Our region is no stranger to huge sporting events, but the next one up is a first not only for Tampa Bay, but for the entire Gulf Coast from St. Pete to Mexico. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series takes over downtown St. Pete and the waters of Tampa Bay this June 5th and 6th, from 12-3 pm each day, and it will be unlike anything Florida has seen before.
St. Pete is the only U.S. stop on the World Series’ six-event world tour, and it’s the first-ever on the Gulf Coast. For a frame of reference, Tampa Bay is the second of six global tour stops following Bali. Making the news even better: it’s completely free to attend. Just show up and take it all in. The diving apparatus will be constructed on the St. Pete Pier, with viewing areas spread around the pier and St. Pete’s Downtown waterfront. Savvy watchers will take it in from the water on boats and paddleboards (from a safe distance, of course).
ADVERTISEMENT
The thing that makes this event unique, however, isn’t just the rarity of its appearance here on our doorstep. It’s the elite nature of the competition. Short of the Olympics, there isn’t another sporting event on the planet with this many of the world’s best competing directly against each other. Even the Super Bowl only has a handful of All-Pros between the two teams. The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series is effectively nothing but All-Pros, competing against each other individually.
Male divers launch from 27 meters, which is roughly equivalent to a nine-story building. Female divers go from 21 meters. They hit the water at speeds of up to 85 kilometers per hour, experiencing close to ten times the force of gravity on impact. For frame of reference, the building at the end of the St. Pete Pier housing Teak and Pier Teaki tops out at 52 feet. The men’s diving platform will rise another 36-and-a-half feet above that.
These are elite divers who have to show years of demonstrated skill. It’s not just a celebrity meetup where whoever is interested drops in. Qualification is every bit as difficult as it is fiercely competitive. There are world champions, multi-time medalists, and prodigies and legends alike filling the roster for the competition.
The main show takes place on Saturday, June 6th, but there will be plenty to keep us entertained all weekend. And now, we’re just a couple weeks away from one of the world’s most elite competitions taking place in, and above, the same body of water we look for dolphins in when we’re strolling Bayshore. Those who attended Red Bull Flugtag at the end of 2024 know what a massive show and spectacle Red Bull puts on for its biggest events.
Consider that an appetizer of entertainment. The main course is bringing an adrenaline-fueled thrill to Tampa Bay. Learn more about the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series’ Florida stop here, and stay tuned to That’s So Tampa for more details.
