Diving Sport Essay Example For Students

Diving Sport Essay There you are, totally weightless, quietly soaring just above the seafloor with only the smallest amount of physical exertion. Small fish come out oftheir holes to look at you. How about that? You are the curiosity. You are thething that does not belong. Perhaps this is why you dive. You are taking part inexploring mans last ecological frontier. The very thought would excite anyonewhose blood still flows in his veins. The diver is the observer, he looks ateverything he can. He totally forgets the outside world (Reseck 4). When Ifirst read this piece, I got goosebumps. For years man has explored this vastuniverse, spending millions of dollars, and only making a tiny scratch on itssurface. For me, to be able to explore a world completely different from minesounds like an opportunity of a lifetime. When I had to choose a topic for mysenior project, scuba diving was the most compelling of all. This paper is aboutthe development and use, the techniques, and the physiological concerns of s cubadiving. Man underwater dates all the way back to the Iliad, but sports divingfor fun and for a profession is fairly new. If one has ever been underwater, heshould know that breathing is impossible. In the early 1940s, Jaques Yves-Cousteau,a Frenchman, developing something that is now a very important asset to scubadiving. It is known to us as a regulator. The regulator conservedair by releasing only the amount of air the Korell 2 diver needed to breathe. This increased the time the diver could stay down on one tank of air to aboutone hour if he were in shallow depths. Cousteaus regulator was simple andinexpensive and marked the beginning of the sport of scuba diving. The sportgrew somewhat slowly through the late 40s and early 50s because, although thediver could now stay underwater for an extended period of time, in most parts ofthe world the water was so cold that he was forced to leave the water after ashort time (Reseck 16). In the early 1950s, rubber suits were designed. Theywere used to keep the diver warm. These old dry suits were worn overlong underwear and sweat suits or sweaters. The clothing acted as an insulator,and the rubber suit was used to simply keep the insulation dry. But when theeasily punctured dry suits were torn, the insulation became wet,thus causing the insulation to be ineffective. But a new suit, called thewet suit was invented. The wet suit actually strapped a thin layerof water next to the divers body, wh ich soon heated up to body temperature andacted as insulation. Nowadays, foam neoprene is used for all wet suits. When thedemand for wet suits increased, manufacturers developed the standard small,medium, and large sizes. As the market continued to grow, the neoprene materialwas improved by making it softer and more flexible. A backing was also added onthe neoprene to increase its durability and service. The market grew largerstill, and ready made suits came in extra small, small, medium, medium large,large, and extra large sizes. Today, almost anyone can walk into a store andcome out with a good suit that fits (Reseck 17). Korell 3 Scuba diving can bevery dangerous and, if not approached safely, one must know the precautions anddangers before jumping into water to dive. There are several ways to diveunderwater. One way is the Pike Surface dive. Start from a prone position on thesurface. Sweep both arms back toward the hips at the same time and bend sharplyat the hips so that the he ad and trunk point directly toward the bottom of thepool. With palms facing forward, bring the arms up forcibly, in line with thehead, and lift both legsstraight and togetherout of the water so that they,too, form a straight line with the body. Let the weight of the legs force thebody to submerge. Do not kick until the feet are below the surface, then eitherkick for greater depth or straighten out for an underwater swim (Counsilman andDrinkwater 29). Another dive is the Feet First dive. Tread water over the spotwhere the dive is to be made. Raise the body out of the water with a strong kickand a downward push with the hands and arms. Then straighten legs, point toes,and raise the arms overhead. The weight of the upper body and the arms willforce the entire body under the surface. When the downward motion stops, bend atthe hips and, with and underwater pike, either continue the dive headfirst orlevel off to swim (Counsilman and Drinkwater 29). The mask, the snorkel, and thefins are t hree of the most important tools in diving. Occasionally, water mayseep into the mask, or the mask may become dislodged and flooded while the diveris under the surface. Sometimes a diver can simply surface when the mask becomesflooded, but it may be necessary to clear the mask before surfacing in order tohave visibility during the ascent. Grasp the mask Korell 4 and pull it away fromthe face to allow the mask to flood. Roll