Home - Our World Underwater
I went there today to check out new trends in diving/freediving world. I've been to this show 3 or 4 times before including film festivals, unfortunately this year I didn't have time for film festival but I do have few pictures and observations to share from the trade show part of event.
As freediver going to a dive show my initial feeling is.... confusion? It's really strange but I think many of You would feel the same way, here's what I mean. When I go diving I meet a lot of people, new freedivers, veterans I should say, I see cool gadgets both necessary and optional and I see many divers becoming instructors. Further, those new instructors are busy teaching new adepts and their classes are full of students! All this makes me feel like freediving is booming, still not a huge sport but definitely growing.
So then I go to the dive show with big expectations and suddenly it struck me, we are outsiders left behind, a minority. "Snorkelers" who are not real divers aka SCUBA divers. Maybe it's just wrong place for freedivers to be, maybe DEMA is different but after all it's called "Our Underwater World"...
But walking down, passing booths after booths I begin to see some signs of hope.
Photo/video vendors seem to rule the show, tons of great cameras and housings, GoPro's everywhere. Lights (mostly LED's these days) batteries (Li-Ion) every piece of equipment seems to be smaller and lighter (and freediver friendly
each year.
Suddenly I spot a beautiful girl so I get closer. This Polish Angel named Margaret is here to represent Liquivision and their dive computers both technical and freediving as we all know who's the guy behind them.
She's not only first freediver I meet on the show but she's also super nice and I even get the T-shirt, thank You Margaret.
Moving along I see more positive signs, no pure freediving businesses but companies like CRESSI, SUUNTO, Aqualung, Aeris they all proudly display their freediving branch of their trees.
Another positive sign is that so many resorts, travel destinations and dive charters are now "freedivers friendly". Boat charters even few years ago were "scared" of freedivers, now they offer trips to shipwrecks in Florida for groups of freedivers, they can even mix few freedivers with SCUBA group. Fuel is expensive so they like to run full capacity but they also had to make changes in their insurance policies.
Cage Great White shark diving California- freedivers welcome!
Even in this tough economic times it's nice to see so many people, pretty good crowd so as I walk by I begin to think maybe it's not so bad being freediver trying to blend in with scubies, maybe they start to notice us and take us seriously but also equipment makers expanding they products into growing freediving market giving us more choices.
Of course brave creators of "The Cove" are here too still fighting their battle
and collecting signatures for their petition which I obviously signed.
I am sure next year and years to come there will be more freediving accents. I hope Ron Smith with his fins can (and should) win success here. For now I am just for what it is, it's way better than previous years I visited the show and compared to 2002 when I went the for the first time is worlds apart.
My final conclusion is that things are moving in the right direction, now look at the pictures and enjoy pretty Margaret
Peace!
I went there today to check out new trends in diving/freediving world. I've been to this show 3 or 4 times before including film festivals, unfortunately this year I didn't have time for film festival but I do have few pictures and observations to share from the trade show part of event.
As freediver going to a dive show my initial feeling is.... confusion? It's really strange but I think many of You would feel the same way, here's what I mean. When I go diving I meet a lot of people, new freedivers, veterans I should say, I see cool gadgets both necessary and optional and I see many divers becoming instructors. Further, those new instructors are busy teaching new adepts and their classes are full of students! All this makes me feel like freediving is booming, still not a huge sport but definitely growing.
So then I go to the dive show with big expectations and suddenly it struck me, we are outsiders left behind, a minority. "Snorkelers" who are not real divers aka SCUBA divers. Maybe it's just wrong place for freedivers to be, maybe DEMA is different but after all it's called "Our Underwater World"...
But walking down, passing booths after booths I begin to see some signs of hope.
Photo/video vendors seem to rule the show, tons of great cameras and housings, GoPro's everywhere. Lights (mostly LED's these days) batteries (Li-Ion) every piece of equipment seems to be smaller and lighter (and freediver friendly
each year.Suddenly I spot a beautiful girl so I get closer. This Polish Angel named Margaret is here to represent Liquivision and their dive computers both technical and freediving as we all know who's the guy behind them.
She's not only first freediver I meet on the show but she's also super nice and I even get the T-shirt, thank You Margaret.
Moving along I see more positive signs, no pure freediving businesses but companies like CRESSI, SUUNTO, Aqualung, Aeris they all proudly display their freediving branch of their trees.
Another positive sign is that so many resorts, travel destinations and dive charters are now "freedivers friendly". Boat charters even few years ago were "scared" of freedivers, now they offer trips to shipwrecks in Florida for groups of freedivers, they can even mix few freedivers with SCUBA group. Fuel is expensive so they like to run full capacity but they also had to make changes in their insurance policies.
Cage Great White shark diving California- freedivers welcome!
Even in this tough economic times it's nice to see so many people, pretty good crowd so as I walk by I begin to think maybe it's not so bad being freediver trying to blend in with scubies, maybe they start to notice us and take us seriously but also equipment makers expanding they products into growing freediving market giving us more choices.
Of course brave creators of "The Cove" are here too still fighting their battle
and collecting signatures for their petition which I obviously signed.
I am sure next year and years to come there will be more freediving accents. I hope Ron Smith with his fins can (and should) win success here. For now I am just for what it is, it's way better than previous years I visited the show and compared to 2002 when I went the for the first time is worlds apart.
My final conclusion is that things are moving in the right direction, now look at the pictures and enjoy pretty Margaret
Peace!
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