Scuba diving and underwater sports have a dedicated following in New Zealand's marine environment — the Poor Knights Islands, Fiordland, and the Bay of Islands are world-class dive destinations. New Zealand also has active underwater hockey and freediving communities. This guide covers the key grant funding sources.
Diving NZ governs competitive underwater sports in New Zealand:
- Underwater hockey (octopush)
- Finswimming and other underwater disciplines
- National championship events
Contact Diving NZ and your regional body for Sport NZ programme access.
Underwater hockey (octopush) is played on the bottom of a swimming pool with snorkelling equipment:
- Teams push a weighted puck with short sticks
- New Zealand has an active community competitive scene
- National championships held annually
- Pool access is the primary requirement
Sport NZ funds underwater sports through Diving NZ:
- National programme investment
- Participation development
RSTs can fund community underwater sport development.
RSTs fund underwater sport clubs:
- Equipment grants for underwater hockey clubs
- Junior development programmes
Key RSTs:
- Aktive Auckland: Auckland pool-based underwater hockey community
- Sport Wellington: Wellington underwater hockey clubs
Gaming trusts fund diving and underwater sport clubs:
- Four Winds Foundation: Community sport organisations
- Grassroots Trust: Club sport development
- Pub Charity: Equipment grants
- Lion Foundation: Junior sport development
Typical gaming trust grants:
- Underwater hockey equipment (fins, gloves, sticks, pucks, masks)
- Pool hire subsidies
- Shared scuba or freediving equipment for clubs
- Junior development clinics
Underwater hockey needs:
- Long freediving fins: Speed underwater
- Gloves: Protective hand gear
- Sticks: Short curved sticks
- Pucks: Lead game pucks
- Masks and snorkels: Standard underwater masks
- Caps: Optional head protection
Pool hire is the ongoing primary cost.
New Zealand's marine environment creates strong conservation diving connections:
- Marine reserve monitoring: Citizen science diving in protected areas
- Marine debris: Underwater rubbish collection
- Kina (sea urchin) removal: Helping kelp forest recovery by removing overabundant kina
- Environmental funders: DOC, community trusts, and environmental foundations fund conservation diving
Department of Conservation (DOC) funds marine conservation:
- Dive surveys and monitoring in marine reserves
- Conservation volunteer programmes
- Marine reserve management partnerships
Environment funders: Community trusts with environmental focus fund marine conservation diving.
Competitive freediving:
- AIDA NZ: Governing body for competitive freediving in NZ
- Spearfishing NZ: Competitive spearfishing (separate from conservation diving)
- Equipment: Wetsuits, monofins, weight systems
Adaptive scuba diving:
- Paralympics NZ: Where disability diving has competitive connection
- Disability sport organisations: Adaptive aquatics
- Scuba diving is accessible for many physical disabilities
Entry-level underwater sport:
- Snorkelling programmes: Learn-to-snorkel for children
- Coastal school programmes: Schools near marine reserves
- Youth ocean education: Marine biology and ocean literacy programmes
Lottery Sport funds community sport:
- Underwater sport clubs with active community programmes can apply
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Participant numbers: Divers and underwater sport participants by programme
- Pool or ocean access: Confirmed venues for training and competition
- Conservation programme: Marine conservation activities — a major strength for NZ funders
- Equipment specifics: Shared equipment justified per club size and programme
- Junior development: Young participants in entry-level programmes
- Disability diving: Adaptive aquatics if applicable
- Club governance: Financial health, affiliation to Diving NZ
- Environmental outcomes: Conservation impact — species monitoring, debris removed
Tahua's grants management platform helps diving clubs manage grant applications across sport, environmental, and community funders, tracking participation and conservation outcomes that funders value.