European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Hooked on diving there s nothing else like it divers us buddy Tuttem to by Brenda Hoster staff writer Early 1.000 people sought out Joe Heinen last year with Hopes that he d take them 1o some real dives. Moie than 900 Gol their wish. Heinen. The master instructor Tor he Mannheim american scuba club said not everyone can be a scuba diver it s import land to deny certification to those who can t grasp the concept of this sport he said. It s for their safely As Well As the safety of the other the Basic diver course costs $175 for Lour classes including both classroom and Pool work two saturday open water dives and the rental equipment needed 1o finish the course. Membership in he club known As manias is s10 per year. We take several trips throughout the year to places such As Kenya. Spain and Israel at a relatively Low Cost to the members said i. Co. Ken Stem of usage Tufts Deputy chief of staff for operations aviation office Stein the club vice president said the trips Are family oriented so the non diving members have things to do As Well. One of the main purposes for the club is to bring other divers and heir families loge chef so we can share like interests and experiences he said we even do an underwater egg Hunt a easier time and a pumpkin carving contest for Sec. Dan Downs drives about 80 Miles from Schwabish Hall to dive with club members. You can get hooked on diving especially when you get Down there underwater with some great scenery Downs said. There s nothing else like Heinen has been leaching Basic diving certification to club members since 1979 when manias was formed. 1 we were a very Small club when we first Gol he said but about live years ago i really got the bait rolling and we started doubling our club membership now stands at about 550 certified divers in live chapters compared to the 12 divers i snarled with seven years ago. In addition to the Mannheim Heidelberg chapter other chapters Are in Wurzberg Wertheim Arnburg and at Ramstein a. We offer a full course of instruction from Basic certification through instructor Heinen said. Certification is through the professional association of diving instruction and is recognized around the world. The Basic course is Given one night a week for four weeks and includes classroom and Pool instruction. Training is open to service members family members and both German and civilian employees. We Start the training in the classroom where i first like to get to know my students Heinen said. We also let the students examine the equipment and Lei them what each piece is used for students need their own Basic equipment a mask fins and snorkel. We rent All the other equipment the student needs of let is a nil in sit Sec Page 14 the stars and stripes
