Ultimate Diver Challenge

[love2fishfork]

Anybody know what happened to this? It was supposed to take place the same week as Dean went by. Did it get re-scheduled?

 

[Thalassamania]

Dear Ultimate Diver Challenge Shops, Clubs & Participants:

As most of you know from talking with me --- most of you are requesting more time to work and build your teams. After a few new developments, we have decided that the event this summer will be preliminary. Having a preliminary event will allow you the time and a peak at the various components of the challenges so that you can prepare your divers. The mock challenges will provide your divers with answers to many of the questions related to the roles that each diver will have as part of a team without the pressure of becoming the first Ultimate Diver Team.

Another great advantage to having a preliminary event is to provide our filming crew an opportunity to shoot a pilot film. This pilot is needed to secure a larger cable network for broadcasting purposes. Although, we do have two networks that are willing to broadcast this summer -- I am confident that if we allow a preliminary event to be held that we will secure the BIGGER ones. This is something that our sport and our industry deserve and need.

And Last, I have been marketing this event for the past year and not to my surprise -- I am constantly finding out that divers still do not know about this event. We need another solid year of strategic marketing that will assist each of you in creating your teams. I have some very exciting developments that will allow this to happen -- bigger sponsors and financial support that will provide a backbone for the success of this event.

Below you will see the pricing and flyer information that you can use to put together your fun diving teams for this years preliminary event. Your divers will enjoy the many prizes that will still be awarded while participating as they prepare to compete in next years 2008 Ultimate Diver Challenge.

The dates for 2008 and pricing will be announced very shortly!

ULTIMATE DIVER CHALLENGE

Do you have dive skills, control and efficiency that can assist your team at earning the title of "The Ultimate Diver Team?"

Bouyancy-Navigation-Diver Rescue-Search-Recovery-Dive Planning-Equipment Repair-Fish Identification-Underwater Mapping-and more!

Preliminary Challenge Event Comes to Cozumel

August 18 - August 25, 2007

Spend a week in Cozumel enjoying "Diver Games" that will assess and fine tune your skills as you prepare to compete in next years $100,000 Ultimate Diver Challenge.

Preliminary challenges will allow you to experience the types of skills and assessments you will experience when your team competes for the title of the Ultimate Diver Challenge in 2008. As you take a sneak peak at the kinds of challenges your team will face, you will also be part of the filming session that will create the Pilot film that will be used to secure a national network.

The week will begin with an opening ceremony at Hotel Club Cozumel Caribe on August 18th. Divers will be introduced to the Challenge Designers and participate in mock challenges. Divers will compete in The Discover Cozumel Race, Wed. August 21st with the team winners celebrating at our mid week ceremony. The week will end with an all day Beach Party for closing ceremony on Friday August 24.

Fun Divers
7 night packages for $863 9 night packages for $1025

Non Diving
7 nights packages for $565 9 night packages for $725

Event Includes:

• All Packages are all inclusive including 3 meals daily, snacks, beverages and alcohol.
• 5 days of 2 tank fun diving for divers.
• Participation in preliminary challenges
• Opening and Mid Week Ceremony
• All Day Beach Party for closing ceremony
• Discover Cozumel Race
• Photography Contest
• Land/Beach/Water Challenges with trips/products/equipment
• Fiesta Car Rentals of Cozumel will be providing a weekly Jeep Wrangler rental rate of $280 ($40 a day) plus 10 percent tax. Insurance optional but recommended. Rental car insurance rates: $15.- per day with a Deductible of 10% of the value of the Car or $25.- per day No Deductible This can be shared among teams/families. I will need to know in advance if and how many cars/jeeps your group would like to have.

Partake in a unique and exciting event!
For more information call 816-765-SCUBA (7282)
Sincerely,
Pam Bertrand, Director
Ultimate Diver Challenge, LLC

I suspect this translates as a lack of interest.

 

[Shepman]

Is this real, or a total scam?

It's one of those ideas that could be great or a ultimate debacle.

Their timing on the first year was pretty unlucky, eh?

 

[georoc01]

I can tell you that we had them at the Colorado Dive Day where they ran two dive challenges, one as a poker run to test navigation skills then a scavenger hunt. So I can tell you that the people running this are real, but that coordination for this year didn't happen. I didn't take it as a scam.

 

[CozumelAntonio]

No it's not a scam, it's a business. I've been following it since it's inception and believe it was doomed from the beginning as this "Contest" (diving as a comptetitive sport?) excluded local Cozumel divers from participation, after encountering a lack of response and outright detractions, some participation by locals was "allowed" for a fee. Karma of course had it's say and as pointed out the "event" coincided with Dean, dealing the ill-organized event a lethal blow.

If you were going to organize something like this, and you want local businesses to organize, participate and sponsor, and you are claiming that you're doing all of this to help Cozumel, you should make sure that there is actually a tangible benefit for the locals that are involved, not just pass the hat and then be denied participation. In theory it's a good business idea, and if done properly it could generate a good income, which I believe was really at the heart of the event. My 2 pesos.

 

[nauifins73]

I have been checking the website and nothing new or any updates on what they did this year

 

[Scubafrnds]

Hi,
Cozumel Event this summer was a bit of fun with a few challenges.....;-) Hurricane Dean did pass through but at the very end went mostly south of Cozumel allowing us to be successful in filming the pilot along with some of the challenges. This pilot is almost ready for your viewing and anyone wanting a copy can send me an email. We will have it available on line as well for your viewing. Either way, the divers that came down had a great time! Yes, we were in Colorado, and truly those that do know me -- know how hard I have worked on the Ultimate Diver Challenge. Those that do not like the idea, no problem. WE ARE not trying to make our sport competitive, merely allowing divers to be recognized for mastering skills that maintain our safety and the safety of others. I am not here to convince you to become part of something that you do not like. If you check the web site.. Many things have changed because of feed back from you and those in the industry that do support the idea of evaluating diving skills --- Some of the changes are TWO person teams versus teams of ten from those that remember the original plan; Also, Regional challenges like the one that we did in Colorado and the one upcoming in Dutch Springs and others that are in the plans. It is pretty exciting that many divers do embrace the idea of continued training with or with out the title of "The Ultimate Diver" We are simply inviting the industry to do what all other sports do whether they are competitive or no ..and that is to RECOGNIZE DIVERS for being the best of the best. This is not s SCAM and I really resent anyway posting like this. You should try calling me to learn a few more details about this. We will be at Dema, and We also have the web updated --- along with the Dutch Springs information. We will be looking for volunteers that would like to come and assist us next year in Cozumel. We have over $13,000 in donations and prizes to award for this event. Looking forward to Dutch Springs in just a few weeks. I also want to clarify with some -- No, I do not own a dive shop, I am just a mom, a nurse and I love to dive!
Diving!!! Pam Bertrand