Sunday 5th was a day with a lot of buzz around the Blue Season Bali dive center. As a part of the artificial reef design project initiated by Blue Season Bali, students have been invited to participate in a trial dive session. As a result of this, approximately fifty members of the local community had shown up to partake in our scuba try-outs and thus, this became an afternoon where many of them were to draw their breath underwater for the very first time.
The first batch showed up around noon, eager to sign up and become the first ones in the pool. People were divided into groups and before entering the water they were briefed thoroughly on the basics of scuba diving by Dive Master Edy. Within the hour, around 30 people sat around the pool area, watching in suspense how the first group conducted the day’s first trial dive.
Firstly they started off with a few basic exercises in the shallow end of the pool and were then followed up by moving onto the deep end in order to get a grasp of that special zero gravity feeling associated with diving. As the trialists emerged from water, their faces revealed an expression of exhilaration that many certified divers only know all too well.
During the trial dives, Blue Season Bali’s own underwater photographer – Agata Melissa – sat down at the bottom of the deep end of the pool with her camera, ensuring these moments were forever immortalized. Once they had left the pool and dried up a bit, the participants were then able to see the pictures of themselves at the photo-station which had been set up for the occasion. Goofy hand signals and poses were ensured!
In the midst of everything going on around the pool, Tommy the marketing intern was collecting donations to fund the maintenance of the winning artificial reef design that is to be announced in July. A donation qualified the donator to have a chance of becoming one of two lucky winners of a free Open Water Course sponsored by Blue Season Bali.
As the first trial dive session came to an end, it was time for Blue Season Bali owner Mark Giles to announce the first winner of an Open Water Course. The tension lingered in the air as he started rummaging around the bowl of names until he finally drew one and announced the winner.
The second trial dive session proceeded like the previous one, albeit with a slightly smaller crowd. However, this time the new PADI regional manager had arrived to draw the winner of the second Open Water Course. After having given a brief yet vivid presentation about what PADI does and stands for, the second winner was announced.
All in all it was a great afternoon and it seemed like a lot of people left the dive center with an impression of a door to a new world had been opened for them. A door that Blue Season Bali will be more than happy to keep open for them in the future.
