Diving in Namibia

Diving is considered to be one of the most important sporting activity despite being the least practiced sport in Namibia today.
Namibia Underwater Federation founder president Theo Scheoman said diving was done at a small scale because it is a very costly game coupled with the cold Benguela current along the Namibian coastal waters which is relatively cold and also has a low visibility during the year resulting in the limited number of dive sites.
Scheoman said diving equipment costs 10,000 Namibian dollars which is a colossal amount for most people that would want to take up the sport.
He revealed that Cousleau Gagnan is considered to be the father of diving as he was the first to originally use the Self Contained Underwater Breath (SCUBA).It is basically an apparatus that has a mouth piece connected to a cylinder which contains compressed air. This was the first ever technology that enabled people to work under water.
Diving in Namibia started in the 1970’s by Scheoman who at the time was an ardent diver and recognised the need of setting up a club that later on resulted in the establishment of an Under- water federation whose task is to spearhead and regulate diving in Namibia.
Scheoman’s initiative led to the formation of the Windhoek Underwater club.
In 1991, the Namibia Underwater Federation became affiliated to the World Underwater federation which gave the federation access to international participation and exposure to latest trends and developments in the sport of under water diving.
On the local scène, the federation has been involved in various projects such as research, explorations, surveys and recovery operations. However, there are four diving clubs which include Windhoek Underwater, Skeleton coast diving, Otjikoto diving enterprises and lately International Nitrox and Technical Diving.
As diving gains ground, Namibians have proved to be hard core divers and dive deeper than their qualifications however they are capable of handling the depths and a lot of safety measures are in place.
Generally, only one team of divers is allowed under water at a time while another team is geared in the water to act as back up. Lake Otjikoto has stood out as the premier dive site and so far, no causalities have been reported over the years. This is because diver training is constantly conducted for divers and instructors in order to conform to international standards.
Scheoman said diving competitions are held regularly though Namibia has never participated in any world competition or championship.
‘’Namibia has not yet participated in any diving competitions or tournaments but has its regular annual competitions,’’ said Scheoman.
He also revealed that the main diving areas are Walvis Bay, Swakopund and Lake Oshikoto.
One of the common type of diving that was practiced for sometime is spear fishing which is done by diving down and looking for fish and shooting it and then coming back to the surface all in one breath. However, this competition is no longer practiced because of its destructive nature.
The more latest diving sport is Underwater hockey which is being practiced competitively in Namibia. Divers go underwater and play it in a swimming pool.
Therefore, diving is the most important sport in the world because two-thirds of the earth is covered with water and as the population expands the whole future will largely depend on underwater technology hence the need to engage in water and underwater activities.