How to Attract Interest in Scuba from the Local Scouts?

[fyue]

I am working with my LDS to set up a program for Scouting in my area. I have put together literature to offer the Scuba Diving Merit Badge, and am offering sessions for DSD/Bubblemaker (I am PADI, if you have not guessed) as well as Seal Team. I want to provide something for all Scouting youth.

I have presented to a couple district meetings and the leaders that attended were excitied with what we are doing, but there has been little followup to these meetings so far. I am interested in seeing what other instructors and dive shops have done to keep the momentum going and get more of the Scouts (and Venturers) involved.

I am trying to attract more interest by scheduling a DSD the same day of their summer swim test session at the pool. I hope to attend some troop meetings for show and tell to attract interest and am looking at other options available. Being on the NC coast, I feel that there is an opportunity lost if the local Scouts do not experience some great diving in their own backyards.

What I am looking for is some feedback on what has been successful in your area and what has not. What else can I be doing to get that initial interest converted to activity and how can I keep it going over time? I appreciate any discussion on this topic. Thanks!

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I am in the process of doing the same thing but with the Girl Scouts. This year I am not teaching OW classes. Only AOW and specialties. But what I have done with the GS is develop a 3 phase snorkeling and skin diving program. It began with one session scheduled for 15-20 kids. The first one was wildly successful. We had 17 on a waiting list. We had to add 4 more sessions and have an arrangement with the facility to allow us to do two programs. One after the other with another phase one session followed by phase two for those who have completed the first one. As it stands now we are looking at putting perhaps 150 and as many as 200 kids through this. Phase 3 will introduce them to scuba in some fashion. Whether a discover type deal or with me just demoing it for them.

Snorkeling and skin diving is the basis for our program. Out of those 150-200 kids this year I feel that it gives me a good base to draw from for OW next year along with their parents, siblings, and friends. The other thing is that snorkeling and skin diving are much less expensive for them to do and build interest in UW activities.

This was a barrier to a program for a Boy Scout troop my brother has. Times are tough and they just did not have the money to invest in gear, travel, certs, etc. But snorkel gear is easier to swallow and include everyone. Get them comfortable on snorkel gear and with skin diving and you will have better divers as a result.

 

[fyue]

Jim,

That sounds like a good idea. The cost of the class is certainly a barrier. Our prices in my area are pretty darn low currently, and I am offering a 10% discount for all Scout personnel. What did you have to do to convince so many people to sign up for your program and are you offering it gratis? I would like to hear how you have broken up your phases in terms of skills, time involved, etc. Thanks!

---

I just posted an article on my blog that discusses the merits of Scouting and scuba diving. Take a look...

Boy Scouts and Scuba Diving

 

[irmo]

Fyue: Great job trying to get interest from the Scouts. I believe that scuba is a program that is perfect for scouting, but there are challenges. I am a former Scoutmaster and current Venture Crew Advisor. Jim identified the biggest problem right off the bat. The money involved is a pretty big investment for most scouts and scouters. Scouts are a frugal bunch for the most part I laid out a program for our Venture Crew and the budget was the biggest reason it was not pursued. Even if you can lower the training costs, the cost of gear and on-going participation is still pretty high. Doable, but high. One approach might be to get the troop/crew to combine a recurring fund raising activity (pancake breakfast, car wash, etc) with the scuba activity to subsidize the cost.

The next challenge is the time commitment. Remember most kids are not doing just scouting, so to add scuba to the already long list of extracurricular activities is also a pretty big commitment.

Together these things provide sort of a limited audience for the program.

A long term lure is the diving program at Florida Sea Base. So coupling the training with a planned summer trip to Sea Base (a year out) might inspire participation in the troop.

The last insight I can provide is that with scouting groups, its all about the volunteers. So while your proposed program may be an awesome idea, getting someone to pick it up and run with it at the troop/crew might be difficult. 90% of the work is being done by 5% of the leaders. So adding something to their plates is hard to do. A ton of work goes into running a successful troop or crew. Be prepared to step in and run this for them. Good luck.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Frank, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. In order to get so many people interested I did not do anything. All I did was offer the course and the local council ran with it. They advertised it in their course catalog with enough of a lead in and it went crazy. Now that we have one out of the way interest went up even more. They arranged the pool and classroom, did all the advertising, handled the registrations, and collected the money. I tied it in with their focus this year on conservation and careers for women that involve diving. It is set up in 4 hour blocks with 2 in the classroom and 2 in the pool. I limit the enrollment to 20 per group. The way we have it set up now is in three phases and they must complete one phase before moving on to the next.

I open the first session with a power point I created and the first slides are pics of Sylvia Earle, Eugenie Clark, Jill Heinerth, Valerie Van Heest, and a few others from the WDHOF. I ask them who has heard of or recognizes any of these women. No one raised their hand. Then I asked them if they heard of Paris Hilton, Snooki, Britney Spears, or Lindsey Lohan. Every one had and I told them that was a sad commentary on society and then filled them in on just who these women are. That grabbed them. Because at some point each of those had to put on a mask and snorkel to begin part of their careers. Then we go over basic snorkeling and skin diving gear, a short history of it, safety rules and procedures, and what the pool session will consist of.

