With the diving industry in the USA slowly declining, a new effort is underway to get former divers back into the water.
There’s a whole bunch of reasons why some divers stop diving: loss of self-confidence after being away from the sport for a while; no equipment or outdated gear; nobody to go diving with; no place to go diving; finances, etc. A lot of these divers would like to get back into the water, but they just need that extra motivation to jump back in.
The purpose of the “ReDiscover Diving” program is to get these “rusty” divers safely back into the water. Modeled after the very successful “Discover Diving” program from 25 years ago, the new effort is to get these certified divers back diving again.
To be clear, this new initiative is NOT meant to compete with existing programs — rather to supplement them and create new opportunities.
Such a project has the potential to give a big boost to the diving industry, with instructors teaching refresher and other continuing education courses; Dive Shops selling updated gear and rental equipment; manufacturers filling more orders; Refresher Divers encouraging others to get certified; Dive Charter Boats and Dive Resorts seeing more guests; Dive Clubs as well as non-profits getting new members; Dive Magazines seeing new subscribers; Dive Insurance Companies selling more policies; and divers making new friends and getting new people to go diving with.
All that said, the most important part is getting people safely back into the water and diving again.
The “Re-Discover Diving” Campaign is a national movement, focusing on 2019 and is not a program organized by any one group. It’s a gathering of diving professionals from all aspects of the industry, designed to be very broad, giving every training agency, dive shop, instructor, charter operator, resort, manufacturer, whoever, the opportunity to tailor a program that will work for them in their specific area, during their specific season and to their area of expertise.
So if you’re one of those lapsed divers, contact your local diving professionals to see what they have to offer.
