PADI awards 20th millionth scuba diver in Micronesia

PADI's countdown race to find the 20 millionth winner of their scuba diving trip is finally over as they last week revealed the name of the lucky diver to scoop up the coveted prize.

PADI Open Water Diver Alexandra Swanson was enjoying her scuba diving holidays in Guam when news of the win hit her and she revealed to press how over the moon she was about walking away with the prize: "Earning my PADI Open Water Diver course certification was a great experience. My instructor was great and the diving was unbelievable. I was happy just to receive my certification, so winning the trip to the Great Barrier Reef has made this experience legendary," she said.

Awarder her fabulous prize last week on 14th September, the international scuba training organisation made the news public that they had found their 20 millionth diver. As a result, Swanson will now enjoy fully paid scuba diving holidays to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

But Alexandra is not the only one to walk out triumphant, as her scuba instructor, PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Timmothy Aguon, and PADI Five Star Instructor Development Centre Micronesian Divers Association in Guam, also won fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime trips to the Great Barrier Reef.

Both the instructor and scuba diving centre were aware of the campaign prior to certifying Swanson and worked diligently towards the goal. "We were happy to hear of the 20 millionth diver certification campaign. The contest encouraged customers to earn their open water diver course certification or continue their dive education and enroll in a specialty course. Plus, we jumped at the chance to win a trip to Queensland and experience the MV Spirit of Freedom live-aboard," Lee Webber, Micronesian Divers Association President/owner said as he expressed his joy over the win.

Alexandra Swanson will now be able to enjoy exotic scuba diving holidays in Australia and bring a companion, along with the Micronesian team of instructors, a duo made up of scuba diving trainer Aguon and a representative from the Micronesian Divers Association.

All winners will enjoy four nights accommodation in Cairns, Queensland and a three-night excursion on the live-aboard dive boat MV Spirit of Freedom. During their trip, they will visit some of the world's most amazing scuba diving destinations, including iconic Great Barrier Reef dive sites like Cod Hole and the Ribbon Reefs. Tourism Queensland graciously provided the PADI winners with the land and air portions of the trip to the Great Barrier Reef while the MV Spirit of Freedom generously sponsored the scuba diving portion of the prize package.

PADI's "Countdown to 20 Million" promotion was launched only a month ago, in August 2011 to celebrate this PADI milestone and the support to Queensland's scuba diving market by highlighting the excellent travel and dive opportunities available in this world famous diving spot. Long known by the scuba diving community as the world's largest reef system and one of the natural wonders of the world, the Minister for Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business of Queensland, Jan Jarret said "This is great news for our tourism operators along the length and breadth of the Great Barrier Reef as PADI promoted our natural wonder of the world"