Down Under
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 5, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Illustration by GRACE HUANG/Daily Bruin
By Sharon Kim
Daily Bruin Contributor
Classes for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
““ more widely known as SCUBA ““ were first offered at
UCLA in 1962 by the Department of Cultural and Recreational
Affairs, which currently serves as the administrative center for
campus recreational activities and services.
This establishment made UCLA the first collegiate site in the
U.S. to offer classes in recreational diving, according to Glen
Egstrom, UCLA professor emeritus of kinesiology and diving safety
officer during the years 1961-91.
“Woolen underwear was the norm for thermal
protection,” said Frank DiCrisi III, who is responsible for
all diving activities at UCLA as the Diving Safety Officer, of the
early days.
He added that the first actual site to offer scientific SCUBA
classes, mainly for marine biologists, was the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography in 1961.
Back then, when UC San Diego did not exist, SIO was affiliated
with the University of California system. UCLA began offering
scientific diving classes in 1964.
“Honestly, and I’m not just saying this, diving here
at UCLA has a way of changing a person’s life and sending it
in strange, unimaginable directions,” DiCrisi said.
Steve Joy, UCLA Programmer Analyst 3 and a volunteer diving
instructor for the program, said DiCrisi is living proof of
this.
 UCLA SCUBA students prepare for a dive off the coast of
Southern California near Catalina Island.
When he first joined the SCUBA program, DiCrisi was a law
student, but became such a SCUBA enthusiast that he decided not go
into law and became a diving instructor instead.
The UCLA Skin and SCUBA Club existed years before formal diving
classes began on campus, offering informal training and sessions
where members exchanged information and skills.
Preparations for a formal SCUBA program on campus, with some
lectures on skin diving safety, began when Egstrom became the
diving safety officer in 1961.
“The Los Angeles County program was the only training
program around, anywhere in the U.S. at the time,” DiCrisi
said.
This already established reputation of the L.A. area helped UCLA
to become one of the first college sites to offer diving classes,
he said.
Because UCLA stopped offering recreational diving classes in
1990 and only recently began offering them again in 1999, DiCrisi
said he believes few people are aware of the current SCUBA
program.
“We do not have the support, equipment, or staff to offer
the courses at the former levels,” Joy said. “If it
wasn’t for the fact that the biology department needed the
program, we would have been shut down.”
The SCUBA courses offered at UCLA, though not for units, are
formatted like formal classes over a course of two quarters.
Students attend regular lectures and take a final.
The first quarter of the class involves basic recreational
diving, while the second quarter is mostly scientific diving.
The latter half emphasizes training and obtaining hands-on
experience, according to Joy.
“By the time you receive your certification, you will be
able to dive and assemble your SCUBA equipment blindfolded,”
Joy said. “It may take some people longer than others, and we
would rather have them take extra quarters than to go through the
program once and not master the skills in diving.”
Though the L.A. area is home to a variety of businesses that
train people to SCUBA dive, the training offered by UCLA is unique,
according to DiCrisi. Â
“A typical dive class at a typical dive shop in Los
Angeles takes about two weeks to complete the training, “
DiCrisi said. “Just looking at the differences in time, you
see ours is much different.”
In addition to the extensive two- quarter training, students
have the opportunity to view the marine life of Southern California
as opposed to just Los Angeles.
“In truth, at least half of our dives are conducted off
the beach in Malibu, Palos Verdes, Laguna Beach,” DiCrisi
said. “We use Catalina when we can, but we also find spots
locally to dive.”
Heather Coleman, a third-year marine biology student who is
currently studying with Northeastern University for the year, had
been diving with UCLA since she was a senior in high school while
volunteering at the UCLA Ocean Discovery Center.
She later received a science diver certification during her
second year at UCLA.
“I liked how each class was a full quarter long ““
you don’t get that kind of training anywhere else,” she
said. Â “We covered things in my UCLA open water I class
in great detail that I had never even heard of in my previous
(diving) class.
“The instructors are given freedom to teach students to
dive well,” Joy said. “And we don’t certify
students unless they are completely qualified. I think that is why
we have such a top-notch program.”
The SCUBA classes are available to those affiliated with UCLA,
the costs varying from $235 to $325, depending on whether you are a
student, recreation card holder, UCLA alumni or extension
student.
Now, according to DiCrisi, there are approximately 60 people who
go through the SCUBA training annually. This group of trainees
includes both scientists and recreational divers.
“I enjoy helping people experience new and exciting
things, and I enjoy the relationships and good times (the program)
has helped foster over the years,” DiCrisi said.
“That’s the type of program we foster here at UCLA. It
will take time to get the word out again.”
