Since 2015, divers around the globe have celebrated PADI® Women’s Dive Day on the third Saturday of July – a day focused on shared adventure, community, passion and ocean conservation. With the overwhelming support of the dive community over the last five years, PADI Women’s Dive Day has grown into a worldwide celebration that brings everyone together – not just women – to foster a global community that encourages divers of all genders, ages and experience levels to safely and confidently explore and protect the underwater world. Every year, thousands of divers joined together at hundreds of events across the globe.
When planning started for the sixth annual PADI Women’s Dive Day, there were some big ideas to make a big impact on the global dive community and the ocean we love. As it turns out, 2020 is shaping out to be a year like no other. As we all know, dive businesses – and the ability to dive at all – have been significantly impacted. And like everything else in today’s world, events are looking much different than they have in the past. Safety measures call for social distancing and gatherings of any size are no longer advisable in many parts of the world.
But that doesn’t mean we need to stop celebrating the dive community. And we won’t. Today, “coming together” takes on a whole new meaning. There are still ways we can safely connect with divers, students, colleagues and dive buddies to nurture our local dive community and welcome everyone back into the water as soon it’s safe to do so.
Wherever you are in the world, and whatever your current situation, celebrate the sixth annual PADI Women’s Dive Day on 18 July 2020. It can be as simple as taking part virtually or, if your situation and local regulations allow, rally your divers to join you for an online or local event. Here are just a few ideas:
- Celebrate virtually with PADI. PADI Regional Headquarters are planning a robust lineup of online content and social activations that celebrate the female dive community. On 18 July, join PADI on Facebook and Instagram for 24 hours of PADI Women’s Dive Day posts, videos, stories and live interaction. Leading up to the day, explore blog articles and videos at padi.com/women and padi.com/community. Share this content and invite your divers to follow along with the #padiwomen and #padiwomensdiveday hashtags.
- Host an online event. It’s hard to know what the world will look like just a couple months from now. But even if your doors remain closed or hosting an event isn’t realistic, you can host an online event to connect with your local dive community. Invite female staff or local marine life experts to host a webinar, or bring together your divers for a Zoom happy hour. You can also lead a course online that will help new divers or your current customers get ready to dive in with you soon.
- Host a small, local event. Thankfully, diving is beginning to open back up in many parts of the world, often with certain restrictions for distance and safety. If you’re in one of the areas, consider using PADI Women’s Dive Day as an excuse to welcome divers back into your shop to dive with you. Invite your customers to join you for a fun dive or Dive Against Debris® to remind them how great it feels to connect with their local dive community and spend time doing what they love. Or plan an Open Water Diver course for people who may be looking for a new way to explore their backyard. Of course, be sure to follow all local regulations for gathering size limits, safety precautions and social distancing. If you’re planning an event, consider listing it on the PADI Adventures™ app to help divers near you hear about it.
We know everyone is facing many uncertainties and challenges these days. There’s no pressure to host an event – online or in person – if the timing isn’t right for you. Either way, we’ll keep the tradition alive, and keep reminding people there is a fantastic community of divers to connect with nearby and waters waiting for them to dive into when they can.
You can access PADI Women’s Dive Day marketing assets here.
