Dispatches: Awesome Adventures Ltd.
Scuba diving in Waterton Lakes National Park
by Joni MacFarlane
Southern Alberta doesn’t register very high on a list of scuba diving destinations, but one Lethbridge-based shop is trying to put the southern part of the province on the map.
Sink and Swim: Marni and Eric Anderson’s Awesome Adventures Ltd. thrives by going under
Awesome Adventures Ltd. is a diving and outdoor gear shop that organizes scuba diving outings in southern Alberta. While the shop also plans dives to tropical climates in the Caribbean, owner Marni Anderson says nearby Waterton Lakes National Park is their first choice in Alberta because of its great visibility. Awesome Adventures runs a five-week beginners’ course, including class and pool sessions, that lets students practice at Waterton Lakes, where a paddle-wheel steamboat is sunk in Emerald Bay.
“Mountain lakes are great,” Anderson says. “But there’s diving all over Alberta. We dive almost anywhere we can find water.”
The business expanded when the couple began selling retail scuba diving and snorkelling gear. “It’s tough for scuba to survive in Lethbridge, so we needed diversification,” Marni says, “but diving is the solid base of the business.” Today, Awesome Adventures is a full scuba diving facility with year-round courses, a retail shop and five diving instructors on staff. They offer diving trips around the globe and, of course, to Waterton Lakes.
Awesome Adventures certifies between 60 and 100 divers annually, and last year alone it exposed over 500 students to the sport through its school group program.
While the company has nine trips planned to Waterton this year, Marni says divers love to travel, which means that a large part of the business is travel diving. The company has taken divers to Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Galapagos Islands. “We’ve branched into other areas to keep the business viable,” Marni says. “But diving is very much alive and well in southern Alberta.”
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