the head to one side so that the faceplate is turned to the surface. Hold the uppermost side of the mask firmlyagainst the face, and exhale into the mask through the nose. The air trapped inthe mask will fill the space and force the water out under the bottom edge. Somedivers prefer to clear the mask by holding it firmly against the forehead andtilting the head back until they are looking up at the surface before blowinginto it. Common errors are failing to tilt the mask toward the surface, pressingthe top edge so tightly against the face that the mask is pulled away from otherparts of the face, and allowing air to escape under the top edge of the mask byfailing to hold the mask firmly in place (Counsilman and Drinkwater 31-33). Thesnorkel is a critical tool for breathing underwater. Most divers attach thesnorkel to the mask strap so it cannot be easily lost underwater. First, slipthe mouthpiece into the mouth and bite down on the rubber projections withteeth. The wide flange should fit between the teeth and lips. It is common forthe snorkel, stand in shallow water, take a deep breath and submerge until thesnorkel is completely filled. Straighten out until the back of the head is clearof the water but the face is still submerged. Next, make a quick hard blow toclear the water from the tube. Now you should have a clear snorkel (Counsilmanand Drinkwater 33). The fins are what make you move through the water in afaster and less rigorous fashion. Walking in fins on land should not be donebecause they are extremely awkward and could cause a fall . In shallow water, itis easier to walk backwards if you move slowly and slide the feet along thebottom. When the diver is Korell 5 equipped with fins, the hands are rarely usedand held at the sides to help keep the body straight. When the fins are used,the most common kick is the flutter kick and is used on the surface andunderwater. The legs are to stay relaxed. To get the full effect of the fins andto avoid necessary fatigue, kick at a slightly slower pace than usual. The toesshould stay pointed, and the fins should be completely submerged (Counsilman andDrinkwater 33-34). When diving, the buddy system should always beused, and all equipment should be placed in reach from the dive site. A buddy isthere to help you check your gear and, when underwater, to help you in case ofan emergency. After you are in the water, put on the fins, mask, and snorkel,and, carrying a weight belt, walk slowly backward to the middle of a shallowarea. Sit on the bottom with the weight belt across your thighs. When inhaling,the body should make a slow rise. If it does not rise, then the weight should bedecreased. This makes the body neutrally buoyant. Always make sure themouthpiece and mask are clear. Free ascent should also be learned in case ofemergency and the diver must ascend without his gear. The ascent is made slowly,and a constant exhalation of air is required. If you hold your breath during anascent after breathing compressed air, and air embolism can be caused. This iswhen air escapes the lungs and enters the bloodstream, causing bubbles to formin the veins. These bubbles block the blood flow to the brain, causing death. Picture Of Dorian Gray EssayHyperventilation results when rapid, forced exhalations significantly lower thelevels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, which may lead tounconsciousness. To treat hyperventilation, the airway should be opened byhyperextending the neck, mouth-to-mouth respiration may not be necessary if thecarbon dioxide level build up and triggers the breathing mechanisms, which oftenhappens (Griffiths 85). In conclusion, scuba diving is not a simple sport. Thereare many complexities that go along with it. In time, it has come along frombeing a difficult sport that is only allowed for a selective few, to a sportthat almost anyone can participate in. The improvement in its technology makesit much easier for others to learn. Also, more research has been done on it, andnow there is almost nothing more to research about it. It is a very complextopic due to the scientific side of it. There are many scientific laws and thereare many restrictions related to it. T he only drawback of learning how to scubadive is the cost. But if you are willing to spend about $450 and want to learnKorell 9 a lot more about scuba diving than the underwater portion, then by allmeansgo ahead. After all, it is a completely different world down there. BibliographyCounsilman and Drinkwater. Beginning Skin and Scuba Diving. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc. 1964. Griffiths, Tom. Sport Scuba Diving inDepth. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Co., Publishing. 1985. NAUIAdventures InScuba Diving. St. Louis, MO: MosbyYear Book, Inc. 1995. Nonnelly, Doug. Personal Interview. 1 Nov. 1998. Reseck, John. ScubaSafe and Simple. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1975.