The first pool session is snorkeling skills. Mask clear, snorkel clear, and use of fins. Four kicks - flutter, frog, dolphin, and back kick. We to two laps with each. Next is skin diving and equalizing. We do two more laps with two skin dives in each lap. Then underwater swims two laps using legs only and try to go as far on one breath as they can. I then have them do a surface swim to an object like a golf ball and execute a skin dive to retrieve it and swim it back underwater. All this while staying with their buddy. I break them up into 3 groups and while one group is getting instruction the other two observe or hang out in the 94 degree therapy pool that is also there.

That is phase one

Phase two has more classroom dealing with more efficient use of breathing and pacing themselves. Specimen documentation and collection, basic photo techniques while snorkeling and relaxing to dive and take a picture. We now get into more conservation issues and interacting with aquatic life.

Phase two pool is more underwater swimming and relaxation to aid in that. More object retrieval, taking photos, and better buddy skills including communicating with hand signals and slates.

Phase three classroom introduces water rescue skills and tows. Assisting a person in panic and the risks of that. Searching for a person who may be missing is also discussed and how to mark a location. We then do some discussion on what they think they would do and why. In the pool we will go over these scenarios and at this level the focus on assisting some one who may pose a risk to them is use of flotation devices, ropes, poles, buoys, etc.

This summer I am also looking at doing some things at their summer camps that have pools and lakes with them doing conservation studies. Fish counts, plant life types, etc.

 

[Kryssa]

Wow Jim! I have always loved the water and as a young girl I know your program would have been a huge hit with me!!! I can see why it's so popular. Keep up the good work!

 

[KJackson60]

Hello fyue, I am an Assistant Scout Master and Venturing Crew Advisor to a Troop and Crew unit with active SCUBA programs. A little history first. We began our program in 2006 because of interest from the youth in SCUBA diving. We went through out Council Summer Camp program where we had 5 youth and 1 adult (me) complete their OW certification course. At that time it became very obvious to me that for the youth to get everything out of SCUBA that it had to offer that we needed to develop some kind of program to encourage them to continue to dive. We have done so and I feel have been mostly successful in out efforts. Since that first outing we have had a total to date of 20 youth and 4 adults complete their OW cert with 6 youth and 2 adults continue to complete their AOW cert. Our retention has also been pretty good. At any given time we will have 10-11 youth actively diving between the two units.

I feel that the reason we have been successful so far is that we offer more than certification opportunities but also give the youth the chance to go and dive just for the adventure. Our yearly program breaks down as follows; Feb. or march we offer a DSD or similar experience for anyone who may think they are interested in diving. June has a day of "Fun Dives" for currently certified divers in a local dive quarry or inland lake. August we offer a charter onto Lake Michigan for some wreck diving. Late September/early Nov. is another "Fun Dive" opportunity. We have also been to Sea Base and have another adventure next summer being planned. We also offer certification opportunities for OW, AOW and Rescue levels. By offering the youth the opportunities to dive and by trying to keep it varied we keep it "new" every year.

My advise to you. Since you seem to be affiliated with a LDS I would contact the local BSA Council Summer Camp Director and see if you can develop a program of DSD, OW and AOW certification courses through their summer camp program. This was how we were initially exposed to the sport. This will give you access to a greater number of youth and just as importantly interested adult volunteers. Just as important, also offer additional dive opportunities for those who have completed their certifications and want to dive. These may consist of local dive quarries/lakes and, since you are located in NC. a charter to Wreck Alley. Sea Base and Black Beards Cruises are also good programs for the youth divers wanting more. Also, a "Scout Discount" for registered members is very important as many of these youth and adults don't have the deepest of pockets. We have been very fortunate to have developed relationships with Dive Operators and Dive Shops that allow us to do what we do.

Not all units, in fact most units, can do a SCUBA program on their own. They just don't have the resources or number of interested people to make it happen. By having a program that is council wide you will have a much better chance of success.

PS; What Jim Lapenta is doing sounds AWESOME! Another place to look is the SCUBAJAM website. This is a SCUBA event for Scouts held in Virginia. Looks like a great time!

 

[fisheater]

Another thing is that the B.S.A. program is really run by the boys themselves. THEY decide what merit badges they wish to work on. THEY decide what activities their troops and crews will be engaged in.

THEY are the ones that you have to "sell" the program to.

How about setting up a DSD program at the local summer camp(s), accompanied by promotional pictures, videos and handouts?

 

[mmmeenehan]

What I am looking for is some feedback on what has been successful in your area and what has not. What else can I be doing to get that initial interest converted to activity and how can I keep it going over time? I appreciate any discussion on this topic. Thanks!

Some local dive shops sponsor Venture Crews. That is one way of keeping the interest going after initial training.
If you do a DSD, you should include the Scuba BSA award. The additional requirements for S/BSA beyond DSD are minimal.
Once you establish a good relationships with units it will build itself due to word of mouth and younger siblings coming up through the program.
Work with your local BSA Council to conduct a scuba cert/merit badge course using their facilities.
Participate in the upcoming VA ScubaJam (Labor Day weekend at Lake Rawlings).
Join your Counci's Aquatics Committee to get integrated into their programs.

Mike Meenehan
National Capital Area Council

 

[C17A]

My first ever use of scuba equipment was in a swimming merit badge class. At the end of the course we were allowed to paddle around in the water and breathe on a scuba tank, while wearing a life preserver and a mask, for about 5 minutes. With the life preserver on, you couldn't get under more than two feet. We were in a freshwater lake, and jumped in off the dock, with a rope tied to the tank to reign in any problems. That was in 1971, and it planted the seed that still flourishes. IIRC it was a USD single hose regulator with an AL80 tank with backpack. As an introduction, it worked.