Initiative for a strong and sustainable diving industry - powered by Curaçao
In order to support the international diving industry even better, boot has launched the "boot dive award". Five awards are presented annually in the categories Personality, Destination, Innovation, Product and Climate. The winners of the "boot dive award" 2023 were chosen for the first time at boot 2023.
A renowned jury of experts, consisting of the editors-in-chief of the diving media divemaster, TAUCHEN, taucher.net, VDSTsporttaucher and WETNOTES, selects three nominations per category from the applications. By means of public voting and the final verdict of the expert jury, the winners of the "boot dive award powered by Curaçao" were determined and honoured at boot Düsseldorf 2024 on Friday, 26 January 2024.
The winners of the dive awards 2024
The winners of the dive award 2024 in the individual categories have been announced:
PERSONALITY Dr. Christine Figgener
CLIMATE Deutsche Stiftung Meeresschutz
PRODUCT ENOS®-System
INNOVATION Divevolk Underwater Touchscreen
DESTINATION Bergwerktauchen Nuttlar
Congratualtions to all winners!
Impressions from the award ceremony at boot Düsseldorf 2024
Curaçao – main sponsor of the boot dive award 2024
Curaçao is a paradise for divers: crystal clear turquoise water, pleasant temperature all year round, beautiful reefs and the diverse underwater world make diving in Curaçao an overwhelming experience! Curaçao is surrounded by the bluest blue. The unique nature of Curaçao’s year-round warm temperature, combined with the sunlight, results in the island being encircled by some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. The island has more than 70 diving spots. Most of the dive sites are easily accessible from the shore, but diving from the boat is also possible. The most famous dive sites are Mushroom Forrest, Superior Producer, Director’s Bay and Klein Curacao. Whether you are a beginner or experienced diver, dive in and swim through this rare explosion of color full of life. Delight in the native cornet fish, green moray eels, sponges and unusual coral formations or explore deep chasms and shipwrecks.
The category PERSONALITY is about people. Here, outstanding athletes, underwater and nature filmmakers or people from other fields are honored who have rendered outstanding public service to diving, the diving industry and the oceans.
Dr. Christine Figgener
Project: From the deep blue sea to plastic pollution Dr Christine Figgener is one of the most dedicated marine biologists working to protect sea turtles. Her breakthrough came in 2015 when a video of her removing a plastic straw from a turtle's nose went viral. With this momentum, she is using the appeal of these charismatic animals to raise global awareness about the state of the oceans. As an author, science communicator and NGO leader in Costa Rica, she combines research with matters of the heart. From schools to universities, she inspires people to fall in love with sea turtles and join their conservation mission.
"If I win ... I'll put the money into a citizen science project to increase the love for sea turtles: an online photo ID database for sea turtles encountered during dives"
The PRODUCT category is all about equipment and technology. It doesn't necessarily have to be the biggest, fastest or most expensive piece of equipment that makes life easier for divers. Maybe the clever trick is in the detail? Or in a new type of material that has never existed before? Or in the fact that a proven product can now be manufactured in a particularly environmentally friendly way using new technologies?
Like hardly any other watersport, diving is closely linked to the topic of travel. The DESTINATION category is therefore dedicated to tourist aspects. Divers set off all over the world to explore the wonders of the underwater world. In this category you can find destinations and tourist offers that are especially well adapted to divers. Destinations and regions as a whole as well as individual hotels, dive centers or liveaboards can apply.
In the CLIMATE section, everything revolves around projects and initiatives that are advancing in a special way toward climate protection and climate neutrality. For example, scientists, lobbyists and environmental organizations can be nominated - in short, anyone whose work or project is dedicated to the health of our oceans and the life in them. Because climate change is the greatest threat to oceans and waters.
INNOVATION says a lot about the future viability of an industry. In this category, we celebrate people, companies, and initiatives that make a special contribution to the sustainability of the diving industry, its foundations and resources. Where are the concepts and projects that make the diving industry fit for the future? Where are the ideas that are shaping the world of tomorrow with a fresh wind and forward-looking energy?
From all complete applications received by the end of the application phase, the winner will be chosen in three phases:
Phase 1: Our qualified jury will select 3 nominees per category from all applications.
Phase 2: Everyone can support their favorite by casting their vote in the Public Voting up to and including 03.12.2023, 11.59 pm.
Phase 3: The jury chooses the boot "dive award powered by Curaçao" winner, the public voting counts as one vote!
What is the selection process?
In selecting the winning projects, our expert jury uses the following criteria:
1. Effectiveness The topic has the potential to have a clear and continuous impact in the sense of the respective category.
