World underwater photography and underwater video tournaments conclude.
The World Underwater Photography and Underwater Video Championships of the World Confederation of Underwater Activities (CMAS) are coming to an end today, after several days of training and competition in the beautiful seabed of Cuba’s main beach resort.
This Saturday, the winners will be announced among the 80 competitors from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Slovenia, Germany, Chile, Brazil, Japan, Denmark, Holland, Turkey and Cuba. Always departing from the Chapelin Marina, during October 11th and 12th, the 15 participating teams demonstrated their skill in taking photographs and videos, and on their return they handed their memory cards to the jury.
The Cuban representative of CMAS and member of the organizing committee, Francisco «Pipín» Ferrera, praised the insurance of the event, supported by 20 boats, part of the logistics necessary to support the dives, so that the competitors could perform under all conditions.
He explained that the photographic and video materials are evaluated by three judges, one Cuban and two international, and 22 other experts who were sent the samples through the Internet, the result of the work of a contest that took place at a maximum depth of 30 meters, with two dives each day.
The participants competed in the categories Macro, Wide Angle, Model and Spectacularity, while each video team had to film an audiovisual for a period of eight hours to compete in between two and four minutes, with no editing cuts.
With a varied collateral program, this Friday at the Royalton Hicacos Hotel, which hosts the contestants, a colloquium was held on how to breathe more and better at sea, where research results were shared and interesting experiences were transmitted. Thanks to the offers of the travel agency Ecotur S.A., the teams have been able to enjoy various optional excursions that have enabled them to enjoy the diversity of tourist products inside and outside Varadero.
In the afternoon of Saturday, October 14th, the official closing ceremony of the world championships will take place and a little later, at the Continental Cabaret, the winners by countries in underwater photography and marine videos will be announced.
This is the second time that Cuba organizes a tournament of this nature, the previous one took place in Cayo Largo del Sur, which is a tacit recognition of the care and beauty of its seabed, considered among the best preserved in the Caribbean.
The World Tourism Organization has named the Greater Antilles as one of the most important destinations for diving tourism, as it has an area of coral reefs of 3,20 square kilometers, around 1,103 species of marine life, and a total area of 1,000 species of sea turtles, square kilometers of coral reefs, around 1,103 species of fish and 44 species in danger of extinction at present.
Kerim Sabuncuoglu, president of the CMAS Visual Commission, acknowledged that the purpose of the underwater photography and video events is to contribute to the dissemination of these exceptional attributes of the seabed.
These events, held from October 9th to 14th, were organized by the World Confederation of Underwater Activities with the support of Ecotur Travel Agency and the technical assistance of Marlins Marina.
Writen by Eva Luna Acosta Armiñán.
