Scuba Diving with the Boy Scouts

I wanted to share a recent adventure I undertook. This year I worked for two weeks, for my first time, at a National Boy Scout Jamboree. The jamborees are help once every four years and scouts from both the US and around the world attend this event. Approximately 30,000 scouts attended the jamboree and an additional 6,000 volunteers, including myself, were on staff.

I was a member of the Aquatics Staff, and more specifically the Scuba staff. There were 120 on the scuba staff, where we formed six teams to rotate through four swimming pools. Each pool was a maximum depth of four feet and could accommodate up to 48 scouts experiencing scuba diving. For most of the scouts it was their first time breathing underwater with a regulator and wearing a buoyancy compensator vest. Each scout received approximately 20-minutes of dive time while hunting for coins the staff threw in the pool. The scuba staff also had a pirate theme going with the “Arrhgh!” sounds, eye patches and bandanas. Many of the staff were on a third or fourth tour as a volunteer helping out.

The jamboree was held at Bechtel Reserve Summit near Beckley West Virginia. The area was originally stripped mined and then donated by a family to the Boy Scouts of America to be used for a high adventure camp. In addition to scuba there was mountain climbing, rappelling, shooting sports, mountain biking, BMX biking, skate boarding, zip lines, white water rafting, kayaking, paddleboarding, fly fishing, and countless other stations or activities for the scouts to participate. The temperatures were in the mid-80’s and it was very humid in the mountains so hydration was critical for everyone. My son also attended as a participant and I was lucky to run into him briefly two times during the jamboree. The hours were long working on staff with 6am revile, 6:45 am breakfast, taking a bus to the scuba area which was a couple miles away, working scuba from 7:30am-5:30pm, taking the bus back and eating dinner, and then relaxing and networking with other staff members until 10pm which was lights out.

I enjoyed my time at the jamboree and it was a great experience. The Scuba staff introduced over 10,300 scouts to diving. The dive team I was on introduced over 1,800 scouts to diving. Many of the adult leaders also tried scuba their first time also. I included some photo shots of happy scout divers and one picture showing the living conditions for the staff volunteers. I had two tent mates ages 24 and 18 and so I was the old man who tried to impart some wisdom. The two weeks went by very quickly and I am going to see if I can be on the scuba staff again in 2019 when the World Scout Jamboree is held at Bechtel Reserve Summit. The US will be co-hosting with Mexico and Canada so the chances of staffing are reduced to 1 out of 6.
As a side note, I am PADI Rescue Diver certified and am always open to looking for a dive partner. Hope you are all also enjoying your summer!