a faculty member who is already certified or someone from your LDS.