Ten-year-old earns SCUBA

Seymour Intermediate fifth grader, Angela Karl is one of the youngest certified Junior Open Water Diver in the state, since the minimum age was lowered to age ten. “There aren’t many kids that age receiving their divers license,” stated instructor Bobby Seals with Blue Clear Divers out of Knoxville. “We have seen maybe four ten-year-olds a year since the legal age was changed,” stated Seals. Karl received her Junior Open Water Diver certification August 8 at Loch Low-Minn resort south of Madisonville. She is the youngest diver to be certified at Loch Low-Minn according to the owner, Stacy Low. Karl said she has only been diving recently, taking classes at Blue Clear Divers in Knoxville with Seals. PADI certified divers must do two dives each day during a four-day succession. Karl also was required to swim 200 yards, remove and replace her diving gear underwater, tread water for ten minutes, recognize safety hazards, perform certain underwater techniques and attend nine hours of instruction. “Her mother and I are really proud of her. That’s quite an accomplishment for a ten-year-old,” her father Joe Karl said. Angela’s father Joe became a certified diver as a teenager and her brother Mathew, who is almost 13, was certified at age 11.”Matthew and my dad helped me with studying. I also refreshed their memory about a few things they had learned, but had forgotten,” Angela said. As a certified diver, Angela can now participate in other classes such as Fish Identification, Boat Diving, Underwater Navigation, and Underwater Photography or become an Underwater Naturalist. She plans to do some adventure dives, underwater photography, and just diving for pleasure while preparing for her next goal, additional adventure dives available to divers 12 years old and older. Angela expects to obtain her PADI Open Water Diver certificate once she becomes 15, the minimum age. Eventually, Angela plans to become a “wreck diver.” Seals states, “One of my favorite joys in teaching is to watch and teach kids. Seeing them smile underwater is great. They actually have bubbles coming out of their mouth.” According to Seals, the requirements didn’t change for children diving but as 10 and 11year olds – they can dive no farther than 40 feet and they must dive with a PADI professional or their parent with them.