March 1, 2008 is the deadline for entries in the 11th annual Underwater Images Photo/Video competition. Underwater Images is a non profit corporation registered in the State of Ohio with all proceeds from this competition going to marine conservation, educational, and scholarship purposes. For complete details on eligibility, rules, and entry forms visit the official competition website at www.UWIMAGES.org.

Categories include "Conservation", "Majestic", "Togetherness", "Macro (Open & Novice)", "Wide Angle (Open & Novice)", a "video" category, and a new category added this year entitled "Divers and Marine Creatures." In announcing this new category, Roger Roth, competition founder and director, stated that "This category fits well with a new beneficiary this year and that is The Diveheart Foundation."

Although based in Ohio, this competition is international and the prizes also reflect an international flare. Included among the Best of Show and First Prize awards will be dive trips to Papua New Guinea, Honduras, the Solomon Islands, the Cayman Islands, Hawaii and Indonesia. In addition there are numerous awards of diving equipment and gift certificates from sponsors.

The major international charities that the Underwater Images Competition has supported for over a decade include WildCoast, Pro Peninsula, and Mahonia Na Dari. WildCoast and ProPeninsula are conservation organizations dedicated to empowering communities in Baja California, Mexico to protect and preserve their environment, with their main focuses being on a Sea Turtle Conservation Network which has gained international attention. Mahonia Na Dari ("Guardians of the Sea") is a Nature Conservancy non-profit group, which has been working to protect Papua New Guinea's abundant biodiversity by teaching their own instructors and students the importance of sustainability of their own natural resources through hands-on experiences. Since 1998 Underwater Images has contributed significantly to each of these organizations.

The Best of Show prize in the competition will be a trip for two to Walindi Plantation for two days, a seven-day cruise on the MV FeBrina, and another two days at Walindi Plantation following the FeBrina cruise! The Walindi Plantation Resort and the MV FeBrina liveaboard are based out of Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea.

A partial list of other prize sponsors includes: Bilikiki Cruises Ltd. in the Solomon Islands, Loloata Island Resort in PNG, Anthony's Key / Bahia Tours in the Bay Islands of Honduras, DiveTech and Cobalt Coast Resort of Grand Cayman, Nekton Cruises, Wakatobi and Pelagian Dive Resort, Kungkungan Bay Resort and Tasik Ria Resort in North Sulawesi, SMY Ondina, Kararu and Archipelago Resorts & Fleet in Indonesia.

Manufacturers who have consistently supported the competition include: Ikelite, Diving Unlimited International, ReefNet, Aqua Lung, Sherwood/Akona, Exploration Design, Omega Aquatics, Gates Video Housings and Pinnacle Aquatics.