The 38th Scuba Show rolled into Long Beach, California, over the weekend of 31 May/1 June and, as befitting the largest consumer dive event in the USA, it offered a smorgasbord of exhibitors, seminars and interactive elements to divers of all levels of experience.
Thousands of eager divers flocked to the Long Beach Convention Centre for the annual Scuba Show – returning to its spiritual home after last year’s brief move to Los Angeles – and there was plenty to keep everyone from entry-level divers to seasoned veterans occupied the entire weekend.
With hundreds of exhibitors, from training agencies, travel specialists, tourist boards and jewelry makers to equipment manufacturers, liveaboards, charter boats, dive centers, retailers and resorts – and much, much more – attendees were spoilt for choice as to who they were going to talk to.
The Scuba Show was the perfect place to check out new gear, line up your next dive certification, plan your forthcoming dive adventure, or partake in a spot of retail therapy, all in the company of like-minded enthusiasts.
There was a palpable buzz over the two days, from the moment the doors opened on the Saturday morning, and this friendly, welcoming atmosphere continued until the show closed on Sunday afternoon.
The event is renowned for the host of prizes that are up for grabs over the weekend, and there were a long list of door prizes, ranging from resort stays and dive equipment, to liveaboard trips and more.
The first 25 people through the door on the Saturday who called by the California Diving News booth with a certificate from the morning Welcome Show – put on as always by Greg Holt from Scuba Radio each morning to entertain the masses before the show doors opened – were able to claim a TEKNA Splash-Lite LED flashlight.
A charity raffle took place on the Saturday night at the show party, with all of the proceeds going to the worthy Zale Parry Scholarship. Ed Stetson was presented with the 2025 Scuba Service Award, in honor of his service to the diving community.
Stetson has been training recreational, research and commercial divers for over 45 years, and is well known as the volunteer organizer of several of the largest non-profit events benefitting divers and the diving industry, including the Hans and Lotte Hass Santa Barbara Underwater Film Festival, and the Ernie Brooks Santa Barbara Underwater Film Festival.
So many seminars to choose from
Many attendees took the opportunity to purchase an all-access pass, which gave them the chance to sit in on some of the host of seminars that were taking place in the rooms located directly beneath the main show hall. In total, six seminar rooms were playing host to over 60 talks, presentations and demonstrations.
These ranged from talks on California dive sites and other local interest topics, to global destinations, photo hints and advice, dive safety, expanding your skill set, and much more.
Speakers for 2025 included the likes of Dan Orr, Dale Sheckler, Marty Snyderman, Mark Strickland, Bruce Sudweeks, Andy Sallmon and Alison Vitsky Sallmon, Karl Huggins, Brett Eldridge, Gretchen M Ashton, Jeffrey Bozanic, and Charlotte Seid.
Interactivity
While the Scuba Show revolves around the exhibitor booths, there are also plenty of interactive elements dotted throughout the hall for attendees to enjoy.
These ranged from the trydive pool – which was open to anyone aged 10 and up to experience scuba first-hand – to the impressive 40-foot-long ‘Kelp Wall’ (how many marine species did you spot?), New Product Showcase with the latest releases to market for all the ‘gear hounds’, Deco Dome immersive theater taking people on a whistlestop tour to eight popular diving destinations, dive truck and jet skis from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Art Zone, where adults and children could get hand’s on with their creativity with California Diving News’ Art Director Doreen Hann.
Temporary tattoos and a huge collaborative art piece were the order of the day.
There were also Photo Stations with all manner of props for those Insta-friendly images, as well as the popular Shark Cage, and the Pirate Dive Bar in the Deco Zone was the place to meet up with friends, sink a refreshing beverage and rest your legs before ‘diving’ back into the show floor.
Passing on the baton
The Scuba Show was founded way back in 1987 by Kim and Dale Sheckler, and they successfully ran the event until 2011, when they sold the show – and California Diving News (which they launched in 1984) – to Mark and Ginny Young, who have grown the show to what it is today.
Kim and Dale, and many of their friends and relatives, still volunteer at the show to this day, alongside friends and family of Mark and Ginny. It is this warm, inclusive nature which permeates deep into the Scuba Show at all levels, and is part of what keeps people coming back as attendees year after year.
Next year will see Rork Media Limited, the dynamic team behind the global Scuba Diver magazines (UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand, and Germany) and the much-lauded GO Diving Shows in the UK and Australia, take over the reins of the Scuba Show and California Diving News.
A family-run enterprize with a small, passionate team of committed divers, Rork Media is looking forward to driving the event on to even-greater heights, with additional interactivity and much more. See you in Long Beach in 2026!
Photographs by Liz Marchiondo Imaging
If this event were in FL I would love to go.