W.I.S.T. TIMES Diving club allows students to learn scuba skills

By Lillian Hsu Staff Reporter

At the start of the spring semester, Washington International School in Taichung began offering a new team sports club called the diving club. Currently, the club’s schedule is split between classroom theoretical knowledge and learning professional diving techniques.

Students attend classes in the school swimming pool to familiarize themselves with diving equipment and practice scuba skills. With the test fee included in the club fee, students can take the paper-based Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) exam after completing the course. If students pass the paper examination, they can obtain their PADI scuba diving license.

Unlike most team sports clubs, the diving club was founded by a student, Ansel Wu from Grade 9, who informed the school of his desire to start a diving club.

“I wanted to have more time to learn about diving, so I decided to ask the school if I could start a diving club,” said Wu. “After I received a positive response from the school, I asked the diving teacher if he would be willing to come to the school to teach the course.”

Some students were attracted by the club because, with the approach of summer and the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, they would have the opportunity to scuba dive during summer vacation.

“I used to enjoy diving, so when I first saw this club, I was pleased,” said Lilian Wang, Grade 10. “In addition to improving my diving skills, I gained the unique opportunity to obtain a PADI diving license. If I master the skills and techniques, I can go scuba diving with my friends during the summer vacation.”

The instructor of the diving club, Chengshu Tian, is licensed as a PADI open water scuba instructor and also as an Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) personal fitness instructor and weight training instructor. He expects his students to strive for the best and apply what they have learned in the future.

“The current courses are all taught in the classroom, and I really enjoy that my students interact with me throughout the class,” said Tian. “I am looking forward to them coming to DiveCube for classes, where I can teach them solid diving skills using professional equipment so that in the future they can enjoy playing at the beach with peace of mind.”

Due to the time limitations during club time and the shallow depth of the school pool, students have the opportunity to make appointments with the instructor during weekends to go to the DiveCube—Asia’s first indoor deep dive pool—to practice their diving skills without paying an additional fee.