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Displaying items by tag: Red Bull Cliff Diving

Ballycastle, Northern Ireland, is all set to host a leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2024. This July, the global event will witness the world’s best cliff divers competing against each other on the beautiful Causeway Coast. This will be the first time Northern Ireland will host such an event, and it's going to be a spectacular one.

The event, which is free for the public, will take place on the fourth stop of the series. Ballycastle, situated within the Glens of Antrim, is an area of outstanding natural beauty. The choppy Atlantic waters of Ballycastle will prove to be a danger and a delight for the divers competing. The beautiful backdrop of the Causeway Coast will only add to the charm of the event.

The mid-season point of the series, this stop will test the divers' limits as they contend with challenging conditions, including fearsome winds. The roster of 24 male and female divers will dive and twist through the air from heights of up to 27 meters, plunging into the cold Atlantic at over 85 kmph.

As Afloat previously reported, The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of people, all hoping to witness a spectacle like no other. The competition will get underway at 4 pm on both days, and it's sure to be an unforgettable experience for everyone.

Previous stops of Red Bull's iconic World Series on these shores were held at the famous Serpent’s Lair in Inis Mór, and Dublin hosted the event for the first time in 2019 with a record-breaking attendance in Dún Laoghaire. The series headed back West to the cliffs of Downpatrick Head on its last stop in Ireland in 2021.

The reigning champions, Rhiannan Iffland from Australia and Constantin Popovici from Romania, will be the ones to watch out for. However, as this is the 15th season of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, there are sure to be plenty of thrills and spills throughout the season as the divers battle it out to claim the coveted King Kahekili Trophy.

The full calendar of the 2024 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is as follows: Athens, Greece - May 26th, Boston, USA - June 8th, Polignano a Mare, Italy - June 30th, Ballycastle, Northern Ireland - July 19th & 20th, Oslo, Norway - August 10th, Canada - August 25th, Antalya, Turkey - September 29th, and Sydney, Australia - November 10th.

#ISLAND NEWS - Champion cliff diver Orlando Duque paid a visit to Cong in Co Mayo recently to give a taster of what we can expect when Red Bull Cliff Diving comes to the Aran Islands this August.

As the video above shows, the nine-time World Champion from Colombia dived from the unusual platform of a helicopter hovering high over the water at Ashford Castle.

But it will be just his fellow competitors, the rocks and the waves to contend with at the Serpent's Lair in Inis Mór on 3-4 August at the fourth stop of the 2012 World Series, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

“The Serpent’s Lair is one of those places you only hear stories about,” said Duque ahead of the first ever World Series in 2009. “Finding this place and being able to dive there was one of the highlights of my career."

Published in Island News

Ireland's Sailor of the Year Awards

Created in 1996, the Afloat Sailor of the Year Awards represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene.

Since it began 25 years ago, the awards have recognised over 500 monthly award winners in the pages of Ireland's sailing magazine Afloat, and these have been made to both amateur and professional sailors. The first-ever Sailor of the Year was dinghy sailor Mark Lyttle, a race winner at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

And since then it's gone on to read like a who's who of Irish sailing.

The national award is specially designed to salute the achievements of Ireland's sailing's elite. After two decades the awards has developed into a premier awards ceremony for water sports.

The overall national award will be announced each January to the person who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to, Irish sailing in the previous year.

A review of the first 25 years of the Irish Sailor the Year Awards is here

Irish Sailor of the Year Award FAQs

The Irish Sailor of the Year Awards is a scheme designed by Afloat magazine to represent all that is praiseworthy, innovative and groundbreaking in the Irish sailing scene..

The Irish Sailor of the Year Awards began in 1996.

The awards are administered by Afloat, Ireland's boating magazine.

  • 1996 Mark Lyttle
  • 1997 Tom Roche
  • 1998 Tom Fitzpatrick & David McHugh
  • 1999 Mark Mansfield
  • 2000 David Burrows
  • 2001 Maria Coleman
  • 2002 Eric Lisson
  • 2003 Noel Butler & Stephen Campion
  • 2004 Eamonn Crosbie
  • 2005 Paddy Barry & Jarlath Cunnane
  • 2006 Justin Slattery
  • 2007 Ger O'Rourke
  • 2008 Damian Foxall
  • 2009 Mark Mills
  • 2010 Anthony O'Leary
  • 2011 George Kenefick
  • 2012 Annalise Murphy
  • 2013 David Kenefick
  • 2014 Anthony O'Leary
  • 2015 Liam Shanahan
  • 2016 Annalise Murphy
  • 2017 Conor Fogerty
  • 2018 Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove
  • 2019 Paul O'Higgins

Yes. The boating public and maritime community can have their say to help guide judges in deciding who should be crowned Ireland's Sailor of the Year by using an Afloat online poll). The judges welcome the traditional huge level of public interest in helping them make their decision but firmly retain their right to make the ultimate decision for the final choice while taking voting trends into account. By voting for your favourite nominee, you are creating additional awareness of their nomination and highlighting their success.

Anthony O'Leary of Crosshaven and Annalise Murphy of Dun Laoghaire are the only contenders to be Afloat.ie "Sailors of the Year" twice – himself in 2010 and 2014, and herself in 2012 and 2016.

In its 25 year history, there have been wins for 15, offshore or IRC achievements, nine dinghy and one designs accomplishments and one for adventure sailing.

Annually, generally in January or February of the following year.

In 2003 Her Royal Highness Princess Anne presented the Awards.

©Afloat 2020