Institution: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Program Area: Sport Club

Program Name: SCUBA Sport Club

About the event/program:

How did this program begin?

• For scuba specifically, some students shared a common desire and wanted to provide an opportunity for students to learn to dive, so the club was organized. They’ve helped certify hundreds of students since inception and have made trips to all over the country from local lake diving to the Florida Keys.

When planning this program, what are some considerations for hosting this program?

• We try to create an environment for our students to have any opportunity they’d like to.  Obviously sometimes it’s just a no, but for the most part, our job is to help provide our students with recreational opportunities, and those opportunities sometimes end up being a scuba, paintball, rowing, etc. club.

What is your favorite part about this program?

• The think I like about this program is the change.  Working with multiple clubs gives me the opportunity to learn about a lot of different disciplines and keeps interest peaked.

If another university/institution were to create this program at their university, what is a piece of advice you would give them?

• We’ve been very lucky, but I’d say that if another institution wanted to have a scuba club, make sure you have the interest in place to make it a viable club.  It takes a lot of work and is expensive so for it to only last a few years, would be sad for those who started it and made it work to begin with.  That goes for all clubs.  We rarely have clubs that go inactive because they are all popular enough that they are very viable clubs with good futures.

What are some of the risk management aspects universities/institutions must consider when creating a club like scuba?

• Something we look for is making sure there is an emergency action plan in place and everyone understands it.  Since scuba is underwater, the plan in place differs than a normal EAP, but essentially the instructor is in charge the entire time, whether there’s an accident or not.  Another thing to look for is location, and how if that location has the proper insurance in place to cover the club.  We are a private institution so we have to go through a few more steps than a public institution would I believe.  We require the students to find a licensed, certified and insured instructor to teach classes.  We also don’t allow the club to own certain equipment that could be considered “lifesaving” such as tanks and buoyancy control devices.  We require they check them out/rent them from the instructor.

Does the scuba club require a certified coach/instructor?

• Yes

Where does the scuba club practice?

• For their confined water skills, they use the pool in our Sports and Recreation Center, as for the open water skills, they use a local lake or if they are on a trip such as Florida, they do everything there.

Can you provide a range of cost for individuals/club to participate in scuba club?

• Cost is anywhere from $100-$500 per student depending on which class the club is offering.