2. Participation As many people as possible are integrated into and/or participate in the project.
3. Networking The project motivates further actors and achieves the greatest possible impact.
Overview of the jury members
The jury
The top-class expert jury of the boot dive award consists of the editors-in-chief of the diving media divemaster, TAUCHEN, taucher.net, VDSTsporttaucher and WETNOTES.
Alexander Kaßler, Editor in Chief TAUCHEN
Alexander Kaßler graduated from the Technical University of Munich with a degree in sports/media and communications science. After working in sports communications for Daimler AG and German sports television, he completed his traineeship as an editor at Olympia Verlag in Nuremberg. There he worked as an editor for the diving magazine "unterwasser" since 2005. In addition to various training and further education courses, including as a diving instructor and photographer, he took over as editor-in-chief of "unterwasser" in 2018. Since the merger of the two magazine titles "unterwasser" and "TAUCHEN" into Europe's largest commercial diving magazine "TAUCHEN" in 2020, he has presided over the title as responsible editor-in-chief.
Dietmar W. Fuchs, Editor in Chief VDSTsporttaucher
Dietmar W. Fuchs has been working as editor-in-chief for international diving magazines since September 1988. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the magazines "unterwasser" (Germany) and "Scuba Diving through the lens" (Singapore), as well as editor-in-chief and art director of "Edition Fifty Fathoms" (Switzerland), the only art magazine dedicated to underwater photography - for which he had the privilege of curating the first underwater photography exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2014 for "World Ocean Day".
In addition to studying communication science, Fuchs studied biology at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich and immediately took home an Honorable Mention in the Rolex Award for his thesis on "Breeding the Maritime Fencer Snail." Somehow watches have stayed with him until today and he has become an expert on the history(s) of exclusive diving watches.
In the field of diving, Fuchs is only honorary editor-in-chief of the members' magazine of the Verband deutscher Sporttaucher e.v., The "VDSTsporttaucher" reaches a good 80,000 members in printed form by subscription, making it Europe's largest diving magazine, as well as co-editor-in-chief of the "divemaster".
In his former life, he worked for several years as a treasure diver in Puerto Rico and as a diving instructor and charter boat captain in the Windward Islands. In 1985, Fuchs founded "NAUI Germany" and spent the first years of Technical Diving alongside Bret Gilliam. Thanks to his friendship with Umberto Pelizzari, he brought the first apnea diving competitions to Germany in 1995, and just one year later, as team captain of the first German National Apnea Team, he won the bronze medal in the legendary AIDA World Cup. He also co-initiated the underwater, now SSI Dive Trophy. So no matter what topic he touches in diving, Fuchs knows pretty much what he is writing about or publishing.
Dr. Friedrich Naglschmid, Publisher and Editor in Chief divemaster
Dr. Friedrich Naglschmid, publisher and editor-in-chief of the trade magazine divemaster, has been connected to the world under water since his earliest youth. Even during his studies, Naglschmid, who is now a publisher, book author and editor of the diving magazine divemaster, was active as a journalist and campaigned actively for the protection of species and the environment. Since the 1970s, Naglschmid, who holds a doctorate in biology, has been committed to these goals on a voluntary basis, in addition to his professional activities in teaching and environmental education at the time. He was a co-founder of the Aktionsgemeinschaft Artenschutz and representative of the Cousteau petition in Germany, as well as a founding member of the Förderkreis Sporttauchen. From 1976 on, he was a member of the board of the German Scuba Divers Association, first as the first head of the department for research and environmental protection, then in 1986 as vice president and from 1996 to 2000 as president, shaping its development in the field of nature sports. Already in the 1980s he designed the first environmental guidelines for ecological and sustainable diving, "Manifestos against UW hunters, UW culture robbers, environmental destroyers and water polluters" and introduced the "Ten Golden Rules for Sport Divers". His motto to this day: "Dive like your shadow, leave no trace".
Nina Zschiesche, Editor in Chief WETNOTES
Nina Zschiesche, born in 1978, was already writing for the culture and theme pages of daily newspapers and magazines during her studies in philosophy and German language and literature. After a traineeship at the diving magazines "unterwasser" and "Sporttaucher," which were then based at the same publishing house, she worked for many years as an editor at "Sporttaucher. Since 2018, she has been editor-in-chief and part owner of the tech diving magazine WETNOTES. Diving is not only her professional passion, she also spends every free minute under water in her private life.
Armin Süss & Herbert Gfrörer, Editors in Chief Taucher.Net
Armin Süss and Herbert Gfrörer both have their origins in the IT industry. Since the end of the 90s, the passionate divers have been responsible for the development of Taucher.Net and developed the portal into the largest platform for diving in Europe. With a wide range of diving bases / safari ships experience database, equipment database including reviews, a highly frequented forum, buddy search, job exchange and other classified ads, as well as an online magazine and news section, the beginner to the experienced diver and all those interested in diving can find almost any desired information.
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