(DiverWire.com) – April 1, 2010 is the deadline for entries in the thirteenth annual Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition. The competition is open to amateur scuba diving photographers and videographers. Prizes include worldwide dive travel, dive equipment, and much more.
Contest Categories for 2010 are: Conservation, Video, Shipwrecks, Wide Angle (Novice), Wide Angle (Open), Macro/Close Up (Novice), Macro/Close Up (Open), Majestic, Togetherness and Divers and Marine Life. For complete details on eligibility, rules, and entry forms visit the official competition website at www.UWIMAGES.org.
The Underwater Images competition is a non-profit corporation registered in the State of Ohio, U.S.A., with all proceeds from this competition going to marine conservation, educational, and scholarship purposes.
Included among this years prizes is the Best of Show prize sponsored for the thirteenth year in a row by FeBrina and Walindi Plantation in Papua New Guinea. First Prize awards also include dive trips to other resorts in Papua New Guinea, Honduras, the Solomon Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bonaire, Hawaii and Indonesia. In addition, there are numerous awards of diving equipment and gift certificates from sponsors.
The major international charities that the Underwater Images Competition has supported for over a decade include Mahonia Na Dari and Pro Peninsula. Since 1998, Underwater Images has contributed significantly to each of these organizations.
Pro Peninsula is a conservation organization dedicated to empowering communities in Baja California, Mexico to protect and preserve their environment, with their main focus being a Sea Turtle Conservation Network that has gained international attention. Mahonia Na Dari has a well documented program of teaching marine conservation and awareness to school children in Papau New Guinea.
New sponsors for 2010 include Kasawari-Lembeh Resort in N. Sulawesi, Scuba Do Rag and MyScubaShop.com
A partial list of other prize sponsors in the photo and video competition includes:, Bilikiki Cruises Ltd. in the Solomon Islands, Tufi Dive Resort and Loloata Island Resort in PNG, Anthony’s Key / Bahia Tours in the Bay Islands of Honduras, Captain Don’s Habitat in Bonaire, Divi Flamingo Dive Resort in Bonaire, , Provo Turtle Divers, DiveTech and Cobalt Coast Resort of Grand Cayman, Nekton Cruises, Stuart Cove’s in the Bahamas, Wakatobi and Pelagian Dive Resort, Matava Ecoo-Adventures Resort in Fiji, Kungkungan Bay Resort and Tasik Ria Resort in North Sulawesi, SMY Ondina, Kararu, Maluku Dive Resort and Archipelago Resorts & Fleet in Indonesia.
Manufacturers who have consistently supported Underwater Images include, Ikelite, Ultralight Control Systems, Diving Unlimited International, ReefNet, Sherwood/Akona, Exploration Design, Omega Aquatics, Gates Video Housings and Pinnacle Aquatics.
