After a few years break, the largest water sports trade fair, Wiatr i Woda, saw the return of “Miasteczko D Nurkowe”, a section of the fair dedicated to exhibitors from the diving industry. The announcements were loud, the promotion and expectations of visitors were high, but the result? Well, it was hard to resist the impression that most visitors probably expected something different.

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We arrived in Warsaw first thing in the morning and after a preliminary check of our accommodation and breakfast, we set off to the place where the fair was held. The most numerous section, i.e. yachting and sailing, is difficult for me to assess. It’s not a sector I could say too much about, so I’ll just limit myself to a few generalities.

It was a pleasure to walk through the alleyways, around which were packed boats, yachts and motorboats, which could safely be described as “objects of desire”. After all, who is not impressed by the beautiful sleek silhouette, streamlined lines and modern design combined? It did for me, and even though living in the Mazury region I see many of the presented vessels every day, it was a pleasure to take a closer look at them in a slightly different version.

Once you got to the tent with the diving stands, you could get a bit of a shock. A large space, few stalls, a stage and a pool prepared for equipment testing (with cold and murky water, which I’m sure was a bad incentive for some). A few familiar faces, some faces we haven’t seen for a long time, some people we’ve only just had a chance to meet and basically that’s it.

The organisers would like the Wiatr i Woda trade fair to become a “small Boot”, i.e. a more modest version of the largest marine and diving trade fair held every January in Dusseldorf, Germany. Unfortunately, after what we were served last weekend, we couldn’t help feeling that those responsible for the “Diving Village” have a long way to go to get closer to their promises.

If I had the chance to make the decision to come to the 2015 Wind and Water Fair again, I would… come anyway. There are several reasons for this. It was my first visit to this event, the people I met at the fair, and the materials we managed to record, e.g. interviews with Wojtek Filip, Krzysiek Wnorowski and Michał Kosut (plus a few more, but that’s a surprise).

All this did not make the 2015 Wind and Water Fair a spectacular success in my eyes, but certainly the aforementioned elements meant that I did not feel disappointed afterwards (unlike many people who express this on forums/fb/etc), but more unsatisfied.

The event in this place and with the possibilities available to the organiser, certainly has great potential. I hope that in the coming years those responsible for the preparation of the “Diving Town” will prove to us that it is not just a media-promotional event.

There is no shortage of opinions on the Internet highlighting the impressions of visitors after their expectations had diverged from reality the moment they entered the fairgrounds. I would not, however, heap scorn on everything, even though many people felt considerable disappointment and expressed it in private conversations, e.g. at our stand.

Rome wasn’t built in an instant and no one created a sensational diving event within one year, not to mention that the “Diving Town” was prepared for much shorter time. The organisers threw themselves in at the deep end and, despite their best intentions, failed in several areas. The biggest mistake, which most people complained about, was the gap between the announcements and a very strong promotion of the fair on the Internet, and what awaited the visitors.

For those responsible for the “Diving Town” is certainly a huge material for analysis, and since I am sure that next year we will see another edition, I would refrain from hanging dogs and judging the organizers from honor and faith, for 12 months.