On July 18, a groundbreaking initiative unfolded on the Caribbean island of Dominica, as local dive operator Dive Dominica Ltd. welcomed more than 100 girls and women across age groups for the nation’s first ever Women’s Dive Day. Designed to shatter long-standing gender stereotypes in the watersports industry, the event opened the door for female participants to take their very first breaths underwater and explore the transformative recreational and professional opportunities that ocean activities can offer.
Hosted at the Anchorage Hub’s purpose-built confined water pool facility, the full-day introductory program centered on making scuba diving approachable and accessible for women who had never before interacted with dive equipment. Unlike open-water introductory events that can feel overwhelming for first-timers, the controlled pool environment let new divers build skills gradually, surrounded by peers who shared their same starting point. Participants spanned five decades of life, ranging in age from 10-year-old young ocean enthusiasts to 60-year-old women curious about exploring a new outdoor hobby.
Leading the immersive session was Earl Martindale, Dive Dominica’s lead PADI-certified instructor, who walked attendees through core foundational knowledge before they ever entered the water. The curriculum opened with a detailed safety briefing to address common first-time anxieties, followed by one-on-one assistance to properly fit each participant’s scuba gear, ensuring comfort and safety for their first underwater experience. Once in the pool, Martindale and his team of assistant instructors guided each diver through basic scuba skills as part of PADI’s official Discover Scuba program, structured to build confidence slowly rather than push new participants beyond their comfort zone.
By the end of the day, every single participant had successfully completed all requirements of the introductory dive, walking away with an official PADI Discover Scuba Certificate of Completion to mark their milestone. The event received additional community support through a partnership with local supplier Fine Foods Inc., which donated Blue Waters bottled water to keep attendees hydrated throughout the day. Several participants also received custom PADI-branded gifts as souvenirs to commemorate their first underwater adventure.
For Dive Dominica, the event was far more than a one-off recreational gathering: organizers frame it as a critical first step toward closing the gender gap in the global watersports and marine tourism sectors, where men have historically held the majority of recreational participants and professional roles. By creating a low-pressure, welcoming space exclusively for women and girls to try diving, the company aims to inspire more females to pursue scuba diving both as a leisure activity and as a long-term career in marine tourism, conservation, or dive instruction. In a statement following the event, Dive Dominica celebrated the participants’ willingness to step outside their comfort zones, saying: “Dive Dominica congratulates all participants on disrupting the status quo and feeding the ‘urge to submerge’!”