Welcome to Diving Divas South Africa!

Diving Divas. Dorado

Welcome to Diving Divas South Africa!

By Christal Botes

Diving Diva Christal Botes and a delectable KZN garrick

The first-ever female spearfishing initiative in South Africa. Yes! Spearfishing was once seen as a man’s sport but more and more women have become interested in it and are excelling at it. Diving Divas SA was established by Christal Botes in 2016 and is a proud social initiative including experienced female spearfishing athletes from all over South Africa.

Our aim is to grow the presence of women in the sport of spearfishing and our focus is to upskill more women by offering support and training in diving capabilities, diving equipment, gear knowledge and safety aspects of diving.

Training and courses

We also offer one-on-one Freediving Training Sessions and we’ll soon be running Freediving Courses too! Freediving is the foundation of spearfishing which is why we recommend courses to all our divas! It gives them much more confidence in the water and they enter the water feeling relaxed and calm. We share knowledge and tips on underwater hunting techniques for different species of fish including where they can be found and suitable methods for spearing them, spearfishing fitness & readiness, boat diving and blue water spearfishing, shore diving and surf entry, reading the weather conditions correctly and we show ladies how to handle the fish when it has been shot, how to clean and gut the fish and how to prepare a delicious meal from it.

Safety

Spearfishing is a dangerous sport and we take safety to the next level so we make sure all our divas understand and is fully aware of all the dangers of spearfishing. It is the duty of every diver to dive responsibly and to be alert to what is happening around them, they should also know how to act in a case of emergency. Shallow water blackouts usually occur on the surface and happen completely unexpectedly and without warning, many spearos have died this way. It can be avoided by knowing how to react in such situations. We also educate our divas on the Regulations and Protective measures of spearfishing, with SA having a remarkably high number of marine species we need to know how to care for the environment and to leave it in a better state than we found it so that the next generation of spearos can also be able to benefit from sustainable food harvesting.