Council puts money behind diving courses

Foto ajudes cursos busseigSports councillor Jordi Vidal reported today on a partnership agreement between Vellmarí diving school and the administration to fund diving instruction for Formentera residents. Vidal used a morning press conference, attended by school director Manu Sán Felix and CiF environment councillor, as the forum for the announcement.

Councillor Vidal laid out the Council's plan to foot 50 per cent —up to 7,000 euros— of residents' diving course costs. Residents under 17 will not only qualify for the Council's 50-per cent subsidy, they will have the opportunity to benefit from an additional 25 per cent reduction thanks to Vellmarí. In all, locals above 17 will pay 100 euros and younger students will pay 75. The aim, as Vidal pointed out, is to encourage diving among locals.

The partnership has been in place between Vellmarí and the Council for more than a decade. Thanks to the initiative, more than 650 Formentera locals have been introduced to the world of diving. According to Sán Felix, an additional 50 to 80 will be able to discover diving thanks to this year's reduced fees. The councillor of environment underscored the importance of “educating and instructing Formentera residents about the vast wealth contained in our underwater world and the nearby posidonia seagrass prairies”.