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Diving in By BUFFY POLLOCK,for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By BUFFY POLLOCK,for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 6, 2004 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 10:01 AM By BUFFY POLLOCK,for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 6, 2004 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 10:01 AM » Social News Surging enrollment in scuba classes suggests distance from the ocean is no impediment to Rogue Valley diving enthusiasts A mild-mannered office manager by day, Talent resident Dodie Noles morphs into a rogue scuba diver on weekends ' and every other chance she gets. Noles decided to test the scuba waters more than three years ago when she signed up for one of two classes offered annually at the Ashland Family YMCA. Today, she and her partner take a dozen major diving trips each year and head to water ' sometimes even Southern Oregon water ' almost every weekend. We plan vacations around it, said Noles. We've seen other countries. We don't even go on vacation where we don't incorporate scuba into it. Despite its landlocked locale, in fact, the Rogue Valley increasingly is swimming in scuba divers, fans of the sport say. At the Ashland Y, the pair of annual classes have grown into weekly sessions. At Rogue Scuba in Medford, the region's largest shop, a club attracts several dozen regular divers and many more occasional athletes. — I'd say there's probably upwards of several hundred divers here (in the Rogue Valley) if not more, said Gary Green, an employee of the shop. When I first started we were hard pressed to get one class filled, and now we have two or three a month, and they fill quickly. The Ashland Y's certification program routinely has been one of the busiest Y certification programs in the country, said John Souza, community programs director. We've averaged about four to six people per class until this past year, and now, closer to 10 per class, said Souza. Nationally, scuba has benefited from a rising fascination with extreme sports, advances in the sport that allow beginners to try it easily and word-of-mouth advertising by those who dive and make others wish they did. I think the big thing is that we can access places in the world we couldn't a number of years ago, said Paul Ross, manager at Rogue Scuba. More and more people are curious, and they're coming in to check things out and finding out, too, that anybody can do this no matter where they live. Even in the Rogue Valley. When they can't go coastal, Souza said, local divers head to area lakes, including Hyatt and Lost Creek, and even dive the chilly Rogue River. Obviously those places don't have aquatic life in some of those spots you would have in the ocean, like on a coral reef, but you can squeeze in a short dive, practice skills for your next vacation, experience weightlessness, said Souza. Noles said she has found local rivers and lakes to have an appeal as unique as the ocean's. The small community of divers who live here gets to see a huge unique look at the Rogue Valley from under water, she said. A few weekends ago at Lake Siskiyou, we saw record smallmouth bass. These are the fish that fishermen don't catch and that divers get to see. I tell fishermen, 'For & 36;5, I'll tell you where the big ones are.' The sport also has been helped along by improvements in equipment. Equipment advances within the last six to eight years have been tremendous, said Souza. Equipment is far lighter, warmer and easier to use; dive computers make the dive safer. Those aspects of the industry have brought people in. Medford resident Don Clark became certified to dive with his wife, Rene, a lifelong diver. He said he now enjoys the sport for reasons all his own. I needed another sport like I needed a hole in my head, said Clark. But I'm glad I did it. I've gotten to swim with sharks, I've done the manta-ray dive and whatnot. I wouldn't not dive now that I know what it's like. I've had a lot of cool experiences I couldn't have had otherwise. Scuba diving was written up in a magazine years ago as one of sexiest sports to say that you do. And there's still that oh-my-gosh-you-breathe-underwater thing going on. Despite scuba being a less obvious sport inland, Noles said, she wouldn't trade the experience of exploring underwater ' both locally and around the world. It's a world that people won't ever see, she said. When you go to look outside your box, and you have to really look outside your box here in this valley, it's awesome the things that you discover. Certification classes available locally Scuba certification courses are available at Rogue Scuba in Medford and at the Ashland Family YMCA. Certification classes average & 36;300 for beginners, and startup gear costs begin at & 36;1,500. Rental gear is also an option at Rogue Scuba and at coastal locations. Students at the Ashland YMCA are provided with gear needed to complete certification. You can call the Ashland YMCA at 482-9622. You can reach Rogue Scuba at 608-2728 or visit its Internet site at . By BUFFY POLLOCK,for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By BUFFY POLLOCK,for the Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 6, 2004 at 2:00 AM Updated Feb 16, 2011 at 10:01 AM » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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