Overview
The New Zealand leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, which was set to dive into Auckland from Saturday, November 18–Sunday, November 19, has been postponed until 2024. This global competition sees 24 of the world's best cliff divers fling themselves off a 27-metre platform and into the water below, in an attempt to secure the cliff-diving crown.
The adrenaline-charged sport, which was coming to New Zealand for the first time in its 14-year-history, will now take place on Saturday, January 27–Sunday, January 28, 2024. The Red Bull team made the difficult decision to postpone the competition for two months due to the rāhui in place over the Waitematā Harbour.
A rāhui is placed on an area by the local iwi, who have done so to either protect the area due to its unstable ecosystem, or because a tragic event such as a drowning has occurred. The rāhui has been placed over the Waitematā Harbour due to a sewer collapse in the nearby suburb of Parnell, which caused waste to flow into the sea.
With the threat of contaminated waters, Red Bull had to make sure it put the health and safety of its athletes first, as well as the 30,000 people who are expected to turn up to the event. Red Bull New Zealand's General Manager James MacVicar said the team "fully respect the rāhui and its purpose, which is to protect our waterways".
"Our priority is to give the public and the competitors the best experience they can have without any risks," MacVicar said.
Ahead of the Auckland final, competitors have been leaping off tall objects in six countries across the world. The series began in Boston, where divers flung themselves off the Institute of Contemporary Art into the wharf below. It then moved onto Paris, with the dive taking place close to the Eiffel Tower, before heading to Italy, Japan and Bosnia before hitting New Zealand.
The task is seemingly simple: a leap from a 27-metre or 21-metre platform (depending on whether you're competing in the women's or men's competition), a few mid-flight aerobic tricks, then finishing off with a feet-first entry into the water at around 85 kilometres per hour.
The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series final has been postponed, and will now take place at Auckland's Wynyard Quarter on Saturday, January 27–Sunday, January 28, 2024.