By Kendall Smith

Students interested in learning the basics of scuba diving will get their chance to try it this week at Discover SCUBA, a free non-certification event held in the Lancaster Aquatic Center.

The event aims to bolster interest in scuba diving among UK students.

“The purpose is to promote awareness about scuba diving in general and to get a younger generation more interested in diving,” said UK marketing and management senior Tori Philipp, who got certified through UK as a freshman. “I want students to actually try it out,” Philipp said. “Maybe they will be more interested in the KHP 117 class that UK offers.”

Besides promoting interest in scuba diving, the event also aims to raise awareness about the aquatic center.

“I don’t have much experience with scuba diving,” said Jaymi Mackenzie, a graduate assistant at the aquatic center. “My main goal is to get people familiar with the aquatic center and make students aware that we have a pool for access.”

Discover SCUBA includes more than just actual scuba diving. Participants will also have to go through a class to learn about precautions and the basics of scuba diving before suiting up.

“It’s just a short class to learn how to be safe,” said Lavon Land, who has also been working on the event. “After that, we fit them with masks and snorkels and set them up with a scuba tank.”

While the event is open to anyone interested, there are limited spots. This isn’t a first-time event for Discover SCUBA, and spots can fill up quickly.

“We had one back in the spring,” Mackenzie said. “It had pretty big numbers and it offered a lot more spots. This one has 30 spots.”

For anyone interested in participating in Discover SCUBA who can’t make it because of filled spots or a busy schedule, there is no need to worry.

Mackenzie said another event will be offered in November.

Discover SCUBA is on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. in the Lancaster Aquatic Center.

Participants must bring a UK ID.

To sign up or for more information, e-mail [email protected].