After the immense success of the inaugural GO Diving Show in February this year, the dates have been announced for 2020 – 21-23 February. Get them marked in your diary now, as GO Diving Show 2020 at the Ricoh Arena promises to be the perfect kickstart to the new diving season and they have launched it with this amazing competition. They are giving you the chance to win VIP weekend tickets for 2, travel expenses, accommodation, meet & greet with Steve Backshall and £500 spending money. You can enter the competition on their website here.
The dive show will be split across three days, the Friday being trade-only, and two consumer days over the weekend. The trade day will feature break-out rooms for seminars, member forums, etc, and there will be presentations on how to develop and improve your online presence for your dive centre/school, utilise social media more effectively, and so on.
As before, there is plenty on offer over the weekend for both existing divers and those looking to get into our exciting sport.
First-timers can take their inaugural fin-steps into the underwater world in a gigantic 100 sq m trydive pool, while without even getting wet, you can sample shark dives, seal dives, wreck dives and cave dives through the magic of Virtual Reality. After being such a hit last year, there’s even an actual cave system for you to explore!
Existing divers are also well catered for at GO Diving, with dedicated sections focusing on the disciplines of Underwater Photography and Technical Diving. Think your trim is up to scratch? Got your S-drills nailed? Navigation in the bag? Come and showcase your abilities at our interactive sessions. Want to try something new? Sign up for a sidemount trydive, or a dive on a closed-circuit rebreather. There’s even an area for The Next Generation of divers, all those keen kids and talented teens already attracted to the underwater realm.
New divers or veterans alike will be inspired and entertained by our bountiful line-up of speakers. Come listen to TV experts Steve Backshall (Deadly 60, Undiscovered Worlds, Expedition), Andy Torbet (Beyond Bionic and Operation Iceberg), Miranda Krestovnikoff (Wreck Detectives, The One Show) and Monty Halls (Great Escapes), discussing how they got into diving, what they love about exploring beneath the surface, and hear about some of their underwater adventures.
GO Diving Show Stages
The Main Stage (sponsored by Aqaba Tourism) – hosted by TV presenters Andy Torbet and Miranda Krestovnikoff, this will cover everything from all aspects of the world of diving. They will be joined by Steve Backshall, Monty Halls and award-winning underwater photographer Alex Mustard MBE, who will also be unveiling the winners of the prestigious Underwater Photographer of the Year 2020 competition on the Saturday afternoon.
The Inspiration Stage – stories to lift your spirits, and drive you on to greater heights in diving, whether that is simply getting your entry-level certification, climbing on to the first rungs of the professional ladder, or some other aspect of diving. Be inspired! Speakers already signed up include PADI Course Director, technical diver and photographer/videographer Luke Inman, technical diver Gemma Smith, and acclaimed UW photographer and conservationist Jorge Hauser. Watch this space for more speakers!
The Tech Stage– awe-inspiring tales from some of the biggest names in the world of technical diving, including Phil Short, Garry Dallas, Mark Powell, Tim Clements, Aron Arngrimsson, Ian France and John Kendall. More speakers TBC!
The Underwater Photography Stage (sponsored by Scuba Travel) – Covering all aspects of underwater photography, this boasts a veritable who’s who of top-class ‘snappers’, including Jason Brown, Stuart Philpott, Martyn Guess, Mario Vitalini, Saeed Rashid, Paul Duxfield, Bryan Stanislas and David Diley. More speakers TBC!
Book your tickets now – and save ££££s! Super early bird tickets are available now, priced at £10 (plus booking fees), so don’t miss out – head to www.godivingshow.com/dive-show-tickets
Photographs by Jason Brown / www.bardocreative.co.uk
