By Adam Gold
The Athletics Department will offer a weekend class in scuba diving starting third trimester, part of an effort to broaden studentsâ exposure to less conventional sports, organizers said. The new class, a pilot for a larger program that may begin next year, will meet Sunday from to at Zanuck Swimming Stadium starting the weekend of Feb. 24. Enrollment will be capped at eight students.
The course will be taught by an outside instructor and involve classroom sessions, diving in the pool and several ocean diving trips at Casino Point on
Students interested in the class will have to fill out a questionnaire. If there is enough interest, a selection process overseen by the scuba instructor, members of the athletic department, and the deans will decide which students to include in the class.
The school is looking into renting equipment for the class, although students will likely need to provide personal items, such as goggles, Athletic Director Terrence Barnum said.
âThe world underneath the ocean is so beautiful,â said organizer Rod Roddenberry ’92, who has been diving for 14 years. âItâs nice to go to a place so few humans have ever seen. Itâs the next best thing to going into space.”
Roddenberry will be visiting class meetings on
âI havenât been so enthused about teaching anyone anything before, so Iâm really looking forward to this,â he said.
If the scuba program goes well, additional outdoor activities are a possibility. Hiking, rock climbing, and canoing have been considered as options, Barnum said.
“There is a range of outdoor activities that students participate in every day,” Barnum said. “We’re giving kids who don’t play on a team a new opportunity for P.E.”
