Marco Bordieri is the founder of VIZ – Sydney Diving Visibility Reports, Australia’s largest community for marine enthusiasts, now boasting 18,000 members, and he’ll be talking about underwater exploration and mapping with consumer-grade devices and skills when he graces the Main Stage at the GO Diving Show ANZ in Sydney in September.
Marco relocated from Milan to Sydney a decade ago, with a logbook showing 30 dives over 30 years, and him never remembering which way the tank should face when setting it up.
Sydney, however, provided the perfect setting for Marco to rekindle his love for diving: abundant marine life, accessible dive sites, and the freedom to explore on his terms. Yet, diving here also presented challenges – unpredictable visibility, a scarcity of underwater maps, and coastal swells that could make conditions hazardous.
Determined to make Sydney’s underwater world more accessible, Marco pioneered initiatives such as nurturing a network of dive reporters, developing a technique for creating underwater maps, and producing weekly diveability forecasts.
Through these efforts, diving in Sydney has become safer, more accessible, and less elitist.
VIZ is more than a Facebook group, it’s a philanthropic initiative by divers for divers. It’s vision is to be acknowledged as a leading example of local community for underwater enthusiasts, producing its own peer-to-peer resources focused on safety, enjoyment, knowledge and sustainability.
VIZ believes in community-sourced ideas and pro bono involvement to make them happen – it doesn’t have wealthy sponsors, it doesn’t solicit donations, and it doesn’t seek grants.
The community has inspired ideas and developed free services – precise underwater maps, dive site forecasts, citizen science, information hub, weekly segment on ABC Radio, collaboration and outreach for academia, industry and government.
The GO Diving Show ANZ
This annual event, taking place this year on 6-7 September at the Sydney Showground at the Olympic Park, is aimed at showcasing the very best of our underwater world to everyone from raw novices who are either contemplating getting into diving, or have completed their entry-level courses, to advanced divers, right through to technical divers and veteran CCR divers.
There are an array of stages – the Main Stage, the Photo Stage, the Australia/New Zealand Stage, the Inspiration Stage and the Tech Stage – that will play host to dozens of speakers from around the world, as well as a host of interactive features to suit young and old, from VR diving experiences, a demonstration pool, a trydive pool, and much more.
Surrounding the stages and features will be a broad range of exhibitors, from tourist boards and tour operators to resorts, liveaboards, training agencies, retailers, manufacturers, and conservation organisations.
Get your tickets now!
Tickets for the GO Diving Show ANZ are on sale now, and you can take advantage of the 2-for-1 earlybird offer until 9 September – you and your buddy/friend/partner/spouse can visit for just $12, and kids 16 and under get in for free, making it the perfect family day out. There is plenty of parking on-site and the venue is easy to get to with plenty of transport options, so get the dates in your diary now and prepare for an epic weekend celebrating all forms of diving.
