After a hiatus of a year, the Two Oceans Aquarium Dive School will be hosting the UCT Underwater Club’s Diver24 fundraising initiative for its 24-hour dive-athon. The initiative aims to have UCT Underwater Club members scuba diving in the Two Oceans Aquarium’s I&J Ocean Exhibit from noon on 5 March until noon on 6 March. Funds raised will be donated to the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation and Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB).
“Diver24 is an innovative and celebratory event that is highly anticipated within the UCT Underwater Club. We greatly appreciate the opportunity to explore the vistas of the Two Oceans Aquarium, while having the knowledge that our enjoyment is contributing to the important beneficiary charities that we have chosen to support. This year, we are supporting the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation, as well as SANCCOB. I’m greatly looking forward to the event!” - Nicholas Miehe, UCT Underwater Club marketing and outreach.
Each year, the UCT Underwater Club hosts the Diver24 event to raise funds for various charities. This fun event aims to have divers in the water for 24 hours. The event has been hosted by the Two Oceans Aquarium since 2017, with the exception of 2021, when the global pandemic temporarily halted the established tradition. The Two Oceans Aquarium’s newly-launched Dive School is proud to be taking up the batten and again hosting the Underwater Club for the event this year. The first set of divers will enter the exhibit at noon on 5 March and the last set will exit the exhibit at noon on 6 March. This creates the perfect opportunity for visitors to the Aquarium to see divers in action, and to interact with the students who will be stationed in the public area of the exhibit.
“Diver24 is an exciting event that all our divers are excited to engage in again this year. The fundraising event aims to have divers in the water for a whole 24-hours- no easy feat! Each set of divers spends an hour in the exhibit, and we rotate the sets so that there is always a set of divers in the water. This year, we have some amazing sponsored prizes in our raffle, so we encourage everyone to buy raffle tickets on the day.” - Michaela Meyer, UCT Underwater Club marketing and outreach.
The event isn’t just a fun experience for the divers, it also aims to raise funds for the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation, and SANCCOB. Both of these organisations work towards the rehabilitation, education and research associated with marine life. The Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation has an active turtle rehabilitation and release programme, as well as seal disentanglement programme through the Marine Wildlife Management programme. SANCCOB specialises in the rehabilitation and release of coastal birds.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome the enthusiastic young people of the UCT Underwater club to the Two Oceans Aquarium for Diver24, turning their passion for this adventurous, outdoor hobby into good, by raising funds for the conservation and environmental education work of SANCCOB and our own Aquarium Foundation. Connecting people to the natural world, be it through an Aquarium visit, learning to dive at our Dive School, or simply being a scuba diving student, to inspire love and appreciation for our environment is a cause we can always get behind. We wish these young divers another year of underwater success.” - Devon Bowen, Digital Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium.
Be sure to stop by the Aquarium on 5 and 6 March to see the UCT Underwater Club’s Diver24 in action (the perfect time to ask about learning to scuba dive if you’ve ever been curious). Closer to the event, social media will be abuzz with hashtag #Diver24 and during the event, live updates will be given via Twitter and Instagram. Leading up to the event though, every effort is being made to push the fundraising effort. Donating is as easy as clicking this link.
