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Many
kids in Hong Kong may not normally participate or enjoy sports. They
may quit competitive sports due to loss of interest, pressure to win
and boredom resulting from too little participation. Contrary to
competitive sports, diving represents a great alternative for kids to
get away from the day-to-day pressure to compete and win, whether in
academics or athletics. Diving is a non-aggressive sport and is all
about fun, learning and exploration of underwater world. There is no
pressure to win. Winning, in diving, is simply doing the activity. (The
Value of Teaching Kids, The undersea journal, 1st quarter 2001)
Diving also gives our kids opportunity to personally explore the
underwater world. When they see, touch and feel the underwater world,
they would appreciate their responsibility to protect it. Through
personal exploration of underwater world, it is able to seed caring
responsibility of environment to our kids. It is expected to enhance
our kids’ awareness of environment and to appreciate the value to
maintain it.
For safety and comfort, kids have to follow rules and
guidelines in diving activities. Therefore, kids’ discipline is an
essential element to be developed in the programme. Diving is a
group activity and in buddy system. There are many opportunities to
develop kid’s leadership and to train up their responsibility of safety, not only
to themselves but also responsibility for their buddy.
Mastery in diving skills are manageable for kids but anyhow it is
a challenge to them. Kids would feel capable to achieve assigned tasks.
Though the training, they would build up their self-esteem. The
programme is divided into various modules to enforce/master kids’
skills:- (a) snorkelling; (b) skin-diving; and (c) scuba diving
training in pool. Recognition materials including certificates card and
wall certificate will be provided to kids to recognize their
accomplishments and allows them to work toward higher levels.
To enhance kids’ marine environment awareness, self-esteem, discipline
and leadership via training in skin-diving and scuba diving in swimming
pool. |