When people think about scuba diving, they usually think of oceans or tropical places, not of a place like Skidmore. But a new student club is changing that. The Scuba club is a newly founded club at Skidmore that focuses on scuba diving and marine conservation. The club meets on Thursdays at 8:30pm in Ladd 307 and seeks to raise awareness of maritime advocacy while allowing people to become certified scuba divers.
The club’s co-president, Orr Genish ’17, is part of the scuba diving community at Skidmore. He was inspired to form the club after a scuba diving trip to the British Virgin Islands earlier this summer. During that trip, Genish lived on a 40-foot catamaran and learned how to sail and run a boat while going scuba diving two to three times a day in reefs, shipwrecks and caves. In particular, Genish said that the best part of the trip was “when we went to one reef and saw over eight black-tip sharks.” The person who led the trip emphasized marine conservation and inspired Genish to get involved. Genish states, “We wanted to… offer an opportunity for people to get certified and learn more about the ocean.”
Although the club is called the Scuba Club, Genish also encourages non-scuba divers to join. The club will offer opportunities for those interested in scuba diving to become certified scuba divers. For those that aren’t interested in getting wet, the club also focuses on marine conservation issues such as water pollution, coral bleaching, marine advocacy, and overfishing. In addition, the club will offer different events such as documentary viewings of Blackfish, The Cove, and Planet Earth, and host lectures by guest speakers. Genish hopes that he can bring in a guest speaker for the screening of Blackfish in order to help facilitate discussion about the film.
For those that want to scuba dive, the club offers opportunities to do so through trips. There will be a club organized trip over winter break to do a coral restoration program where both certified and non-certified scuba divers will be able to participate. For non-certified scuba divers, the club will offer opportunities to receive certification through trips to various locations, including Lake George, a scuba diving hotspot near Skidmore. Lake George, in particular, is home to several shipwrecks, including the oldest shipwreck in America.
Skidmore may not be thought of as a diving location, but the Scuba club is looking forward to offering a lot to the Skidmore community. Genish says, “We’re always looking for people to join and give ideas. A lot of people are actually surprised to hear that we have scuba diving in Skidmore but… there is a lot of scuba diving to do around here.”