Now if you are reading that title and thinking… don’t most people try SCUBA at 5 Mile… well… you might have a point. The thing is… this is a specialized 5 Mile Edition as in Summer Camp!
So 5 Mile where we hold a lot of the winter classes and try SCUBA sessions is also a Children’s Camp. During the summer, every week for 8 weeks they have a different set of boys and girls. One week is boys, next is girls, and so on. These weeks are quite interesting sometimes. The things those kids say are quite hilarious!
Their ages seem to range from like 11-12 on the bottom side to around 15 or so on the top side. Truthfully, I’ve just gathered that by talking to them. Most weeks there are about 4-5 groups of mostly 8 kids per group. That last group tends to be smaller because how often do you get an even number?
The kids come in, sign a waiver, sit on the side of the pool, and wait. If they are in the first group, they are just waiting for fins and mask. If they are a subsequent group, they wait for the previous group to finish.
So, they sign the waiver, get fins and mask, and then we don them with a BCD and tank. They get the general rundown on the regulator and what to do should it free flow. We teach them how to not flood their mask by making sure they get their hair out of the mask seal.
Truthfully, that is the hardest one, even with the boys. They don’t realize that even just a view pieces of hair in their mask seal line could cause flooding. Then we have them breathe off the regulator to sound like Darth Vader, bend over and breathe, sit on the floor and breathe, and then they get to actually try diving.
It’s truthfully a lot of fun.
Girls versus Boys
Now, if you are anyone who knows anything… you’ll know that boys and girls are different. WAIT! WHAT? I know, I just blew your mind, right? haha. What I mean is the boys are a little more willing to try SCUBA sometimes than the girls. You have girls who are a little more apprehensive about actually trying SCUBA.
Then comes the question we discuss most every year, truthfully, after a lot of the sessions… are the boys better or the girls better? Now not so much in the actual SCUBA stuff, nope, just in overall general manners. It’s always quite fun to compare and contrast the different weeks. I think if you want to know the answer to that question… you probably should ask one of us in person because I’m not about to spill the beans on here. This is the world wide web after all. Who knows who is reading it!
Funnies
Hello, have you been around this group when a funny hasn’t happened? Hotel issues, car issues, food issues, etc. I mean, seriously. If you think you can say no to that… then you need to hang around this group a little more often, please!
- Nicole (that’s me) left her dive boots at home, so she borrowed a pair of Grady‘s old dive boots. On the right foot where your big toe sits, my toe just about poked through. Doug looked at me and asked if I was from Topeka (say it slowly…)
- Student Question: How do you get air in the tanks?
Justin‘s answer: We have a little munchkin that pumps really fast. We keep him full of sugar. (Actually, I think the kid almost believed that….) - I had on a SCUBAPRO Rashguard and one of the kids said, Oh, You’re a SCUBA pro. I laughed. Well technically SCUBAPRO a brand like Nike, but yes, I am a certified SCUBA diver.
- Handing over the regulator to the kids constantly saying… You’ll want that (in the best southern drawl imaginable).
- Sending Dan messages every Wednesday to remind him it’s 5 Mile even when he was in Curaçao
- Bringing up jokes from last year about “Is Doug on the Bus.” Apparently last year they were “waiting on Doug” while he was sitting on the bus. Finally someone asked. So this year, they constantly brought that up. Yes, he was on the bus except for the week he was in Curaçao.
- Sending pictures to the group in Curaçao of ice cream since that’s the ritual after 5 mile…
And so much more. I know something is getting forgotten. My camp people… help me out, please!
Finally, one last thought… we’ve discussed Curaçao quite a bit. Where are my Curaçao blog posts from those who attended and were assigned blogs? Gosh, we all want to know about Curaçao 😉
Love let the kiddos try scuba