Why are ending Date @ 8?

Our Date @ 8 program was started in the before time...in the long, long ago...during a time when pay phones were on every corner, email was strange and new, and only Captain Kirk walked around with a wireless personal communication device at all times.  The idea was to have a weekly meetup time and spot for members who wanted to dive to get together.  It was necessary because, aside from the club investing in its own bat signal, it was the best way to get divers together for local shore diving.

As you may be aware, times have changed.  We all have fancy phones in our pockets, email, and a host of ways to communicate with each other on the go and in real time.  Further, the logistics of connecting a group of people to meet at a specific parking lot can easily become a part time job, and that is a lot to ask of a club member volunteer.  In short, having a dedicated spot to meet up on a specific time and day, week in and week out, is simply outdated and impractical.  The Date @ 8 has served its purpose, but it is time to end it.

So, does this mean the end of shore diving?

No!!!  Never!  The primary purpose of our club is to connect people who love diving, and no one wants to get in the way of that.  The Date @ 8 program is simply no longer the best way to do that, so we are making this change. 

Ok...so how do I find dive buddies, then?

We are glad you asked! Become a club member!

One of the biggest limitations of the Date @ 8 program is right in its name...it was a date, at 8:00 AM (well, really 7:30 AM), at a specific location.  Feel like diving Sunday at noon?  Sorry.  Want to play hooky at dive on a Wednesday morning?  We can’t help you.  Don’t feel like Old Garden this week?  That’s too bad.  We, the Board, think this limitation is unnecessary and antiquated given the communication options we have today.

With our new email list, if you want to connect with other club members to dive, simply send an email to that list.  Put your preferred dive location, date, and time in the subject line, and everyone on the list will get the email.  Folks who want to dive will respond, and there you go!  Underwater friendship and fun for all!

Wait...so now I can dive when I want...where I want...and with who I want???

YES!!!  This is the whole point.  Use the email list to connect and have fun on your schedule and on your terms.  We believe this is going to allow for more local diving, with more people, and in more locations.  We’ve already seen this start to work with folks using the general email list to find buddies while we explored this issue over the last month or so.

But I am new to the club (or just shy), and I nervous about asking strangers to dive with me!

We hear you, and believe us, we understand!  But the entire point of our club is making connections between people that love diving.  We want to be the catalyst that creates friendships and lifelong dive buddies.  That is scary for some of us, but it is an amazing aspect of the club.  

Look at this change as a motivation to attend our monthly meetings more often and connect with your fellow members.  We have an entire social hour prior to the meeting for just this reason.  We are all people who are passionate about diving and want to connect with others to share that passion.  The more you participate, the easier that will be.  And if you can’t attend the meetings, then the email list is the next best way to connect with people.  Connecting with other divers and making friends is what this club is all about, and we want to see that happen!  

Ok, but what if I don’t want to dive locally?  

We have you covered too!  To all those who just enjoy the club for the social aspects or the destination diving, and don’t really care about shore diving, the Board thanks you for your patience the last month or so while we used our general email list to beta test this idea.  We will be shifting all dive connection email traffic to the new email list, so the noise will stop!  But please feel free to join our list if you want to stay connected with the local diving scene.  

This all sounds amazing!  How do I get started?!?

Keep an eye out for a new email in the next few days that will invite you to join the new email list.  Our crack web team will get you on the list, and then you will be good to go.  We are also going to post instructions on our website for using the email list. Also, the email list will be limited to club members, so you don’t have to worry about getting spammed with non-club traffic.

I have other questions and concerns and feelings...what do I do?

We hear you...and we understand that this is a big change.  If your questions and concerns can wait until our next general meeting, please bring them there.  We’ll have a spot on the agenda to go over all of this.  If you don’t want to wait that long, please reach out to the Board.  Every members’s concerns and feelings are important to us, and ending the Date @ 8 program was not a decision any of us took likely.  But we believe this is the best decision for the club.