PADI Women’s Dive Day 2019 Rallies Dive Community to Be a Force for Good
On Saturday, 20 July 2019, PADI Dive Centers, Resorts and Professional Members hosted more than 770 events in 83 countries for the fifth annual PADI Women’s Dive Day. The day brought together thousands of divers, female and male alike, of all ages and experience levels for a global celebration of shared adventure, passion and ocean advocacy.
While the first PADI Women’s Dive Day in 2015 underscored PADI’s dedication to strengthening female participation in scuba diving, it has become evident the positive influence of the day extends beyond gender. This year’s events took on conservation and community-minded causes at their core, giving divers the opportunity to take action, give back and be a force for good. A few highlights from this year’s festivities include:
- Together with a local Girl Scouts troop, Dive World in Austin, Texas, USA, led divers on an underwater trail of facts and suggestions about how to protect aquatic ecosystems and #divelikeagirlscout.
- Asia Divers in Puerto Galera, Philippines, dedicated the weekend to a “Healthy Ocean, Healthy Body” with an underwater cleanup, yoga and opportunities to try freediving with a PADI Freediverä Instructor.
- A dive shop that’s giving back to the community, Scuba Ventures in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, USA, hosted a PADI Women’s Dive Day event that raised funds for a local women’s shelter and rape response group.
- With Reef Check, Divers Alert Network and the local government, Blue Submarine by Scuba World ASD offered Dive Against Debris® courses and dives for women to remove debris and ghost nets from the marine protected area near Maierato, Italy.
- Organized by Enfield Scuba and Watersports, 100 female divers volunteered to clean up Bigelow Hollow Lake in Union, Connecticut, USA in celebration of PADI Women’s Dive Day.
- Bali Scuba in Indonesia hosted an event, “Dive into a Great Cause for Women,” to raise money for breast cancer research and support through Pink Ribbon.
- Blue Mind Divers led divers on a fun cleanup dive at Lake Pleasant, Arizona, USA. A post-dive ocean conservation raffle benefitted Mission Blue, an organization founded by Dr. Sylvia Earle to ignite public support for marine protected areas.
- In Grand Cayman, Divetech hosted 107 women to break its own record for the longest female underwater human chain, an event that raised funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation and local conservation organizations.
- The PADI AmbassaDiverä team, Blue Latitudes, invited fellow women divers involved in ocean science and media to explore oil platforms three miles offshore of Long Beach, California, USA, the structure of which creates a vertical reef teeming with life.
“PADI Women’s Dive Day has become a global movement to create and inspire a passionate community of ocean advocates that spans generations,” says Kristin Valette-Wirth, Chief Marketing Officer at PADI Worldwide. “What started as a celebration of women in diving has quickly become the single largest day of diving in the world – something every diver can draw inspiration from.”
More than 875 pieces of media coverage highlighted PADI Women’s Dive Day 2019 events, reaching a potential audience of 1.25 billion worldwide. Thousands of others engaged via social media, increasing awareness and excitement for diving and ocean conservation across diverse audiences. PADI Members and divers all took to their social channels to proudly share their #padiwomensdiveday experiences. For a snapshot of events around the world, check out the PADI Women’s Dive Day 2019 Facebook photo album.
Mark your calendars: Next year’s PADI Women’s Dive Day is scheduled for Saturday, 18 July 2020.