Portuguese American Journal

Sports: Red Bull Cliff Diving competition returns to São Miguel – Azores

For the seventh consecutive year, 16 world class cliff divers from 17 countries gathered in São Miguel, Azores, to participate in the third stop of the 2018 International Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The competition includes 28 athletes men and women from 17 countries.

This stop of the extreme sports event is being held July 14 at the Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo, an islet offshore São Miguel island. Previous competitions were held on the islet in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The challenges facing the athletes have proved the location to be a tournament favorite. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the competition with seven stops in seven countries for the men and women.

Venues and dates around the globe include stops in Texas, United States (June 2); Bilbao, Spain (June 30); Sisikon, Switzerland (August 5); São Miguel, Azores, Portugal (July 14); Copenhagen, Denmark (August 25); Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (September 8); and Polignano a Mare, Italy (September 23).

Divers will leap from two platforms placed 27 and 21 meters above the Atlantic Ocean to take a free fall, achieving speeds of approximately 85kph. The challenge creates a special thrill for the athletes and the spectators.

The event “promises to show the most complex and exuberant jumps of the modality proposed by FINA (International Swimming Federation/Fédération Internationale de Natation) for the Olympic Games of 2020” according to the organization.

Classified as a Nature Reserve, the islet of Vila Franca do Campo is home to many species of birds, crustaceans and flora. Formed from the remains of a collapsed underwater volcano, the islet is named after the nearby Vila Franca do Campo town.

Established in 2009, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is an annual extreme sport challenge created by Red Bull. Five international judges score each dive based on a scale of zero to 10 in half-point increments.

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