The bronze statue of a diver, the trophy that is presented to the deserving winner of each Diver Award, has become a highly sought-after status symbol within the diving business since the scheme was introduced five years ago.

Diver readers voted for their favourites of 2001 at the end of last year, and the results have seen several previous winners being recognised once again - as well as one or two surprises...

BRAND OF YEAR Mares has now won this title four years running - the Italian brand does seem to be the one that many divers trust and want to be seen with. Mark Jenkins, managing director of Mares'      distributor in the UK, Blandford Sub-Aqua, has also collected an Innovation award in the past for the Mares Ruby regulator, so he now has quite a collection of Diver Award trophies. We asked him where he kept them all.      "At home. My wife is getting quite sick of dusting them!" he quipped. And when asked for his reaction to winning yet again, he replied: "What can I say? We have a great team and we distribute an excellent and constantly innovative product range. We give it the best back-up possible. We make sure to offer the strongest link between manufacturer and end-user."      Second-placed brand was Oceanic, which during 2001 upgraded nearly every item in a product range which spans high-performance regulators to innovative BCs and diving suits. Third came Beaver, which has evolved from making neoprene diving suits into a significant importer of mainstream diving equipment and accessories.

INNOVATION OF THE YEAR This award was won by the Mini B, the all-in-one-rucksack scuba set that seems to appeal to leisure boat-owners, resort divers and those who just want to progress that little bit further than snorkelling. It won a number of awards last year, and even went on display at the Science Museum in London.      Some diving schools have adopted the Mini B for their initial training sessions, and it is generally suitable for shallow-diving situations. On hearing that the Mini B had won, its inventor Rob Hart said: "What better way to start the new year than with an achievement award like this? The whole Mini-B team is thrilled at receiving this splendid accolade."      Scubapro's MK 25T/600 regulator came second. By using titanium in the MK25T instead of conventional chromed brass, Scubapro has managed to decrease the overall weight, yet increase the expected longevity of its top performer.      The hi-tech characteristics of woven metal foil as aninsulator feature in Northern Diver's light yet highly efficient Flectalon undersuit, placed third. Having less bulk in the water means less lead is needed than with conventional undersuits.

DIVE CENTRE OF THE YEAR It was second year running as winners of this award for the ever-popular Emperor Divers, a company that operates Red Sea dive centres at Hurghada, Sharm and Nuweiba in Egypt. Founders Terry and Theresa Simpson were "thrilled to bits" when they heard the news.      "We are both elated and excited - it's fantastic!" they said. "It's especially great to receive the award this year, because this is the 10th anniversary year for Emperor Divers. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of our staff and all the clients who voted for us. Without them, this award would not have been possible."      In second place was Derby dive centre Go Dive, which also featured among the top three retailers and clearly has a very loyal following - the fact that it has taken the unusual step of offering free air and nitrox fills to clubs as well as individuals can't do it any harm!      And retaining third place from last year was another British centre with a devoted clientele, Deep Blue Dive Centre of Tynemouth.

RETAILER OF THE YEAR Arthur Balderson, who runs SDS in Yorkshire, was thrilled when he heard that his company had won the Retailer of the Year award. Every year the company has been a close contender but it seems a long time since SDS won that very first Retailer of the Year trophy.      "It's nice to win this without having to give any prompting to our customers," said Arthur. "They made the independent decision to vote for us and we are very grateful to them. It is they who think we are simply the best. We offer a huge range of products, unbiased advice and 100 per cent aftersales service."      The runners-up in the Dive Centre of the Year awards reappeared in this category, though in reverse order, with Deep Blue Dive Centre coming second and Go Dive coming third.

TOUR OPERATOR OF THE YEAR Often a bridesmaid but this time the bride, Wraysbury-based Explorers Tours, which offers dive packages around the world, scooped the big travel award.      On hearing that the company was the readers' top choice for the first time, founder Brian McGee (above, left) said: "This is fantastic news. It's always great to receive recognition for one's efforts, and even better when that recognition comes from the many people who have travelled with us over the past year. Everybody at Explorers is very proud."      Colleague Michael Threlfall hastened to add: "Our philosophy here at Explorers is simply to offer the best value for the best diving holidays. I think this award is a reflection of that and we would like to thank all the readers of Diver magazine and also Ocean College Dive Centre in Egypt for their support during 2001."      Winning this award has for the past four years been the exclusive privilege of RegalDive, and even this year it was only narrowly beaten, but for once must content itself with the runner-up slot.      A new name turns up in third place - could it have anything to do with the fact that Neilson was offering the Diver Awards prize holiday for one lucky reader, or was it that since the activity holiday specialist started offering more diving holidays, its service has been warmly appreciated by readers? The latter, we're sure!

PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR It was hardly surprising that the book based on the £7 million BBC Blue Planet underwater wildlife series should win the award for Publication of the Year. The series itself was probably the most lavish and expensive underwater television documentary ever made and has done an immense amount to stimulate interest in scuba-diving and the ocean environment. The book, as with the other spin-off merchandise, reflected the quality of the programmes.      Blue Planet has received many accolades, but Martha Holmes, one of its producers, seemed extraordinarily pleased with its Diver Award. "We, the team, are absolutely thrilled and greatly honoured to have won this award, particularly since it comes from the diving community, from people who perhaps know and understand the subject and who are therefore likely to be our harshest critics."      Runner-up was a book by a Diver contributor which has made quite an impact on mainstream as well as diving readers, if its hardback sales figures are anything to go by - Tim Ecott's Neutral Buoyancy. And in third place came a guide that has already found its niche on wreckie bookshelves - Ron Young's North-east Shipwrecks.

THE WOODEN WEIGHTBELT Our now-established booby prize was closely contested by all those charter airlines that fail to give adequate checked-baggage allowances to travelling divers; the British Sub-Aqua Club, for a variety of perceived shortcomings; and last year's winner (if that is the word), Dosthill quarry at Tamworth.      In the end the most votes went to Dosthill. Readers' often-acerbic comments suggested that the dive site had made little effort to improve its lavatorial facilities since these helped Dosthill win the same dubious honour in 2000. A not-so-royal flush!

LUCKY READERS CLEAN UP Stuart Clay of Linton, Cambridgeshire is a very fortunate diver. Stuart's was the name plucked out of the Diver Awards Free Draw hat at random, and soon he and a companion will be able to live it up on a £1500 holiday at one of Neilson's two featured Red Sea resorts in Egypt. Stuart will be able to choose between spending seven nights at the Safir Hotel in Hurghada on half-board or the Hotel Rosetta in Sharm el Sheikh on a bed and breakfast basis, with return flights and transfers included. Neilson will provide six days' free diving for our draw winners. Five further winners can look forward to delivery of parcels containing the £116 Xerotherm undersuit, made by divewear specialist Fourth Element. The Xerotherm has a specially designed fabric that is said to remove perspiration faster than any other material. Those readers who can anticipate more comfortable drysuit diving in future are David Bowen-Cassie, Stephanie Chamberlain, Arran Fisher, Mats Gustavson and Richard Yeomans. The winners of the Diver Awards were feted at a gala dinner at London's Savoy in February, after which the Divers were presented. Remember to make a note of anything that impresses you during 2002 - the next round of voting starts in November.