Stephen Weir is a well-known Toronto based communicator. He has been writing and taking photographs for Diver Magazine for almost 30 years.
Divers have a new toy for 2008.Because of potential copyright issues the manufacturer probably wouldn’t compare their Scoobarang to the classic Frisbee; however, that is what it appears to be. Scoobarang, a Frisbee-looking device, is billed as the world's only underwater boomerang.
This new toy is made of soft vinyl for safety and boomerangs back to the thrower. It can also be used to skip on top of the water. “Anyone can use the toy - it's really cool,” Denise Sanger, President USA Pool and Toy Distributors told Diver Magazine. “It is made for the pool but divers will have a blast too!” “Scoobarang is the only underwater disc that boomerangs back to the thrower!” she continued. “Using patented composition and design, the Scoobarang has a soft outer layer for safety. In addition to being an underwater boomerang, it can be used for game competitions and free-throwing.”
The Florida-based company is distributing the Scoobarang to pool stores and dive shops across North America.
USA Pool and Toy’s website has a short video showing how it can be used underwater in a backyard pool. That website is at: www.usapooltoy.com
Speaking of water toys ….
’07 popular underwater toy wins big in Australia.
Last year’s big pool item, the underwater pogo stick, has won a major design award in Australia. Robert Geddes, the inventor of SubJumpa, has just captured the top prize at the Queensland Design on Show Awards for his underwater creation.
Mr. Geddes, a Queensland, Australia resident, spent a year designing the pogo stick before releasing it to the US pool and spa market in early 2007. With a bounce of about 20cm, the SubJumpa allows swimmers to move around a pool, bounce off the walls and perform water tricks.
"It's essentially the same as a normal pogo stick with a rigid frame and foot pegs, but instead of a spring to bounce up and down on, there's an elastic ball that fills with water. When you put weight down on the ball, the top of the ball stretches and then wants to compress back into its original shape, so it gives you a bit of a bounce," Mr. Geddes told the Courier Mail, an Australian daily newspaper.