Fort Erie dive club overwhelmed by interest in youth scuba program

About 600 people responded when a Fort Erie dive club announced free scuba lessons for Niagara youth, but the volunteer group can afford to teach only eight children a month.

The Fort Erie Underwater Recovery Unit designed the program to erase the upfront cost that keeps many families from letting a child try diving. Chief diver Penny Vermeulen told Fort Erie Radio that taking a first breath underwater can give those children confidence–a confidence they carry with them out of the pool.

“For many kids, especially kids that might not get a chance to do something cool like scuba diving, it is a self-esteem builder,” said Vermeulen.

She has worked with children with developmental disabilities and has watched concentration underwater give them a calm the surface rarely allows.

“The focus that they need to master the skill and be confident in the water takes them to another world, and all the issues that they have with their disability disappear,” said Vermeulen. “In that moment, they have some peace and some self-confidence.”

That promise, at no cost to families, collided with the limits of a small volunteer club. Vermeulen’s PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) leadership designation allows her to supervise four participants in a pool at a time.

Twenty-two complete applications arrived on the first day after the club posted instructions for applying.

The club had planned to recruit through schools until a member suggested a Facebook post.

“Well, that blew up,” said Vermeulen. “We have 600 responses to that.”

Dan’s Dive Shop in St. Catharines plans to discount rental gear and help secure a second instructor, which would double each session to eight youth. Funding will decide how long the monthly classes last.

“Either we run out of funding if we don’t manage to get more in to support the program, or we just work through kids eight at a time every month for as long as we can keep going,” said Vermeulen.

Icon Racing, a horse racing group that met the club during parking fundraisers at the Fort Erie Race Track, supplied the seed money. Club member Duncan Minor, who owns Backyard BBQ in Port Colborne, added a donation. The club is seeking more sponsors to cover pool rental, equipment and online instruction.

With hundreds of families waiting, the club will weigh each application by its arrival time and by a required paragraph on why the youth wants to dive. An applicant who describes serious interest in diving-related study or work may move up the list.

“Maybe the kid verbalizes they have thoughts of a career as a marine biologist or a commercial diver,” said Vermeulen. “Let’s give this kid a chance first so they can decide, ‘Yeah, this is something that I want to pursue.'”

Casual applicants are still eligible, she said.

Vermeulen expects to produce few new divers. Full certification costs far more than the free introduction, and the club may seek separate funding to sponsor one or two youth who show sustained interest in earning it.

The program accepts Niagara youth aged 10 to 17 who have basic swimming skills and feel comfortable in the water. Participants must complete PADI online learning and a medical waiver before their pool session. A parent or guardian must attend for anyone 14 or younger.

A September 5 pilot at the Port Colborne YMCA will test the format with four youth connected to club members. The first class open to community applicants is expected on a Saturday in October, at either the Port Colborne YMCA or the Kiwanis Aquatics Centre in St. Catharines.

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