When researching for reference questions, you never know what rabbit hole you may fall into while looking for answers. This week, I learned about the Scuba Club at Virginia Tech!
The Scuba Club has been around Virginia Tech since the 1964-1965 school year and was started by a small group of devoted divers. By the late 1970s, the club had grown large enough to certify up to 100 divers each year. Highlights of the club included local diving trips to the New River, Claytor Lake, and Mountain Lake as well as their yearly Spring Break trip to the Florida Keys. In addition to fun diving trips, the club utilized the War Memorial Gym’s pool for practices and classes. The club sponsored beginning SCUBA classes each quarter, underwater and on-land social events, and volunteer opportunities with the local Search and Rescue Dive Team. Club members promoted diving safety and education, protection of aquatic environments, and wildlife conservation.
Fun bonding activities included celebrating the club’s anniversary each year at Claytor Lake, underwater scavenger hunts, and underwater Backgammon Marathons to raise money for charities. In 1980, club members broke the world record for “playing Backgammon underwater for 101 hours” (according to that year’s Bugle).
Over the years, the club evolved. By the club’s 30th anniversary, members began offering more specialty classes, such as advanced diving and rescue diving, in addition to their introductory courses. The club would hold weekly meetings, an annual Christmas banquet, and an end-of-the-year party for members and their friends. The yearly Spring Break trip expanded to other places like Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas. The club continued their fun traditions of underwater games, including underwater hockey, and diving trips to local quarries and lakes. They also sponsored trips with the Caving Club to go cave diving around Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
The Scuba Club is thriving today, offering even more classes and opportunities for the Hokie Community! For more information, please visit their website for the most up-to-date information: https://sites.google.com/vt.edu/scvt/home
If you’re interested in preserving your club or organization’s history, please reach out to Amelia Verkerk, VT’s University Archivist at ajverkerk@vt.edu!
Resources:
RG 31/15 (Sports Clubs/Events (Extramural))
Bugles (especially the 1978, 1980, 1997, 1998, and 2004 editions)
The Collegiate Times
